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I received an advanced copy (my first!) and I have to say I was really surprised how much I enjoyed this novel. It's about a young, 20-something, Vera Kelly, who is in Argentina for work...as a newly recruited CIA agent during the 1960-70s. The chapters are short (which I LOVED) and the author takes us back and forth between 2 specific time periods: Vera's troubled and difficult past as an older teen living in NY in the 1950-60's, and her life as a young and new CIA agent in Argentina in the 196
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Readers seeking a page-turning 1960s spy thriller are advised to look elsewhere -- despite various breathless blurbs, that's not at all what this is. Rather, it's a character study of a young woman from from her teens through her mid-20s, from the late 1950s through the late 60s. In the first part of the book, the chapters alternate between her teen years just outside Washington, DC and at a youth detention center in Baltimore, and her new assignment in 1966 Buenos Aries, working for the CIA. Th
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I liked this well enough to keep reading the series, but I was not instantly sold. The premise allows for a *lot* more critical insight into the CIA's operations in Latin America during the Cold War (this was mainly limited to a "KGB Bad" storyline here, but I'm hoping for more in the next book). And there were what felt like some weird small (and petty) inaccuracies about Argentina, which I am putting down to "things were different in the 60s." We'll see.
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Apr 23, 2019
Tanya
rated it
really liked it
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review of another edition
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2019
Very character-driven and so the beginning seems slow, but this spy thriller made an impact on me and I was curious to know the protagonist better. Not even sure why I picked this one out to listen to, but I am glad I did. I think it might be better to read though as it really is quick overall and it will help firmly establish the two time frames described in the book. I learned more about the Argentine Revolution of the 1960s as well.

I thought this book had a lot of unfulfilled promise. It was well written and had an interesting premise but, in the end, I just didn't care that much.
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Jun 05, 2018
Brenda
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Ann
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May 10, 2020
Keeley
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Jun 16, 2020
Steph S
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Jun 21, 2020
Amy W
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Jul 17, 2022
Curlysue
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May 09, 2023
Stacey
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