Carnival of Spies

by Robert Moss

After seeing his ideals corrupted, the woman he loves hardened and broken, and his best friend murdered for speaking the truth, Johnny, a valued and trusted member of the 1930s Communist Party, becomes a double agent.

Genres: Espionage, Fiction

498 pages, Hardcover

First published October 28, 1987

Reviews

[Subeer Bakshi · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s an odd book. Because it’s based on real events and has some historical personalities, it is very engrossing. The characters are what makes the boom unconventional. Erratic, often acting on emotions more than rationality, imperfect in how they dress, act or speak. It took me some time to appreciate that the author actually describes people as they actually are - and not how they should be in books. It’s just that the way he does it is unconventional. I had first concluded that they are ‘card-board characters’ and only after reading a lot of other characters can I say that the author is very good at describing real people.

[Mary Gatenby · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found myself falling in and out of love with both the plot and its characters - just as messy as you’d imagine in a WWII communist espionage novel.

[Mia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Commies, Nazis, double-agents, and complicated personal relationships, and all with some basis in 1920s-1930s history. I actually hadn't known that Stalin had tried to encourage a Communist revolution in Brazil.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

best spy novel of my childhook

[Valynda · Rating 3 out of 5]

pretty good about social movements