A multifaceted psychological thriller, I Spy is littered with intrigue and suspense.
Holly failed her interview to be a spy and is now living a secret life away from all her friends and her ex. Suddenly her life is jolted when she meets a woman and her daughter. The daughter looks like her ex and has his medical condition. Holly then finds herself back under the watch of MI5 who expect her to cooperate. Can she figure everything out and save herself and those precious to her?
This had such clever plot but it did lose pace a bit in the middle. The story splits from present time to the past in a way that was easy to follow but didn’t hold attention as much as I'd prefer. There were some clever twists to the story and a very surprising ending.

What an amazing book! Really good description of characters and a good storyline. Highly recommended. Kept me guessing.

Holly failed her interview to be a spy and is now living a secret life away from all her friends and her ex. Suddenly her new life is thrown into jeopardy when she meets a young woman and her daughter. The daughter is the spit of her ex and has his medical condition. Suddenly Holly is thrown back into her old life and back under the watch of the MI5. Can she figure everything out and save herself?

This had such a good premise but it wasn't as good as I'd hoped. It dragged a bit in the middle. The story splits from present time to the past. It was easy to follow but just didn't grab me as much as I'd hoped. The plot was clever but theres a lot going on. I found myself losing interest in some bits to do with Jane. There were some clever twists to the story and at times it was heartbreakingly raw. The ending was not what I wanted but was exactly how the book needed to end for the story. An interesting thriller.

I Spy by Claire Kendal is a huge 5 star read.
I loved this book it kept me on the edge of my seat, I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough.
I voluntarily reviewed an advanced copy of this book through Netgalley.

Another great read by Claire. I thought it was going to go down a path that would lose me bit it was brought back so I could follow easily. Phew! Great storyline that was enjoyable and believable. The world of spying and whistleblowing came into it which made the story exciting.

I think people shouldn't surpass Claire Kendal books and give her books a go.

I read this book in one sitting, but mainly because I was sure I’d struggle to keep the timelines straight if I put it down.

I enjoyed this book but I really felt that there were just too many characters we were supposed to invest in. I’m still not entirely sure of the purpose of some of them. The split time perspective was pretty confusing and I’m not sure it worked effectively in this book.

Some of the descriptive passages were emotionally difficult to read and it could be triggering for those who’ve experienced abusive relationships.

All of that said, I enjoyed reading this book and felt it was well written and gripping. Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for my copy of this book.

I was looking forward to reading this book, having read some very good reviews of it, but it did not quite work for me. One problem for me was the main protagonist and narrator, Holly/Helen. I could not warm to her at all. I definitely had sympathy for her in relation to her controlling boyfriend Zac (a thoroughly dislikeable man), but that is as far as it went. The portrayal of the slow drip, drip of increasing control and cutting Holly off from her friends was very realistic and chilling. Unfortunately, I found much of the rest of the book rather implausible.
The split timeline ended up just annoying me. In this book, I did not feel that it added anything, and the story could have been told at least as effectively in a linear fashion.
There are plenty of twists and turns in the book, and a fair amount of suspense, but I got to a point that I did not really care how things worked out, I just wanted to get to the end of the book.
My objections to the book are very personal, and from the other reviews I have read, are unique to me. It may just be the place I am in at the moment. So, my advice would be to give the book a go, and hopefully you will agree with the other reviewers.

Unpredictable, unputdownable and unbelievably good!

Holly has always wanted to be a spy, for as long as she can remember she has aspired to work for MI5 but life doesn’t always go as planned. After a failed interview she packs up her dreams and moves on with her life. Married in an abusive relationship, life isn’t great, but things are about to go from bad to worse. She comes head to head with her past forcing her to run away from everyone and everything, even changing her name.

Holly becomes Helen and a chance meeting of a mother and daughter, Eliza and Alice in the hospital where she works turns her new life upside-down and the wannabe spy becomes the one that is being spied upon.

This is quite a difficult book to review without dropping any spoilers and I would hate to give anything away, you need to go jump into this book with nothing but the blurb and some recommendations and you won’t be disappointed!

It’s not so much as a spy novel it is more of a domestic noir, psychological thriller that touches on some delicate topics that are handled delicately and with compassion. The story is told on a dual timeline, switching between past and present with a full cast of characters, some relatable, some that make you care and one that is a complete asshole! Packed to the brim with suspense, it grabs you from the start and doesn’t let go until the bitter end. The ending isn’t a definitive ending, leaving some loose threads that keep your imagination firing on full cylinders, who can she trust and how far will she have to go to survive?

I Spy will be published on 01 August 2019 and is available to preorder now and you can find out for yourself!

A big thank you to the author Claire Kendal, publishers Harper Collins UK and NetGalley for my copy of this book in exchange for an honest and independent review.

This book took me a while to get into but then I was hooked.
The chapters are a bit erratic if you look at the date/year but if you just get in your mind it’s kind of a before and after the event, it’ll help.
Holly has moved on with her life, or so she thinks, and then the past creeps up on her.
This is a hard one to review as even talking about her life before it happens could spoil it for you.
I can say this is an engrossing book that definitely keeps your attention, and is one of those books that has you trying to work out what’s going to happen next.
Thanks to Harper Collins and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.

When we first meet Holly she has just failed her interview to be a spy. Devastated, she picks herself up and gets on with her life. Fast forward several years and Holly is in hiding, living under an assumed name. She's ticking over nicely, mostly, until a random encounter with a young mother and her daughter in the hospital where she works sets off a warning in her head. Has her past come back to bite her? Along with this worry comes the feeling that she is being watched, the wannabe "spy" is being spied upon! But she's been in this situation before and knows the game. How far is she willing to go, both to get to the truth, or to survive?
Well, this book ticked on nicely for the majority. And then we came to the run up to the ending where it all went a bit, well, busy and incredible, and went a little bit off track for me. I'm not sure that the book tried a little to hard to be clever but that some of the key points got a bit lost in all the noise so it didn't quite come off. I also failed to connect properly with Holly which made it all a bit hard to sympathise/empathise with her along the way. That said, it didn't really drag, just let itself down a bit at the end.
Pacing was also a bit hit and miss and often not congruent with the current narrative. But, that said, there was no superfluous waffle and the story did get on with itself, on the whole, nicely.
All in all, a solid enough read that left me mostly satisfied at the end, albeit a bit perplexed. My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

Holly Lawrence's ambition was to become a spy. But her experience proved to be more dangerous than she imagined. Now she has to live hiding away, under an assumed name. She can't trust anyone. But now her life is beginning to unravel. This time someone is spying on Holly. But how far is she willing to go to survive?

I liked the authors style in writing this book, even though it is a bit complex. She dealt with abuse, coercive relationships and baby loss with sensitivity. The characters are well rounded and the story is told from Hollys point of view. A well constructed plot that has many twists. This is far from a predictable read and it held my interest throughout.

I would like to thank NetGalley, HarperCollins UK, HarperFiction and the author ClIre Kendal for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.

It took me a little while to get accustomed to the jumps in the timeline but once I did I felt that worked well in revealing the story. Holly was a likeable character and I was really hoping for a good outcome for her. I found the last quarter didn’t hold my attention in the same way as the rest with an element of the storyline that was just a bit ‘out there’ for me. Overall it’s a good read and I would be interested in reading other work by this author.

I Spy is the first book written by Claire Kendal that I have read and unfortunately I found it a disappointment.

The story was slow and boring which together with the jumping about of timelines made it confusing and I did not engage with the main character.

Not recommended

Despite the dual time lines I found this to be an intriguing story. A little confusing at the beginning but I was totally hooked by the end.

I Spy By Claire Kendal.
Holly Laurence wanted to become a spy, but it turns out to be quite dangerous and Holly goes into hiding under a new name.
Holly then encounters a mum with a 2 year old girl who reminds her of the past.
The book is set in two parts, the past and the present. I did find it confusing for quite a while as you dont know the story in either part. It does slowly come together and it does all slot together as you keep reading.

I Spy is an interesting read. Set in the present day with flashbacks to the past, Holly has settled into her new life, when an encounter with a toddler throws her life into disarray. I found this quite complicated to read, and during the middle felt a little lost. There are lots of things going on in this novels and at times it’s hard to kept track of. However the premise is interesting with a strong female lead.

This was unputdownable, unfortunately I had to go to to work, only took me 2 evenings to read.
Don't want to give too many spoilers away, but tells the story of a woman who always wants to be a spy and then ends up spying on her boyfriend albeit not being employed by MI5. Loads of twists and turns in this novel including a Snowden like scenario... Baby swaps and murder. Just shows what can happen with secrets and lies. Be good to find out what happened after, did they get married, did they find Fredrick? It could definitely be adapted for a film.
If you love thrillers you will love this book.... More like this please.
Thank you net galley for giving me the pleasure of reading this book and to Claire for writing this amazing book.

I Spy by Claire Kendal 🖤
Thanks @netgalley @clairekendalnovelist and @harpercollinsuk for my ARC
Publication date 1st August 2019
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I was so excited to receive this ARC as I am a huge Claire Kendal, particularly The Book of You, which is one of my all time favourites. I Spy is equally as good, if not better
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Firstly, I have to admit I wasn’t sure of the story after reading the description. There is mentions of MI5 and spies. Which is not really my thing. However, this book is so much more than that. There are various stories intertwined, yes some involving MI5 but some domestic noir, some murders and many twists and thrills. An absolutely amazing and clever story from one of the best authors out there. I really struggled to put this down. Highly recommended xxP

A moving and thrilling story of loss mixed in with a modern day spy detective novel.
Full of twists and totally unguessable ending. I was pulled into this book.

I’m slightly on the fence with I Spy. Having loved Claire Kendal’s precious book I was expecting great things. The synopsis was great - psychological thrillers are one of my favourite genre and I enjoyed how it was set between the past and present day. Each chapter was clearly labelled so you knew where you were in the timescale. However I just found the book too slow and too long. I’m sure others will love it but for me it was a bit lacklustre.

Thank you to NetGalley, HatpernCollins UK and the author for the chance to review.