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Almost Home

by Pam Jenoff (Goodreads Author)

3.7 of 5 stars 3.70 · rating details · 813 ratings · 137 reviews

A breathtakingly poignant novel of suspense from one of fiction's newest leading voices.From bestselling author and Quill award nominee Pam Jenoff comes a rich, ambitious, and startling novel about a woman who must face a past she'd rather forget in order to uncover a dangerous legacy that threatens her future.

Ten years ago, American Jordan Weiss's idyllic experience as a...more A breathtakingly poignant novel of suspense from one of fiction's newest leading voices.From bestselling author and Quill award nominee Pam Jenoff comes a rich, ambitious, and startling novel about a woman who must face a past she'd rather forget in order to uncover a dangerous legacy that threatens her future.

Ten years ago, American Jordan Weiss's idyllic experience as a graduate student and coxswain at Cambridge was shattered when her boyfriend and fellow crewmember, Jared Short, drowned in the River Cam the night before the biggest race of the year. Since that time, Jordan, a State Department intelligence officer, has traveled the world on dangerous assignments but has managed to avoid returning to face her painful memories in England. When her terminally ill friend Sarah asks her to come to London, though, Jordan finds herself requesting a transfer to the one place she swore she'd never go again.

In London, Jordan attempts to settle into her new life, pushing aside her haunting memories and taking on an urgent mission beside rakish agent Sebastian Hodges. Shortly after her arrival, just when she thinks there's hope for a fresh start in England, she is approached by a former college classmate who makes a startling assertion. He tells her that Jared's death was not an accident, but that he was murdered.

Jordan quickly learns that Jared's death was indeed not an accident, and that his research on World War II had uncovered a shameful secret. But powerful forces with everything to lose will stop at nothing to keep the past buried. Soon, Jordan finds herself in grave peril as she struggles to find the answers that lie treacherously close to home, the truth that threatens to change her life forever, and the love that makes it all worth fighting for.

It is a journey that sweeps readers across England and back in time to reveal the incalculable dangers that lie in the wake of war. Fast-paced and impossible to put down, "Almost Home" establishes Pam Jenoff as one of the best new writers in the genre.(less)

Hardcover, 384 pages

Published February 3rd 2009 by Atria

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May 16, 2012 Felicity rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Because I enjoyed Kommandant's Girl by Jenoff so much, she has a hard act to follow. I found this book reasonably engaging and enjoyed the 'flashback' moments. However, akin to The Diplomat's Wife, I found the plot became more far-fetched as the story progressed and there seemed to be a lot of lucky coincidences. Jordan is reasonably likeable but she seems more preoccupied with her romantic feelings than her job which is odd given how (apparently) her work is so important to both her and the wid...more

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Jun 08, 2012 Melissa rated it 4 of 5 stars

Before talking about the story itself, I would like to note that Almost Home was released today in paperback for the first time, so this review is in celebration of that event. Again, many thanks to Ms. Jenoff for contacting me regarding this book and for having one sent for review. Ms. Jenoff also graciously agreed to guest post here at Melissa's Bookshelf, and you will be able to read her post about Covers and Titles later this week on Friday!

But back to the story... Almost Home is a beautiful...more Before talking about the story itself, I would like to note that Almost Home was released today in paperback for the first time, so this review is in celebration of that event. Again, many thanks to Ms. Jenoff for contacting me regarding this book and for having one sent for review. Ms. Jenoff also graciously agreed to guest post here at Melissa's Bookshelf, and you will be able to read her post about Covers and Titles later this week on Friday!

But back to the story... Almost Home is a beautifully written, highly suspenseful piece of work. I will admit that when I started reading and discovered the story is told in the first person present tense, I cringed, because of how hit-or-miss that point of view can be for me. However, this book is so well-written and edited so well that I never thought about the point of view after that first page. Interestingly, while the entire book is paced pretty quickly and the story moves at a good clip, many of the twists and turns (and bombshells) occur in the last few chapters of the novel. {So you can imagine my chagrin and disappointment when I realized I'd left it at work yesterday with about a quarter of the book left to read.}

My only complaint about this novel is that Jordan Weiss did not seem very believable as a diplomat. Her tendency to run away from tough situations and inability to separate her personal life from work just did not seem to make her a realistic member of the State Department, in my opinion. She just didn't seem tough enough for the line of work she was supposedly in. While there could have been more character development in some cases, for the most part I thought that Jenoff painted them very descriptively and was able to build upon some of the key characters in the occasional flashback scenes in the story. Some other key characters, however, did not get to benefit from those opportunities and fell a little flat for me.

But I certainly cannot complain about the way the story unfolded--particularly towards the end. The connections that were made between storylines, while perhaps a little far-fetched, proved for a fascinating conclusion. My only wish now is that I knew what was going to happen beyond the end of the story. Overall it was a great, fast read that I think other suspense and mystery lovers would enjoy.(less)

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Jun 04, 2011 Marie rated it 4 of 5 stars

I really liked this book - it takes place in London and Cambridge. Ten years before, Jordan Weiss left Cambridge, where she was a graduate student, after her boy friend was found dead and it was established that he had drowned. She felt at the time that she would never go back, but now she had received a letter from her best friend from those days stating that she was seriously ill. She is now a U.S State Department intelligence officer and gets transferred to the Embassy in London. Shortly afte...more

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Feb 26, 2011 switterbug (Betsey) rated it 1 of 5 stars

This unfathomably incongruent mess of a contrived, predictable, simplistic book made me cringe so often that eventually I just gave in and laughed, reading aloud passages and scenes to people who are serious readers and who understand how State Department intelligence workers are supposed to conduct themselves. If it had been listed as a YA novel, I would have been more forgiving. But this Amazon vine selection was supposedly for "adult" readers and therefore is reviewed in that context.

The tone...more This unfathomably incongruent mess of a contrived, predictable, simplistic book made me cringe so often that eventually I just gave in and laughed, reading aloud passages and scenes to people who are serious readers and who understand how State Department intelligence workers are supposed to conduct themselves. If it had been listed as a YA novel, I would have been more forgiving. But this Amazon vine selection was supposedly for "adult" readers and therefore is reviewed in that context.

The tone of this book and the character of Jordan Weiss, the main protagonist, remind me of movies I have had to endure with my daughter when the Olsen twins or Hilary Duff take on spy or intelligence work. Although Jordan has a degree in international relations and has a spotless reputation working in intelligence in the State Department, going to war-torn or sensitive areas like Monrovia, Bogota, Jakarta, and Montenegro, she behaves like an emotional basket case and feels "guilt rising in her" frequently for blundering from the hip and watching people get hurt or killed. She has never heard of the Kosovo Liberation Army and is unfamiliar with the conflicts in the Balkans, so she receives a two-minute history lesson from one of her colleagues. The book TELLS us she is the best and the brightest, but doesn't show us anything but a silly and indiscreet young woman still sobbing over the reported drowning of her boyfriend from college ten years ago. This colors everything she does and--oh, of course, it turns out to work in her favor. How did an emotionally labile woman handle dangerous missions for ten years?

She does not even think to google a man she is researching as a possible suspect or link to her assigned case, but her best friend, a civilian, does that. After some inner conflict, Jordan also decides to share classified information with this girl about the case she is working on "because she is now like one of us."

The writing is on a middle-school level. For example, she repeats the same cliched metaphors and similes. Information and guilt and the resulting emotions always seem to be hitting her stomach like a rock. Sometimes slamming her like a stone. This is predominantly cut and paste prose. Supposedly, this author has been either developing or writing this book for 10 years. And Jenoff is obviously an intelligent woman--she is a graduate of Cambridge University (like her protagonist). I often take an author's academic credentials into consideration when choosing a novel. I was confident that the narrative style would be textured and literary. But the writing is utterly juvenile.

This is equivalent to a more mature Nancy Drew book. I was expecting an intelligent, heady book blending literature with spy/intelligence work. I thought she was going to be as provocative as John Banville, John Le Carre, or Tana French. I was prepared for extended metaphors and lush imagery, as well as a healthy dose of irony. I did not expect this TV in a book. Very bad TV. And so earnest it made me wince when I was through cringing.

There are no literary elements to this novel unless you want to keep hearing the same tired figures of speech. And the behavior and approach to their work of these State Department colleagues is laughable. Additionally, as people die or are seriously injured, Jordan has "guilt rising up" but then, oh well. It has an "oh, dear!" tone to it. She comes across as fatuous and silly. There is no substance to this woman beyond the tragedy she suffered 10 years ago. Nothing in the elements of the story reflects Jordan's alleged intelligence or competence. She blindly breaks protocol and rules, but never really has a plan beyond the next few hours. She is on her own rogue mission, with the help of her dead boyfriend's best friend. But there may be a tie-in with her current assignment. Yet, she has no historical, political, or economic frame of reference. But, oh, yeah, she is the State Department's golden girl. She can do whatever she wants. And she does. She is not reflective or cautious with information or action. She reminds me of something akin to: Liz McGuire goes undercover. And the author just conveniently inserts heroic deeds or histories so that the reader KNOWS what a whipper-snapper Jordan is. It is heavy-handed and ludicrous.

I finished this book only because it was a vine selection for review. I would not recommend it for anyone beyond middle school.

It is obvious by the novel's end that a sequel is coming. "Oh, dear!" (less)

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Apr 23, 2009 Diane rated it 4 of 5 stars

Jordan Weiss is a State Department intelligence officer. One day she receives a letter from her friend Sarah who lives in London. Sarah has Lou Gehrig's disease and hopes Jordan can come for a visit. Knowing that Sarah would never ask her for help, but most likely needs help, Jordan immediately requests reassignment to London to be near Sarah, a place she thought she'd never return to.

Ten years earlier Jordan Weiss was a graduate student at Cambridge. She was destroyed when her boyfriend and fel...more

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Jul 09, 2011 Nancy Bielski rated it 4 of 5 stars

This book was pretty good. It started off a little slow, but once the story got going, it was hard to put down. Basically, Jordan is a diplomat-spy who moves to London on assignment. It was painful for her because her boyfriend died and the memories were too hard, blah blah. She "by chance" meets an old friend and they start investigating whether or not her boyfriend's death was an accident. Coincidentally, her assignment may be linked. Though that seemed a little too coincidental, it was easy t...more

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Mar 05, 2010 Serena rated it 5 of 5 stars

Almost Home by Pam Jenoff is a novel of international intrigue, significant struggle, and humiliating heartbreak. Jordan Weiss is a Foreign Service Officer working in Washington, D.C., who receives a letter from her college friend Sarah asking her to return to London as Sarah struggles with Lou Gehrig's Disease (ALS). Once in London, a place Jordan never expected to see again after her tragic last semester, she takes a job as a investigative diplomat working to uncover financial connections betw...more Almost Home by Pam Jenoff is a novel of international intrigue, significant struggle, and humiliating heartbreak. Jordan Weiss is a Foreign Service Officer working in Washington, D.C., who receives a letter from her college friend Sarah asking her to return to London as Sarah struggles with Lou Gehrig's Disease (ALS). Once in London, a place Jordan never expected to see again after her tragic last semester, she takes a job as a investigative diplomat working to uncover financial connections between companies and the Albanian mob.

"Chris pulls out my chair and I sit down awkwardly, conscious of his presence, the way he hovers a second too long behind me as though afraid I will flee." (Page 64)

Jenoff really knows how to set the mood. Almost Home is full of dark imagery, fast-paced chases, and tension as thick as butter. Readers will be kept guessing as to who is on the wrong side of the equation. Jordan is likable and draws readers into the story, sweeping readers into her grief over the decades ago loss of her college sweetheart, Jared, and the mystery surrounding his death. There is tension between Jared and Jordan when they first meet as part of a rowing team, but eventually their mutual love of the river and the team gives way to their own passions.

"Trafalgar Square on a Monday morning is a swarming mass of activity. Cars and buses move along the roadway in fits and starts, jamming up at the traffic lights, filling the air with thick exhaust. Swarms of commuters, invisible beneath a sea of black umbrellas, jostle as they make their way from the buses to the city, from Charing Cross Tube station to Whitehall." (Page 131)

Tension and suspense are dominant atmospheres in Almost Home, but the novel is more than just a political thriller, it deals with deep grief and healing. There also are lighter moments between Jordan and Sarah that illustrate a part of Jordan that has been dormant since the tragic loss of Jared. The dynamic between the two is strong and full of sisterly love, which can transcend any situation.

Jenoff's experience as a diplomat is clearly present in the novel as Jordan deals with bureaucracy and cloak-and-dagger tactics. There are some points in the novel where Jordan appears to be out of her element and a novice diplomat, but given the recent debacle in Liberia and the death of a colleague; her flight to London to be with her sick friend; and all that is uncovered about the death of Jared, her mistakes and bad judgment should be expected. The pressures she feels and the memories that haunt her are too much for any one person to deal with a high-stress position with government. Jordan is a complex character dealing with new grief, renewed old grief, and a demanding job in a city she once abandoned. Overall, Almost Home is a fast-paced, highly emotional, well-written novel.(less)

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Jan 26, 2013 Debbie rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I'm giving this book about a 3 1/2 stars on my own personal rating scale.
It was a rough start for me because the writing style was quite different than the books I've been reading lately, so I admit it took me a little while to get acclimated to the way this author talks out her story. Most of the books that I seem to be drawn to are narrated with the all knowing invisible narrator, looking down from the sky, relaying the color and texture of the scenes, the characters, their movements etc. Thi...more I'm giving this book about a 3 1/2 stars on my own personal rating scale.
It was a rough start for me because the writing style was quite different than the books I've been reading lately, so I admit it took me a little while to get acclimated to the way this author talks out her story. Most of the books that I seem to be drawn to are narrated with the all knowing invisible narrator, looking down from the sky, relaying the color and texture of the scenes, the characters, their movements etc. This book was different in that the main character tells the entire story. It's different but it almost seems if it leaves the story kind of, vulnerable, is a good word. If you only see what the main character telling the story sees, only her view, there are so many sides to the outlook of the whole that are lacking. It was for me the equivalent of watching a movie and yelling at the screen because the main character is walking in one direction right into the arms of peril and the outside viewer being able to look on at a distance can see the risk. It was a mystery, possibly a thriller if on screen but also very predictable. I remember thinking as I read the book that I had assumed something similar would happen and it did. The mystery of it all was interesting and although I sense it was meant to have the ere of suspense, it was more the ere of curiosity than the emotion of suspense.
Any interested in this book can get a general idea from the synopsis so I'm basically giving my response to what I've read.
It's supposed to be thriller, mystery, romance, nostalgic, espionage, government secrets that link to the past: yes, but fell a little flat.

The only thing I must express because it was a 100% pet peeve that annoyed the crap out of me.. was these flash backs! Now, those who've read my reviews know that I don't mind a little "toggling". It actually can make for wonderful story detail and be quite functional as a cog fitting the story together. The present and future are nothing without the history of the past. That being said, as I've stated the book talks in first person and rather than our main character just remember and I assume think aloud the past pieces that the reader needed to comprehend the story.. suddenly you'd turn a page, the font would change a date month and year would be in the corner as if in a diary or journal of some sort and some flash back sequence would progress. It was never clear that our protagonist carried a journal. When did she write in this journal? As a part of her character she mentions how she moves around a lot and only takes the neccesities with her leaving most of her belongings in the home of her parents. Then where was this journal? At another point in the story, her flat is destroyed, but we yet run across pages later, the font change, the date.. oh guess what, it's the journal. This to me, was confusing, the mysterious journal. I'd rather the invisible narrator tell us or the scene be set properly pre story than our main characters frequent waxing and waning on about her past. Things she suddenly remembered. Things that were quite important to the story. What was this invisible journal?

To conclude, I liked the book once I got into it. Would I recommend it? It's good for the curious. It's got some mystery. If you're easily thrilled, ok, some thriller. It's a quick read.(less)

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Jun 28, 2010 Julie rated it 4 of 5 stars

I really enjoyed this book from start to finish, and found myself wanting the story to go on when I reached the last page. I don't want to spoil the ending but it definitely makes me want to see a follow-up novel of Jordan's searching adventures or the continuation of a budding romance that survived the chaos. The only part of the book that lost me a little were the very long flashbacks into the college days. I skimmed through a bit of those so I may have missed something important but felt they...more

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Dec 17, 2010 Suzanne rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: espionage, fiction, favorites

I found Almost Home by Pam Jenoff very difficult to put down. This is the first of Jenoff's novels that I have read, and I am eager to now go back and read her first two titles.

Almost Home begins with Jordan Weiss, a member of the U.S. Foreign Service asks for a transfer to London. Ten years earlier, Jordan had left London, never to return, after the tragic death of her boyfriend, Jared Short. Drawn back by her friend Sarah, who is suffering with ALS, Jordan is immediately confronted with quest...more

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Jun 10, 2013 Stephanie rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This book was not good. We were TOLD repeatedly that the heroine of the book was a badass, but we were SHOWN that she was a complete moron. If I started getting into specifics, this would become a really long review. (See switterbug's review if you'd like to know the extent of the problems with this book- and if you'd like a good laugh!)

Additionally, the book was poorly edited, both from a grammar and a content/continuity standpoint. I read passages out loud to my family so that we could all lau...more

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Jul 31, 2011 Lynn Webster rated it 4 of 5 stars

This is the first book in a two part series. I would recommend this book. It is part mystery/part romance. The book takes place in England. A woman is a govermnent investigagtor and is called back to angland on an assignment. She has not been back to England since she attended college in Cambridge where her boyfriend drown ten years earlier. Her work and personal life soon becomes intertwined as she learns more facts regarding her boyfriends drowning. I really like this writer. She worked for th...more

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Jan 18, 2010 Katie rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I read this book in a little over a day. I couldn't put it down - it's a fast-paced mystery/thriller, involving a spy and England: what more could I ask for?

Jordan Weiss, an intelligence officer for the State Department, departs to England to see an ailing friend, and take on a new assignment investigating the Albanian mob. But when she arrives, a friend from the past asks her help in discovering what really happened to Jordan's old flame, who reportedly drowned...but new evidence suggests other...more

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Oct 02, 2010 Elizabeth of Silver's Reviews rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

She HAD to get to London but had no explanation for her boss. He granted her permission, and she left that very evening.

Jordan arrived in London ready to take a cab to see her very ill friend, but her co-worker met her at the airport....oh no, they do have an assignment for her. An assignment in London wasn't the real reason she wanted to return to London, and when she does arrive, all the familiar landmarks she remembered when she was at Cambridge, make her heart twist and bring tears to her ey...more

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Aug 03, 2010 Ginny rated it 3 of 5 stars

This is the story of Jordan Weiss, a State Department intelligence officer who transfers from Washington to London to be close to her friend, Sarah, suffering from terminal ALS. While working on a case involving Albanian mob activities, she confronts an old friend who convinces her to help investigate the drowning death of her former boyfriend, Jared, who he is convinced was murdered. The book flips seamlessly between the past and present. At first I had a difficult time adjusting to the present...more

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Feb 24, 2009 Christy rated it 4 of 5 stars

I really do love this author. I enjoy her style. This book was great, but there were a few parts where I felt a little uncomfortable...she could have done without a description or two. There were also parts in the book that I wish she would have focused a little more on the story and a little less on the drinking. I felt like all the characters did was drink. The ending was great and I won't talk much about it because I don't want to get away. I will just say, that I didn't see the ending coming...more

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Aug 05, 2011 Karen added it

I thoroughly enjoyed Jenoff's book, but that enjoyment was based primarily on her writing and voice - not on the authenticity of her diplomatic/ thriller plot line. The main character, Jordan, is a career diplomat, trying to assist her best friend with ALS, and an old ffriend with his quest to solve the mystery of her boyfriend, ten years ago. I was fascinated by the main character and her quest enough to highly recommend the book, but as far as reality goes, I found it hard to believe that some...more

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Aug 22, 2010 Suze rated it 4 of 5 stars

This is a deliciously good mystery novel by a fairly new author. She has her own style of writing which took me awhile to get used to, but overall I enjoyed it very much.

This author's experience as a diplomat is clearly present in the novel as the main character, Jordan, deals with bureaucracy and cloak-and-dagger tactics.

The storyline contains lots of thrills, chills and sexy moments, with new twists that definitely keep you turning the pages, impatient to see what happens next.

I look forward...more

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Aug 03, 2011 Ada-Marie added it

Somewhere between "less than mediocre" and "barely tolerable." I read this book because the author is speaking about it at a fundraiser that I am attending, and in its meek defense, I would not have chosen it otherwise. The plot is so implausible and the characters are very poorly developed, especially the narrator, who is supposed to be a kick-butt State Department operative however she can't stand confrontation and misjudges every personality she encounters. I won't be reading the not-so-subtl...more

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Apr 04, 2009 Robin rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: psychological-thriller

This is a pretty good quickread. Ten years since American Jordan Weiss was in grad school at Cambridge. She is a coxswain on At that time her lover/boyfriend "drowned" in the River Cam the night before the biggest race of the year. Soince then, Jordan has not entered England, though she is a State Department intelligence officer.
Fast forward ten years: Summoned by an old friend that has ALS, she goes to her friends' assistance, not knowing what is waiting to be discovered. Yes, it is pretty rot...more

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May 04, 2012 Jenna rated it 5 of 5 stars

For more reviews please check out my site at http://www.canneryrowreads.com

Pam Jenoff is one of my all time favorite authors. I have quite a few of these as you'll eventually figure out but she has to be among the top ten or so. The previous books I've read by her focused around Germany during WWII and England following the end of WWII. This book, Almost Home, was set in modern day England and Jenoff delivered marvelously as always.

Jenoff is artful at character development. In previous books whe...more

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Dec 13, 2011 Kirstin rated it 3 of 5 stars

Almost Home is the story of Jordan Weiss who is an American Diplomat and her inability to hide from the past. Ever since her college boyfriend drowned, she has been traveling the world for work and doing everything in her power not to have a home. When a sick friend needs her help she is forced back to London where she comes face to face with her past.

Jordan is an easy character to love. While this book is fiction, Jordan could very easily exist and I think we would be good friends actually. Sh...more Almost Home is the story of Jordan Weiss who is an American Diplomat and her inability to hide from the past. Ever since her college boyfriend drowned, she has been traveling the world for work and doing everything in her power not to have a home. When a sick friend needs her help she is forced back to London where she comes face to face with her past.

Jordan is an easy character to love. While this book is fiction, Jordan could very easily exist and I think we would be good friends actually. She is trapped between her present life and the emotional train wreck of her past. While finishing her graduate work at Cambridge, she fell head over heels for Jared who was another graduate student. They had a unique love, a true love however short it was. After returning to London 10 years later, another college friend Chris gets her involved in investigating the truth behind Jared's untimely death.

They are taken on this crazy journey to find the truth (which by the way is nothing like what you would expect). This is my third book from Pam Jenoff and it is a good book, plain and simple. I find her books very easy to read and enjoyable. They will keep your interest, but are possible to put down. I think my favorite type of books are ones that I am extremely involved in, but I can put down and go about my life without constantly thinking about what is happening next. Almost Home will keep your attention and you will feel a connection to its characters.

There is always something farfetched about Jenoff's novels, but that is what makes it so intriguing. The twists and turns can seem unlikely, but yet plausible at the same time. It is this plausibility which makes me continue to read more from her. I think my biggest problem with this book was its ending because it left me wanting so much more. The good thing is there is more. The sequel to this book is called A Hidden Affair and if the library was open at 10:30 at night on Sundays I would be reading that book right now. I can't wait to finish Jordan's story. I know I won't be disappointed.(less)

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Feb 25, 2011 Alexis Villery rated it 1 of 5 stars

Jordan Weiss is a State Department intelligence officer who has traveled the world on top secret missions. After receiving a letter from her friend Sarah, who suffers from ALS, Jordan must return to London, the one place she vowed never to set foot again. Once there, her world is turned upside down as lingering doubts concerning the disaster that occurred 10 years previously comes back to haunt her. She can no longer rest until she discovers what really happened. Meanwhile, her assignment at Lon...more

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Mar 11, 2010 Meg rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: read-in-2010, contemporary-fiction, sent-for-review

Atmospheric, cerebral and exciting, Pam Jenoff’s rollicking Almost Home kept me on the edge of my seat from page one. I wasn’t quite sure what to expect from a novel filled with so many elements — romance, murder, grief, passion, suspense, family — but Jenoff’s masterful use of description and language dropped me in the middle of each scene and refused to let me out.

As a reader, a novel’s setting — and the way in which it’s described — can make or break a book for me. In the case of Almost Home,...more

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Mar 12, 2009 Jenny rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: unputdownable

1st time I read it:
How can I put into words how much I loved this book...It made me want to ignore the world and not put this book down until I finished it. Instead I had to read it in between work and schoolwork. Unlike her previous two novels this one is present day although there is a WWII connection like in her previous novels. I have to admit she does something in this book that she also did in a previous book that would have made me hate this book if it wasn't for the way she crafted the s...more

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Mar 10, 2010 Anna rated it 4 of 5 stars

The book is told from the first person point of view of Jordan, so readers can feel her sadness, her confusion, and her fear as she realizes her life is in danger. Though I sometimes questioned Jordan’s actions as a diplomat — mainly in the way she questions people of interest, possibly revealing too much before building trust — I felt she was a well-rounded character. Jenoff makes Jordan come to life, and I could understand her motivations, like her despite her flaws, and even relate to her on...more

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Dec 23, 2010 Zhiqing rated it 2 of 5 stars

The book started off with great promise but got worse as the story progressed. You would not think the main character Jordan Weiss has been an intelligent officer for 10 years. She talked and acted like a total rookie. There was none of the usual surveillance, counter-suveillance a spy novel is almost required to have. If Joran is one of the characters in any of John La Carre, Charles Cumminings' novels, she would have gotten herself killed by Chapter 5. Flashbacks to Cambridge days was the bett...more

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Nov 03, 2009 Becca rated it 3 of 5 stars

The story was really good, but I never bought into the fact that the main character was some kind of awesome foreign service employee who had dodged danger all over the world. She had no street smarts for someone who was supposed to be a hot-shot spy type. If they'd made her a adverstising exec or something, it would have worked out better. Aside from that, the mystery was pretty good and the characters were interesting. I wanted more from the ending, but I think that was the point.

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Mar 31, 2011 Chantelle rated it 4 of 5 stars

Continuing my streak of loving the last several books I've read. Jordan Weiss is such a great character, and I loved the way Pam Jenoff told the story in flashbacks, going back to Jordan's time at Cambridge with her crew and boyfriend. I really enjoyed this story and I'm now incredibly eager to read the next in the series. I'm so glad she decided to continue Jordan's story, because when I reached the end of the book, I was definitely wanting more.

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Apr 20, 2009 Mary rated it 4 of 5 stars

Set in London, this suspense novel is a great read. Jenooff has the right pacing for political intrique and her characterization is excellent. There is also a lovely romance that forms the structure of the story line. Fascinating insights into the Foreign Service. the history of Eastern Europe and university life in Cambridge add to the reading enjoyment. I look forward to reading her other books.

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About Pam Jenoff

Pam Jenoff was born in Maryland and raised outside Philadelphia. She attended George Washington University in Washington, D.C., and Cambridge University in England. Upon receiving her master’s in history from Cambridge, she accepted an appointment as Special Assistant to the Secretary of the Army. The position provided a unique opportunity to witness and participate in operations at the most senio...more

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Books by Pam Jenoff

The Kommandant's Girl (The Kommandant's Girl, #1)

The Diplomat's Wife (The Kommandant's Girl, #2)

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Almost Home

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