I have enjoyed previous novels by Anthony Quinn and was delighted to receive his latest for review, which begins in London, during the Blitz. It is 1941 and Jack Hoste is working undercover, doing his utmost to discover Nazi spies and sympathisers. In particular, he is searching for Marita Pardoe, a friend of Amy Strallen; who works at the, ‘Mayfair Marriage Bureau.’ Desperate to uncover Pardoe’s whereabouts, Hoste makes contact with Amy, in the hopes she will lead him to her.

This is an excellent wartime, spy story, with a good sense of place and time. Wartime London is evocative and the setting realistic. Hoste is juggling many agents, but his undercover identity is always in danger of exposure. Meanwhile, Amy is an innocent, unwittingly caught up in a dangerous situation. Always slightly wary of her intelligent, sharp friend, Marita, she was flattered by her attention and unwilling to challenge her. However, when Marita gets back in touch, it sets in motion a chain of events that will not only put her in personal danger, but could change the course of the war.

I liked the characters in this novel and the setting. Amy is a wonderful creation – conflicted, vulnerable and realistic. Hoste (which is not his real name) is also believable and I enjoyed reading about the way he was recruited. I am not convinced that Amy would have been quite as well informed of events as she was – especially in wartime – but I was happy enough to ignore the few question marks over the plot and enjoy the story. Another great read from a very talented author. I received a copy of this book from the publisher, via NetGalley, for review.

This is a wonderful historical espionage thriller set in WW2 in London. London is experiencing blackouts and suffering under the heavy bombing that is taking its toll on the people and buildings. Jack Hoste (not his real name) is working undercover for the security services as a Gestapo agent supposedly for our friends in Berlin. He has collected a group of individuals, all Nazi sympathisers, who provide intelligence to Jack under the assumption they are aiding the German war effort. Jack is trying to locate the most dangerous spy, Marita Pardoe, to co-opt her into the group, thereby keeping her under surveillance. She supported Oswald Mosley and the British Union of Fascists, and her husband is in an internment camp. Marita proves to be elusive and the only lead Jack has is she was close friends with Amy Strallen.

Amy is a partner in a Marriage Bureau, putting together men and women on their books who are looking to get married. Whilst it might be expected that the war would adversely affect business, in reality it has provided a boost, as people feel increasingly insecure when it comes to the future. Jack poses as a tax inspector trying to ensure that the Pardoes get their tax rebate owed to them to get Amy to help him locate Marita. A relationship begins to develop between Amy and Jack, but with Jack working covertly and harbouring secrets, many obstacles lie in their path. After being tested by Marita, Jack manages to incorporate Marita in his group, but she is not an easy person to keep a handle on. She has strong ideas of her own as to what she thinks should be happening, including political assassinations to undermine the British war effort and morale. Amy finds herself drawn into the dark world of espionage and all the dangers it poses at a critical time in British history.

Anthony Quinn draws on true events in the writing of this novel set under such dangerous and turbulent times, where the stakes are so high they could influence the direction of the war. Quinn's real skill is in his characterisation, particularly that of Jack, Amy and Marita. War time intrigue is mirrored in the personal intrigues of the relationships between these characters. Quinn provides us with the fascinating backstories of each of the characters, such as Jack's true identity when he was operating as a bank clerk prior to him being taken on by MI5, he takes to his new role as a duck to water. An entertaining and compelling read that I recommend to those interested in this period of history. Many thanks to Random House Vintage for an ARC.

This novel takes us back to war-torn/black-out London but instead of dwelling on all the grim death and horror shows us the flipside. We meet Amy Strallen who, with a friend, runs a "marriage bureau" where business, thanks to the war, is brisk. Into her office one day comes Hoste, seemingly seeking a partner but the real purpose proves to be much more mysterious. Amy, through a friend, discovers he is a Nazi sympathiser, who spends a great deal of time recruiting spies to provide him with information that he then passes back to Germany. However much she tries to avoid being involved with him fate is determined to throw them together.
Their relationship is never straightforward but Amy is inexorably drawn into his web. Quinn has given us here an intriguing novel that consistently has us, like Amy, leaping to wrong conclusions. As for the ending ......….Wow!

A really good enjoyable spy thriller. Set in the Second World War there are a lot of twists. Brilliantly written and obviously very well researched this is a page turner. I was gripped from the start and read this book in one sitting.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy.

I would like thank Random House for a copy of Our Friends in Berlin. This is the first book from Anthony Quinn I have read.
It’s WW11 London, London is bombarded with German air raids. Jack Hoste is one on several MI5 agents gathering information to aid Hitler’s war machine but he is also on a mission to find the most dangerous of Nazi Agents Marita. While he does this he meets Amy, who is a long-time friend on Marita. She owns a Mayfair Marriage agency. Amy leads a different life but, when she meets Jack her life completely changes.
I don’t usually read spy thrillers because I find the context too intense and boring. I requested this as I love stories during the war. But, I found this really enjoyable and an easy read and I just wanted to keep reading to find out more especially what happened to Amy. The author has convinced me to find out more about this particular genre.

I loved Anthony Quinn's 'Curtain Call’ so when I saw ‘Our Friends in Berlin’ up for grabs I took no persuading!

It's 1941 and London is suffering from the German bombardment that became known as The Blitz. Amid the bombed out buildings and the blackout, there lurks even more danger in the form of Nazi sympathisers, collecting intel that will aid Hitler's war machine.


Jack Hoste, (former bank clerk) is tasked with the job of discovering the most dangerous of these agents, and naturally this puts him in extreme danger.

Dragged unwittingly into the espionage and intrigue is Amy Strallen, co founder of the Mayfair 'marriage bureau'. Unbeknown to Amy, one of her close friends is thought to be the elusive Nazi sympathiser that Jack Hoste is tasked with finding.

'Our Friends in Berlin’ was inspired by true events, and captures the claustrophobic atmosphere of wartime Britain, together with it's quota of secrets, lies and intrigue necessary to maintain a certain amount of tension. Quinn's strongly portrayed characters though, are what made this an enjoyable read for me, rather than the storyline itself. That said, I have to say there were a good few twists throughout, not least at the end!

* Thank you to Netgalley, and Random House UK, Vintage Publishing for my ARC in exchange for an honest review *

The story recalls the years during WWII of the blitz on London and the fear of invasion. Being concerned that a threatened Nazi invasion could be facilitated by a 5th column of British Nazi sympathisers, MI5 was charged with infiltrating their ranks to monitor the activities. The agent charged with the job had to locate a dangerous female sympathiser. He found Amy a young woman with a marriage bureau who knew her. The story is of her involvement with MI5. A tale of friendship, blossoming love, treachery and betrayal, courage and self sacrifice exercised in the protection of the realm is told. She survives the war and enjoys the peace with a foreboding of the threat of soviet mole in the ranks of MI5 and of unfinished things yet to come.

This is gripping. The wartime story dealing with Nazi agents in London and the attempts to track them down is intricate and welcomly different from the normal war tales. The plot has many unexpected twists not least at the end. It is very well written and holds the reader's attention page by page. There are moments of humour too particularly around the fledgling marriage bureau. This book will not disappoint you.

Well written, atmospheric, full of suspense, authentic and a delight to read.

This is an excellent World War Two spy thriller with a number of twists al the way through. Written by someone who has obviously done his research about the horrors of London in the Blitz.

I hope to read more by this author if they are as excellent as this one.

A spy novel that is deceptively simple. It is WWII and Jack who works for MI5 is tasked with rooting out sympathisers to Hitler’s cause under the guise of a Gestapo agent working as an Inland Revenue inspector. In an attempt to track down Marita he approaches a young woman who was once a friend and accompanied Marita to Germany to attended one of Hitler’s rallies. He meets Amy at her place of work, a marriage bureau.

Although this is not a tense spy novel, nor a James Bond novel, this certainly has charm. It flows quite gently which beguiled me into taking it less seriously. Well worth reading, if only for the surprise towards the end. The characters are intriguing, not least Marita but I was entranced by Jack and Amy.

Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for providing an ARC via my Kindle in return for an honest review.

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By coincidence, this is the second novel I've read in a few weeks which has been interested in Nazi sympathisers and the British Union of Fascists during WW2. In places this feels a bit like [book:The Heat Of The Day|1280767], but a less literary version and one which tries to pull off a couple of twists.

Jack Hoste and Amy are attractive protagonists, though there are places where we have to accept MI5 being extremely open with the information they share with a civilian. There's also a lessening of tension due to the large gaps in chronology between sections as we jump from 1941 to 1935, then 1944 and 1948.

Despite that, this is an engaging read, the first section feeling especially well done. And the sexual ambiguity of Amy <spoiler> who ends up being given a ring by one of the female friends with whom she has the closest relationships</spoiler> leaves a haunting sense of intrigue at the end.

Thanks to Random House for an ARC via NetGalley.
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Our Friends in Berlin (Hardcover) (isbn 1787330974)
Published July 12th 2018 by Jonathan Cape
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Roman Clodia
Apr 05, 2018 Roman Clodia
By coincidence, this is the second novel I've read in a few weeks which has been interested in Nazi sympathisers and the British Union of Fascists during WW2. In places this feels a bit like The Heat Of The Day, but a less literary version and one which tries to pull off a couple of twists.

Jack Hoste and Amy are attractive protagonists, though there are places where we have to accept MI5 being extremely open with the information they share with a civilian. There's also a lessening of tension due to the large gaps in chronology between sections as we jump from 1941 to 1935, then 1944 and 1948.

Despite that, this is an engaging read, the first section feeling especially well done. And the sexual ambiguity of Amy (view spoiler) leaves a haunting sense of intrigue at the end.

Thanks to Random House for an ARC via NetGalley.