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saareman 's review for:
Our Woman in Moscow
by Beatriz Williams
Romantic Drama with Not Much Espionage
Review of the HarperAudio audiobook edition, released simultaneously with the William Morrow hardcover (June 1, 2021)
This is more family and romantic drama than it is about espionage. Sure there are spies and counterspies, but it is mostly about their family relationships than espionage tradecraft and any specific mission. There is a large cameo appearance by real-life traitor Guy Burgess and in the author's Afterword, you read that the book was inspired by the true story of Kim Philby, Burgess and the rest of the Cambridge Five. The book doesn't get very dramatic until the 11th hour, but then the ending is very simplified and rather unbelievable.
Although Our Woman in Moscow is not tagged as being part of the Schuyler family saga, it turns out that the McAllister sisters are actually from a branch of that family and that the Aunt Vivian who makes cameo appearances here had a larger role in the previous books.
Schuyler Family Tree, including Ruth and Iris McAllister in the McAllister branch to the bottom left. Image sourced from the author's website at Frequently Asked Questions.
MAJOR SPOILER
I listened to Our Woman in Moscow from the Audible Daily Deal from November 21, 2021.
Trivia and Link
There is a Reading Group Kit for Our Woman in Moscow at the author's website here (Opens as a pdf file).
Review of the HarperAudio audiobook edition, released simultaneously with the William Morrow hardcover (June 1, 2021)
This is more family and romantic drama than it is about espionage. Sure there are spies and counterspies, but it is mostly about their family relationships than espionage tradecraft and any specific mission. There is a large cameo appearance by real-life traitor Guy Burgess and in the author's Afterword, you read that the book was inspired by the true story of Kim Philby, Burgess and the rest of the Cambridge Five. The book doesn't get very dramatic until the 11th hour, but then the ending is very simplified and rather unbelievable.
Although Our Woman in Moscow is not tagged as being part of the Schuyler family saga, it turns out that the McAllister sisters are actually from a branch of that family and that the Aunt Vivian who makes cameo appearances here had a larger role in the previous books.
Schuyler Family Tree, including Ruth and Iris McAllister in the McAllister branch to the bottom left. Image sourced from the author's website at Frequently Asked Questions.
MAJOR SPOILER
Spoiler
When the title itself is a spoiler, you don't know how to react. I kept thinking that they (I'm including the author, editor, publisher here collectively) wouldn't be that open about it, so there must be a twist that I don't see that is coming. I guess they couldn't resist making a nod to Graham Greene's [b:Our Man in Havana|133394|Our Man in Havana|Graham Greene|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1327926887l/133394._SY75_.jpg|1912267], or they thought that not that many people would get the reference.I listened to Our Woman in Moscow from the Audible Daily Deal from November 21, 2021.
Trivia and Link
There is a Reading Group Kit for Our Woman in Moscow at the author's website here (Opens as a pdf file).