The Alice Network

I think what I found most fascinating about The Alice Network was that it seamlessly blends stories about World War I and World War II. The story is told in two different timelines, from two different character's points-of-view.

Eve's story is told mostly about her experience as a female spy in occupied France during World War I. Charlie's story takes place shortly after the end of World War II. Charlie is a young, unwed, pregnant woman in Europe with her mother so she can get an abortion, something which is illegal in the United States at that time. She decides almost on a whim to search for her French cousin, Rose, who went missing towards the end of World War II. After fighting with her mother, she heads off to London in search of a woman who might have some connection to Rose. That woman is Eve. Most of the Charlie chapters are about Charlie, Eve, and Eve's Scottish driver, Finn, driving around France looking for any clues about where Rose might be.

As I was reading, I realized that most of the novel was based on historical events, but it wasn't until I was done reading the story and was reading the notes afterwards that I realized how much of the story was very closely based to actual events. The Alice Network is a book that pulled me right in and kept me interested until the end. I look forward to my book club discussion this afternoon.