Helen MacInnesRecensioni

Great

Great

Great

Good

Good

A bit of a history lesson on WWII from one point of view. Sometimes drags in the detailing.

This particular story of MacInnes' has a depth and plausibility that doesn't bog down compared to some of her other novels (that I've read). Set in post-WW II Greece, and after the civil war, it is full of suspense with several possible traitors to confuse the main protagonists encountering the remnants of various factions still in hiding or trying to influence the new government. Much historical fact is brought forward without derailing the adventure. The characters are largely very well developed and the mild romance doesn't dominate the action.

Helen MacInnes is a Queen in the pantheon of espionage adventure novels with the likes of Desmond Bagley, Alistair MacLean, Hammond Innes, Nevil Shute. Her writing predates the other classical spy stories by Ian Fleming, John Le Carré and Len Deighton, so may strike some readers as very dated.½

The summer of 1939. Richard Myles, Oxford don, and his wife Frances receive a visit from Peter Galt. Peter, a friend that works in the Foreign Office, has returned from Bucharest and needs to lie low. He has a special request for them to determine if a fellow compatriot is present at his assigned location. Richard’s infallible memory is crucial to their success. Unlike a solo agent, the couple’s typical summer vacation gives them a natural and effective cover. They begin in Paris, and each subsequent connection will provide them with the following location.

"If you find your man, then wire, 'Arriving Monday', or 'Tuesday', or whatever day you actually saw him. If you don’t find him, wire ‘Cancel reservations'."

My high school librarian introduced me to the espionage novels by Helen MacInnes, nicknamed Queen of Suspense, in high school. However, I knew I had never read this title from the description. I was fascinated that the book was the author’s first novel, published in 1941. It is essential to realize that this mission is in the period before technology conveniences of cell phones, internet connections on portable devices, and social media, instead using their intelligence with creative spontaneity if any part of a plan goes awry as commitment is independent with no option for resources and permits no failure.

The well-written story builds page-turning drama and suspense. The descriptive writing immerses the reader in the period and setting, from the pleasures of a walk on a summer day to the twist of on the fly planning an escape route.

Irina cruza la frontera a través de la alambrada que separa Checoslovaquia de Austria. Acaba de divorciarse, dejando a su ex marido que es oficial de la policía política checoslovaca y proyecta unirse a su padre, escritor mundialmente famoso, que ha encontrado su refugio secreto en algún lugar de Occidente. Pero mientras sus primeros amigos la ayudan a llegar a un destino desconocido, la muerte golpea, y la sospecha se convierte en su constante compañera: ¿Acaso ella misma es una carnada para encontrar el rastro de su padre, o es un simple peón en un juego de mayores intereses?

The novel is set in Poland in August 1939 just before the Germans invaded. People are enjoying the last days of summer as the tension builds. Many don't think the threat is real but others with inside knowledge know there is danger. All this is narrated through the eyes of Sheila Mathews, a young English woman who has come to Poland to visit her elderly aunt. She is so taken with Poland and her aunt that she extends her stay until it is tool late. Then she falls in love with a Polish army officer, becomes involved with the Gestapo, masquerades as a German woman and eventually flees across Poland just steps ahead of the pursuing Gestapo while participating in guerrilla warfare.

The narrative does give a great description of life in occupied Poland. The book was published in 1944 so does not have the advantage of hindsight so some assumptions expressed by the characters did not come about as hoped. Interestingly, there is mention of Jews and the Holocaust or the Warsaw Ghetto.

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Old time spy drama from the cold war, with Nazis and Commies and US and British spies all converging on a tiny lake in Austria that holds a box.

Brought back some old memories from the 60s and 70s. Including my trip in 1970 still with spies running around Europe. And everywhere else I suppose.

I like the concepts of Helen MacInnes’s thrillers, but I often find they take me longer to read than I think they should given their length. This one has a good setting (mostly the French Riviera) and some cunning cat and mouse that kept me guessing. I also liked that Tom Kelso’s wife, Dorothea, played slightly more than a minor role in the story. This is probably my second-favourite MacInnes so far; my favourite is Assignment in Brittany.

A NATO document is compromised and turns up in the possession of the KGB. NATO agents attempt to trace the spies while also protecting a Soviet source who is now in their sphere. Or is this source really on their side? The story moves between New York City and the French Riviera.

There’s a lot of convoluted plotting and unnecessary detail that bogs down the plot. The book was published in 1976 but the writing style dates back to the 1950s. And there are at least two typos in this edition.

A good old school mystery! A little suspension of disbelief is required, but otherwise, it's a good solid read with engaging characters, a compelling plot and nice pacing.

I enjoyed this book not only because it was a fun read, but also because it was written in 1952. I loved going back to a time when computers were not even known and the latest office technology was a typewriter. I got a real feel for what life was like back in 1952 (at least for middle-class society living in New York), a time when WWII was still fresh in the mind of the author and in the characters, a time when an appendicitis was a life and death situation.

Excellent espionage theme with a well-developed plot and engaging character development. While the primary murder was not unexpected, the path to coping with the fallout seemed unnecessarily bogged down at times and side-tracked. The rant against communism on University campuses was a dated retrospective which was less based in actual fact and detracted from moving the story forward. Overall, a highly recommended novel if you enjoy the vintage adventures of the 1960's and 70's.

This title originally was titled The Unconquerable (I think in the British market). A vintage tale which was one of those narratives that had me going on and on in my head, "Fer crying out loud, you dumb woman, get out of Poland right now".
Sheila is British and winds up being co-opted into being a double agent. That led to a very implausible situation because at no moment was there any indication that she's trained in spy craft, that she thinks quickly and assertively, ot that she has the foggiest notion of the political situation. A rather dimly-conceived story, which I wouldn't expect from this author.

My memory of this tale (caveat: having read it some 40 years ago) was that the story was exciting and featured such a courageous heroine. Well, not. How time and distance lends a different interpretation to stories like this! Other thriller-espionage books by MacInnes are better crafted. I awarded 3-stars because other than the major implausibility niggle, it was a good espionage-chase-and-escape story for those who like that untrammelled adventure.

I'm a glutton for vintage stories written about espionage, cold war era shenanigans and political machinations. As written elsewhere, Helen MacInnes certainly belongs to the pantheon of spy novelists, and deserves a place alongside novelists such as LeCarre, Ambler, early-Ken Follet, Freemantle and Deighton. I've read many of MacInnes' oeuvre and this is one of the cold-war settings that I've enjoyed the most. In my view her more human approach in her writing has aged well unlike Len Deighton's and some of Brian Freemantle's.

MacInnes' novels feel really well-pulled together and she's an expert at building suspense without the story feeling contrived. Admirably, the narrative in this book doesn't feel dated, even though, historically, it is set in bygone times. While I had a few niggles (Jo Corelli seemed poorly-described as to her inclusion in the group and David's participation was overly reliant on a very long ago military career and friendship with Irina), the plot was captivating and had a few not-so-surprising developments that didn't detract from the story as a whole.

1960s Austrians, Americans, British, Communists, all trying to get the secret Nazi strongbox hidden in an alpine lake....

Helen has been a favorite author since the late 70’s for me for escapism. The Cold War in Prague, Rome, and DC are sites for this cloak and dagger suspense, along with a dated romance.

Sam Levitt is back, now working with Francis Reboul instead of against him. Recruited to present a construction project that, for various reasons requires a salesman with charm who cannot be Reboul, Sam is the man for the job. Added to the mix, his on-again girlfriend, Elena, goes with him. Once in Marseille Sam meets the competition, in the form of Lord Whopping, who will stop at nothing to get the job. Hi-jinks ensue! A fun, quick read, but be warned, read on a full stomach or else the descriptions of the food will cause some serious overeating!

Una súbita muerte en la soleada España

Gorgeous but old-fashioned. Lovely 50s values; reminiscent of Eric Ambler (plus frocks ...)

Classic, set between the wars.

A fairly ordinary upright fellow gets caught in nasty covert situation, except there's no silly mistaken identity or misplaced message. The latter half of chapter 8 is a virulent anti-communist activist rant base on the assumption that there was an effective communist infiltration of the 60s campus activists who were going to spread the corruption making inevitable the suppression of US values. Not quite how it worked out, now was it? I was, like, there and Macinnes wasn't.½