Play Book Tag discussion

Miss Graham’s Cold War Cookbook – Celia Rees
Digital audiobook narrated by Stephanie Racine
3.5***

Edith Graham is a young single woman in search of purpose. It’s just after World War II and she applies for a job with the Control Commission in Germany, but she is quickly recruited to be a spy. Her quiet personality and the ease with which she blends into the background makes her an ideal candidate when coupled with her facility with the language. More importantly, she knew Count Kurt von Stavenow when he was a student in Britain. Now a war criminal, he has gone into hiding, and her job is to find him. Her cover story is that of a schoolteacher who likes to collect recipes – recipes she uses to send coded messages to her handlers in London.

This was an interesting twist on the typical WW2 story, taking place after the war. It is a spy novel at its heart, so there are twists and turns in the plot, betrayals and double (even triple) crosses. Rees does NOT use the ubiquitous dual timeline and I really appreciate the break from that device. However, she does bookend the central story with the first and last chapters taking place in 1989. I liked the central premise and enjoyed reading the recipes that Edith uses to convey information, though I never did crack that code!

The audiobook is narrated by Stephanie Racine, who does a marvelous job. She sets a good pace and I like the way she interprets the different nationalities.


LINK to my review