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Our Friends in Berlin

Anthony Quinn

3.78 · Rating details · 733 ratings · 90 reviews

London, 1941. The city is in blackout and an enemy is hiding in plain sight.

Amy Strallen’s life is a world away from the machinations of Nazi sympathizers but she could be the only one who can help uncover the most dangerous Nazi agent in the country.

Jack Hoste has become entangled in a national treachery and he needs Amy’s help.

When he pays a visit to Amy’s office, they ...more

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Paperback, 288 pages

Published July 4th 2019 by Vintage (first published July 12th 2018)

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May 31, 2018 Maureen rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: netgalley

I loved Anthony Quinn's 'Curtain Call’ so when I saw ‘Our Friends in Berlin’ up for grabs I took no persuading!

It's 1941 and London is suffering from the German bombardment that became known as The Blitz. Amid the bombed out buildings and the blackout, there lurks even more danger in the form of Nazi sympathisers, collecting intel that will aid Hitler's war machine.

Jack Hoste, (former bank clerk) is tasked with the job of discovering the most dangerous of these agents, and naturally this puts hi ...more

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Jun 27, 2018 Paromjit rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: espionage, thriller, mystery, historical-fiction, netgalley

This is a wonderful historical espionage thriller set in WW2 in London. London is experiencing blackouts and suffering under the heavy bombing that is taking its toll on the people and buildings. Jack Hoste (not his real name) is working undercover for the security services as a Gestapo agent supposedly for our friends in Berlin. He has collected a group of individuals, all Nazi sympathisers, who provide intelligence to Jack under the assumption they are aiding the German war effort. Jack is try This is a wonderful historical espionage thriller set in WW2 in London. London is experiencing blackouts and suffering under the heavy bombing that is taking its toll on the people and buildings. Jack Hoste (not his real name) is working undercover for the security services as a Gestapo agent supposedly for our friends in Berlin. He has collected a group of individuals, all Nazi sympathisers, who provide intelligence to Jack under the assumption they are aiding the German war effort. Jack is trying to locate the most dangerous spy, Marita Pardoe, to co-opt her into the group, thereby keeping her under surveillance. She supported Oswald Mosley and the British Union of Fascists, and her husband is in an internment camp. Marita proves to be elusive and the only lead Jack has is she was close friends with Amy Strallen.

Amy is a partner in a Marriage Bureau, putting together men and women on their books who are looking to get married. Whilst it might be expected that the war would adversely affect business, in reality it has provided a boost, as people feel increasingly insecure when it comes to the future. Jack poses as a tax inspector trying to ensure that the Pardoes get their tax rebate owed to them to get Amy to help him locate Marita. A relationship begins to develop between Amy and Jack, but with Jack working covertly and harbouring secrets, many obstacles lie in their path. After being tested by Marita, Jack manages to incorporate Marita in his group, but she is not an easy person to keep a handle on. She has strong ideas of her own as to what she thinks should be happening, including political assassinations to undermine the British war effort and morale. Amy finds herself drawn into the dark world of espionage and all the dangers it poses at a critical time in British history.

Anthony Quinn draws on true events in the writing of this novel set under such dangerous and turbulent times, where the stakes are so high they could influence the direction of the war. Quinn's real skill is in his characterisation, particularly that of Jack, Amy and Marita. War time intrigue is mirrored in the personal intrigues of the relationships between these characters. Quinn provides us with the fascinating backstories of each of the characters, such as Jack's true identity when he was operating as a bank clerk prior to him being taken on by MI5, he takes to his new role as a duck to water. An entertaining and compelling read that I recommend to those interested in this period of history. Many thanks to Random House Vintage for an ARC. ...more

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Aug 22, 2019 Hanneke rated it liked it

This is an engaging WW-II spy novel which I read in a few days because its story is fast and exciting and I could not put it down. However, the protagonists are not very interesting individuals which is strange in view of their activities. Dull conversations, much too polite and proper and without any wit whatsoever! Often actions were taken that did not make sense. The story seems to be based on the undercover activities of the same MI5 group chasing British nazi provocateurs as in Kate Atkinso ...more

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Jun 27, 2018 Susan rated it really liked it · review of another edition

I have enjoyed previous novels by Anthony Quinn and was delighted to receive his latest for review, which begins in London, during the Blitz. It is 1941 and Jack Hoste is working undercover, doing his utmost to discover Nazi spies and sympathisers. In particular, he is searching for Marita Pardoe, a friend of Amy Strallen; who works at the, ‘Mayfair Marriage Bureau.’ Desperate to uncover Pardoe’s whereabouts, Hoste makes contact with Amy, in the hopes she will lead him to her.

This is an excellen ...more

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Jul 24, 2018 Jaya rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: mmxviii, liebesgeschichte, historical, ahhh-die-gefühle, unitedkingdom-england, audio, masala-reads, shinpi-surirā-sasupensu-hanzai

I am a big fan of espionage thrillers esp those of the relatively bygone eras. There's something endearing? charming ? to read about the times of warfare, in fiction ie., when there was lack of cutting edge technology (as compared to recent times). (As an esrtwhile student of history i've always shied away from the academic history of warfare, I find it too dry and dull).

Based on a true incident during the second world war (that I am not aware of and need to check), Our friends in Berlin is a g ...more

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Apr 03, 2018 Roman Clodia rated it really liked it · review of another edition

By coincidence, this is the second novel I've read in a few weeks which has been interested in Nazi sympathisers and the British Union of Fascists during WW2. In places this feels a bit like The Heat Of The Day, but a less literary version and one which tries to pull off a couple of twists.

Jack Hoste and Amy are attractive protagonists, though there are places where we have to accept MI5 being extremely open with the information they share with a civilian. There's also a lessening of tension du ...more

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Jul 26, 2018 Jill Meyer rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

British novelist Anthony Quinn is the author of the several mysteries, including a marvelous series, "Freya" and "Curtain Call" (which now has a third book in the series, "Eureka"). He's widely published in the UK and Europe and has lately been published here in the US. His new book, "Our Friends in Berlin" is a stand-alone mystery set in WW2 London and is quite good.

The book begins in 1941 London during the Blitz. There's a part set in 1935 and one set in 1948, but basically the main part of th ...more

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Aug 12, 2018 Maine Colonial rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: novel, audiobook, espionage, world-war-ii

The real-life inspiration for this novel is wartime MI5 agent Eric Roberts. Roberts was born to a middle class Cornwall family and started his adult life as a bank clerk. He was recruited as an MI5 field agent in the 1920s, where his job was to infiltrate fringe groups; first communists and then fascists.

From early on in World War II, it was feared that Germany would invade Britain, assisted by so-called “fifth columnists,” British citizens and residents who were Nazi sympathizers and wanted to The real-life inspiration for this novel is wartime MI5 agent Eric Roberts. Roberts was born to a middle class Cornwall family and started his adult life as a bank clerk. He was recruited as an MI5 field agent in the 1920s, where his job was to infiltrate fringe groups; first communists and then fascists.

From early on in World War II, it was feared that Germany would invade Britain, assisted by so-called “fifth columnists,” British citizens and residents who were Nazi sympathizers and wanted to pass on information to help the German armed forces. Roberts, using the alias Jack King, pretended to be an officer in the Gestapo working as the point of contact for fifth columnists. He built up a large network of informants, who never twigged that he was really MI5.

One of Jack King’s notable informants was Marita Perigoe, a severely beautiful young woman whose husband had been interned as a fascist. The British had picked the wrong member of the couple to lock up. Marita was a naturalized British citizen, with a Swedish and German background. She was virulently anti-Semitic and so pro-Nazi that her “handler” had a difficult time keeping her under control. She always wanted to take a more active role to combat Britain from within and actually did conduct some rogue missions. Despite their frequent head-butting, and Marita's dangerousness, Jack King and Marita Perigoe remained part of the same ostensible spy network until the war’s end.

Eric Roberts and Marita Perigoe translate to Jack Hoste and Marita Pardoe in this novel. Hoste has reason to suspect Marita is working for Germany, but nobody can find her. Hoste’s only lead to her is Amy Strallen, a young woman who runs a matrimonial agency, but who had become friendly with Marita before the war, when both were students at the same secretarial college.

Anthony Quinn tells us the story from Jack's experience and from Amy's. Amy's having been able to track down Marita, Jack must now encourage Amy to rekindle her friendship with Marita, despite Marita's dangerous nature and Jack's growing feelings for Amy. Beneath the surface relationships among this trio, there lurks danger and betrayal, playing out from 1940 until the approach to D-Day.

The premise of the story is excellent and Quinn paints an evocative picture of wartime Britain. There was plenty of tension to keep the pages turning, and the ending is thrilling. But there were a couple of things that prevented this being a top read for me. The friendship between Amy and Marita just never made a lot of sense to me. I can understand how they became friends, and I also understand that anti-Semitism was so common in Britain that it wouldn’t necessarily make Amy drop Marita when she learns that Marita hates Jews. But Amy is exposed to so much of Marita’s treasonous views that I find it hard to believe she would continue their friendship. My second problem is with Amy’s actions toward the end of the book. (view spoiler)

Despite my issues, I was gripped by the story. If the subject interests you, give it a try.

Afterthoughts: When I learned about Jack Hoste and Marita Pardoe being inspired by real-life characters, I did some research and was fascinated by Eric Roberts’s story. His postwar activities are fascinating too. He’s posted to Vienna immediately after the war—shades of The Third Man—and has a unique and poignant story involving the infiltration of the British security services by spies for the Soviet Union. Here’s the other amazing nugget I learned. You know those hundreds of fifth columnists in the ring reporting to Jack King/Hoste? What do you suppose happened to them when the Allies won the war? The answer is, in nearly every case, exactly nothing! Given the role of King/Hoste, MI5 assumed that if the fifth columnists were prosecuted, the defense would claim entrapment, making it not worth it to pursue. Can you imagine what it must have been like for those people, wondering every day if the law--and retribution--would come knocking at the door? ...more

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Jul 23, 2018 Kate rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: out-in-2018-and-read, favourites-read-in-2018

Thoroughly enjoyed this - involving tale of spies, love, menace and courage during the Blitz and its aftermath. Review to follow shortly on For Winter Nights. 4-4.5 stars.

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Mar 01, 2020 Maria Inês rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: wars

(Em Português⬇️)
🌹Our friends in Berlin🌹
This reading was a very pleasant and enjoyable experience. I wanted to read about London in the 1940s and about the Blitz for some time and this was such a good book regarding that. I love the fact that I remembered the streets and underground stops of central London very well, because I was there recently and I remember these moments with great affection.
▪️
Anthony Quinn's writing is very subtle and simple, but very atmospheric! I managed to be completel ...more

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Aug 11, 2018 Annette rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Well-written with a strong atmosphere and sense of place and historical accuracy. The story idea is an intriguing one. The dialogue is good and rings true for the 1940's - or what we appreciate to be authentic from that time - but...
unfortunately, the story never took off for me and neither did the characters who I found unconvincing and not intriguing - at times they seemed almost stereotypical then opaque.

It's a slow-moving slice of life in WW2 amongst spies that owes quite a bit to the atmosp ...more

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Oct 09, 2019 Denise rated it really liked it

Shelves: read-2019

While London is suffering under the Blitz in 1941, Jack Hoste is working undercover trying to track down a dangerous Nazi agent. His search leads him to the office of Amy Strallen, a professional matchmaker about to become embroiled in dangerous spy games with potentially deadly consequences.

Compelling and atmospheric wartime spy thriller.

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Jun 10, 2018 Michelle rated it really liked it · review of another edition

I would like thank Random House for a copy of Our Friends in Berlin. This is the first book from Anthony Quinn I have read.
It’s WW11 London, London is bombarded with German air raids. Jack Hoste is one on several MI5 agents gathering information to aid Hitler’s war machine but he is also on a mission to find the most dangerous of Nazi Agents Marita. While he does this he meets Amy, who is a long-time friend on Marita. She owns a Mayfair Marriage agency. Amy leads a different life but, when she m ...more

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Aug 19, 2018 Jacki (Julia Flyte) rated it liked it · review of another edition

During WW2, Jack Hoste is based in London where he runs a circle of German sympathisers who provide him with intelligence that he can pass onto Berlin. He crosses paths with Amy Strallen, a wonderful character who runs a matchmaking agency. It seems that romance might blossom between them, but then she discovers his secret stash of German war medals.

There are a lot of twists in this story. No one - not even Amy, the most straightforward - is quite who you think they are and it certainly doesn't ...more

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May 04, 2019 Drka rated it liked it · review of another edition

I thought that the scenes describing the Blitz in 1940 were exceptional, very well written and evoking a real sense of the arbitrary and terrifying nature of aerial bombardment. The smell, the choking brick dust from collapsing buildings, the intense heat, flying shrapnel and glass shards, all of these elements were well described giving an intense sense of place to this reader. The plot is similar to Kate Atkinson's ‘ Transcriptions' which was also a 3-star read for me.
However, the real proble ...more

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Apr 08, 2018 Latkins rated it really liked it · review of another edition

I really love Anthony Quinn's novels, and this new one was a bit different but still as good as his loose trilogy of Curtain Call, Freya and Eureka. It's set among spies in London during WWII, and combines a gripping espionage thriller with a love story. Jack is a spymaster and is looking for a woman called Marita who he wants to recruit to his circle of Nazi sympathisers. His search leads him to Amy, a young woman who was once friends with Marita, and now works at a marriage agency. They are im ...more

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Jul 16, 2018 Gram rated it really liked it · review of another edition

An intriguing blend of spy thriller and love story, set in London during World War II. It also mixes historical fact with fiction. The story begins with one of the main characters, Jack Hoste, trying to recruit a Nazi sympathiser to his group of "5th Columnists" (British subjects trying to engineer a Nazi victory in their own country).
But Hoste is not what he seems. He is really working for “the Section”, part of Britain's intelligence service, aiming to prevent any of these traitors from carry An intriguing blend of spy thriller and love story, set in London during World War II. It also mixes historical fact with fiction. The story begins with one of the main characters, Jack Hoste, trying to recruit a Nazi sympathiser to his group of "5th Columnists" (British subjects trying to engineer a Nazi victory in their own country).
But Hoste is not what he seems. He is really working for “the Section”, part of Britain's intelligence service, aiming to prevent any of these traitors from carrying out acts of sabotage, or even assassination.
He is also seeking out one of the Nazi Germany's top British agents, Marita Pardoe, a former leading light in Oswald Mosley's British Union of Fascists an organisation proscribed by the British government, following the start of the Second World War. Pardoe has a close friend, Amy Strallen with whom she travelled to Germany in the 1930's and who Marita thought might be a convert to the Nazi cause. But Amy, now a partner in a Mayfair marriage bureau, wasn't keen on her friend's anti-Semitic stance. However, her continuing friendship with Pardoe leads Jack Hoste to visit the marriage bureau, on the pretence of being a potential client, to discover if Amy knows of her current whereabouts. British Intelligence is keen to ensure Marita poses no threat to their attempts to turn Nazi agents in Britain and prevent her from learning any major military secrets.
The story jumps back to the mid 1930's, detailing Amy, Jack and Marita's various personal histories before moving ahead to 1944 with the imminent Allied invasion of Europe.
With Marita still at large, Hoste and his colleagues are determined that Nazi agents shouldn't discover details of "Operation Fortitude" - the allied plan which generated detailed plans for a decoy landing at Calais to mislead German intelligence, diverting men and armaments from the true D-day target of Normandy.
This book captures the atmosphere of 1940's London both during the London Blitz and the months leading up to the Normandy landings in June 1944. I felt a mixture of emotions about all 3 main characters at different times in the story. There are some wonderful cameos for lesser members of the cast of "Our Friends In Berlin" - Hoste's Section handler Tessa Hammond and his overall boss Traherne and Amy's spirited female friend "Bobby", a member of the Women's Auxiliary Air Force.
This is definitely not your usual all action spy thriller, but rather a glimpse of real life wartime London and people who don't fit the popular image of British patriotism and the "Blitz spirit". ...more

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Jan 04, 2020 Andrew Taylor rated it liked it

A good combination for me, history and espionage. Interesting “feel” - sort of kitchen sink espionage in WW2.

Never really took off I thought and I guess in a way a lot of espionage is humdrum and unremarkable in spite of the high stakes - so maybe that is reasonable.

I couldn’t warm to the characters - maybe it was me - hence overall an average rating.

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May 27, 2020 Mary Warnement rated it really liked it

Shelves: thriller, bedside, subway, fiction, london, england

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I saw this in the Marylebone Daunt Books. No room in my bag so I decided to buy it from them online; however, it was not in their online shop. I give them credit here for letting me know about it.
This book took me to London. St. James Square. Flat in Jermyn Street. Ruseell Hotel on Russell Square. Jack Hoste's new flat in Cecil Court. Amy Strallen's flat at 25 Queen Anne Street. Marita's over a tailor shop on Lamb's Conduit Street.
This is the first I've heard of Anthony Quinn, but I will look ...more

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Aug 19, 2019 Veronica rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction

Strangely enough, this novel is based on the same true story of double agent "Jack King" and his group of British Nazi fifth-columnists as Kate Atkinson's Transcription. I bet Quinn was gutted to discover that Atkinson was working on the same thing, but actually the two authors take the story in quite different directions, and neither sticks slavishly to the truth -- they just use it as inspiration. Of course having read Atkinson's book first meant there was no mystery to me about Jack Hoste's a ...more

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Oct 24, 2019 Stephen Goldenberg rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Yet another book about the hunt for Nazi sympathisers in Britain during the war. But this one is disappointing. The main character, Jack Hoste, is based on the real life character in Robert Hammond’s book ‘Agent Jack’. If you want to read a book on this subject, I’d suggest you read ‘Agent Jack’ or Kate Atkinson’s ‘Transcriptions ‘. Anthony Quinn’s novel is strangely flat and bloodless. The portrayal of London during the Blitz is somewhat formulaic and the main characters are not very interestin ...more

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Jul 08, 2018 Laura marked it as to-read · review of another edition

TR Hangover Square
TR Freya
TR Our Friends in Berlin

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Nov 07, 2020 James rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: thriller, fiction

Many thrillers have somewhat creaky writing for which they compensate with pulse shuddering plots. Our Friends in Berlin is very well written but the plots does creak. It starts off promisingly with a man meeting various wannabe German agents in a London pub during WW II. From their the story unfolds with a languid ambiguity to include fifth columnists, spies and marriage bureau employees it never entirely makes sense but it is well done and full of history. Enjoyed it throughout.

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Sep 24, 2019 Alanna rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: thriller

A real gem of a book. Bought on a whim, so glad a did. Absolutely engrossed throughout!

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May 21, 2018 Margaret Duke-Wyer rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: reviewed, read-in-2018

A spy novel that is deceptively simple. It is WWII and Jack who works for MI5 is tasked with rooting out sympathisers to Hitler’s cause under the guise of a Gestapo agent working as an Inland Revenue inspector. In an attempt to track down Marita he approaches a young woman who was once a friend and accompanied Marita to Germany to attended one of Hitler’s rallies. He meets Amy at her place of work, a marriage bureau.

Although this is not a tense spy novel, nor a James Bond novel, this certainly ...more

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Jan 07, 2019 David Lowther rated it liked it · review of another edition

Our Friends in Berlin was the first of Anthony Quinn's novels that didn't totally blow me away. That's not to say it was bad, far from it. It was entertaining and had all of Quinn's great strengths on display; interesting and very well-drawn characters, excellent location description and sense of time and place.

The big weakness was the plot, or lack of it. There simply wasn't enough story to grip for very long. I suspect that the author knew this and this is why a fairly meaningless flashback w ...more

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Jan 23, 2021 Heidi rated it really liked it · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Very interesting book, despite my ambivalence about the last section.

The first thing about it is that it felt as if it had been written at the time – having just finished Richard Wake's "Vienna at Nightfall" which was tighter and more focused but had jarring lapses into 21st-century speak, I appreciated that I was never thrown "out of the moment." The characters also had a bit of that noir-ish remove from emotion that I associate with that genre and that time. In other words, they conveyed emot Very interesting book, despite my ambivalence about the last section.

The first thing about it is that it felt as if it had been written at the time – having just finished Richard Wake's "Vienna at Nightfall" which was tighter and more focused but had jarring lapses into 21st-century speak, I appreciated that I was never thrown "out of the moment." The characters also had a bit of that noir-ish remove from emotion that I associate with that genre and that time. In other words, they conveyed emotion but in a very subdued, under wraps way that felt authentic to the era.

I will not repeat the plot, as most of the reviewers have already done that, but I will say that it kept me engaged and wanting to read till the end.

However, there were some disappointing lapses. The main female character, Amy, seems to have a good head on her shoulders, and yet toward the end she walks into a trap that anybody with half a brain should've seen coming a mile away. She also pursues a friendship with a woman who is magnetic but so incredibly fascistic and anti-Semitic -- not to mention engaged in sedition against England -- it is hard to justify her tolerance of her. Sometimes Amy seems savvy and efficient, and other times bewilderingly naïve.

The principal male protagonist apparently has commitment issues, but we never know why, and that is a bit of a failing. Being stiff upper lip and restrained is all very well, but I feel
author Quinn could have given us a little bit more there.

There was a suggestion that somebody in the group was a double agent for Germany, but as far as I know that was never uncovered, which seems strange. If I missed something, please let me know.

At the end Amy goes on holiday to Portugal with a childhood friend, and I didn't understand the point of that section at all. She does see former friend there, but they don't actually speak, so what was the point? Various other things happen that are supposed to give us a bead on Amy's current state of mind and heart, but it was for me to interpret, let alone understand.

In some ways, the ending reminded me of literary short stories I read in college and didn't understand until we talked it over in class. That might have made the book more highbrow, but in a spy story I found it a little annoying, as I don't know if it was the fault of the writer or the reader (myself.)

But four stars because it really gave me a sense of place and time and I did find the characters curiously appealing, even when they were behaving in a way I found opaque.

...more

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Nov 10, 2018 Speesh rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: second-world-war, nazis

Yes, it is a good concept and uncovers, for me anyway, an aspect of the early and middle days of World War II, until the Allied landings in Normandy, that I hadn't really thought a whole lot about. The danger from home-based, home-bred, English/British Nazi sympathisers. And not those in the Aristocracy either. I guess it could be allowed for that there were people, as now, who thought Hitler was on the right track, but to go so far as gather intelligence and attempt to ship that intelligence ba Yes, it is a good concept and uncovers, for me anyway, an aspect of the early and middle days of World War II, until the Allied landings in Normandy, that I hadn't really thought a whole lot about. The danger from home-based, home-bred, English/British Nazi sympathisers. And not those in the Aristocracy either. I guess it could be allowed for that there were people, as now, who thought Hitler was on the right track, but to go so far as gather intelligence and attempt to ship that intelligence back to Berlin, I hadn't really considered it all that much. Yes, it is well written and plotted, but...it really should have been a lot better really. Stronger deeper characterisation, more tension, more of a feeling of dread that it could all go wrong and the war-effort on a knife-edge, especially when one of the friends from Berlin comes over. Especially that could have been handled better, made much more deadly. As it is, it all reads like a Wartime Romance novel, albeit one with a bit of an edge. I wouldn't say it was lacklustre, there is a sense of purpose, and the first half, where he plays us along - that is, if you don't read the back of book blurb - well done. Just a shame the marketing department at Penguin let him down rather and his hard, not quite revealing who is who and what strategy, is undone somewhat. He does however, I feel, get to the heart of the (excuse the pun) 'little Hitlers' that there were, who built their own self-importance up in wartime, by gathering 'intelligence,' and generally making themselves feel important to the only side that made them feel that way. The meetings in pubs, the passing of observations and the characterisations of these nobodies is the best thing in the book.

Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed reading it very much, but I really can't see how it matches up to the praise I've seen written about it and the back of book blurb up top there. You should read it if you want a well-done period piece and a window onto an aspect of WWII in Britain that I don't think there has been written too much about. But don't go expecting a tense thriller.

Blog: Speesh Reads
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Sep 23, 2018 Sandra Danby rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: world-war-two, fiction

‘Our Friends in Berlin’ by Anthony Quinn tells a story of London in World War Two seldom told. It is a spy novel but not a thriller. It focuses on the individuals concerned and has a deceptive pace which means the threats, when they come, are more startling. Jack Hoste is not who he seems to be. He is not a tax inspector; he is not looking for a wife. He is a special agent who tracks down Nazi spies. And at night he is an ARP warden.
The juxtaposition of Hoste’s life of secrets is set nicely agai ‘Our Friends in Berlin’ by Anthony Quinn tells a story of London in World War Two seldom told. It is a spy novel but not a thriller. It focuses on the individuals concerned and has a deceptive pace which means the threats, when they come, are more startling. Jack Hoste is not who he seems to be. He is not a tax inspector; he is not looking for a wife. He is a special agent who tracks down Nazi spies. And at night he is an ARP warden.
The juxtaposition of Hoste’s life of secrets is set nicely against that of Amy Strallen who works at the Quartermaine Marriage Bureau. Ordinary life does go on in London during the Luftwaffe bombing and Amy must match clients together, a matter of instinct rather than calculation. In order to be matched with the right person, clients are asked to tell the truth about what they are seeking, truths which may have been disguised or hidden until now. Client requests include ‘a lady with capital preferred’ and ‘not American’. Then one day she meets a new client who seems oddly reluctant to explain what he is looking for. The client is Jack Hoste and he doesn’t want a wife, he is searching for Marita Pardoe, a suspected Nazi sympathiser and friend of Amy in the Thirties. What unfolds is a story of spying, gentle romance, betrayal, fanaticism and the life of living in a bombed city.
Jack and Amy seem to run on parallel tracks, veering towards and then away from each other, both romantically unsure, both allow the real world to get in the way. And get in the way it does, in the shape of Marita. Quinn is excellent at building characters, he makes you care for them and that’s what keeps you reading. In a time of war, decisions are often made recklessly but Jack and Amy draw back from doing this. Both are people of honour, making the secrets they must keep and the lies they must tell all the more pertinent. The nature of truth is a theme wriggling its way through every page.
Anthony Quinn is a favourite author of mine, his novels are each quite different and I will read everything he writes. I read this one quickly.
Read more of my book reviews at http://www.sandradanby.com/book-revie... ...more

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Jun 07, 2020 Rob Kitchin rated it really liked it · review of another edition

London, 1941. The city is being blitzed nightly, Germany is still in the ascendancy, and some in Britain would like to see them win, or sue for peace. Working for British intelligence, Jack Hoste poses as a Gestapo agent, pulling German sympathizers into his web. Marita Pardoe, wife of an interned fascist politician, and considered the most dangerous agent in Britain remains hidden, however. He turns to Amy Strallen, a friend of Marita’s from before the war to try and make contact. Strallen is c ...more

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