Retro Reading

Assignment in Brittany by Helen MacInnes
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This WWII spy thriller was published in 1941, and it's tremendously realistic. I was biting my nails the whole way through, afraid Hearne would be recognized as an imposter--and then that he wouldn't be. It's twisty, well-written, and vividly immersed me in the uncertainty and fears of the war in a way that later authors seldom can do so effectively.
I class it as a retro read, but it felt contemporary because it lacks the die-away heroine that too often infects a book of this vintage. Most of the female characters were driven, courageous, and compelling.
Fans of Mary Stewart's novels will enjoy this one. It's darker, but, as in Stewart's novels, the suspense is excruciating!

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