Books & Literature

Book Review: The Traitor’s Girl, by Christine Wells

After receiving a desperate phone call from her long-lost grandmother, a woman flies to England to visit her in the Cotswolds only to find she’s gone missing.

The Traitor’s Girl is set in the dual timelines and locations of 1990s Australia and 1940s Britain. It is the second novel from Australian author, Christine Wells.

After receiving a desperate phone call from her long-lost grandmother, twenty-five-year-old Annabel Logan flies to England to visit her in the Cotswolds. When she arrives at stunning Beechwood Hall, her grandmother Carrie isn’t there. With signs of a break-in and vandalism, the local villagers have no idea where the reclusive Caroline Banks might be, or if she’s met with foul play and Annabel is scared.

The one person who might know something is the handsome and mysterious Simon Colepeper, a journalist who has befriended Carrie to write a book about her time as a WWII secret agent. The two search for Carrie whom he reveals had been a spy and agent provocateur for MI5, and somewhat of a vigilante agent.

An orphan with no other family, Annabel is determined to find her grandmother, but the longer she stays at Beechwood and in Simon’s company, the harder it becomes to know who to trust. Strange incidents, secrets and danger all force Annabel to find Carrie before it’s too late – for them both.

Part contemporary romance, part historical spy novel, The Traitor’s Girl, was inspired by two real wartime figures: Carrie Banks is based upon a female spy code named ‘Agent Fifi’ (real name Marie Christine Chilver), who was employed as an agent provocateur in World War II. When the Special Operations Executive agents, who would eventually parachute into occupied France, went on training exercises in various cities around England, it was Fifi’s job to approach them in bars and seduce them for classified information.

The other wartime female protagonist is Eve a barrister who, during the novel, is recruited to the Secret Service. She was inspired by a woman called Jane Archer, a barrister-turned intelligence officer at MI5. Before the war, Jane Archer debriefed a Soviet defector who told her there was a Soviet double agent working in the British Foreign Office and others in highly placed positions in Britain. In The Traitor’s Girl, Eve and Carrie work together, trying to bring a traitor to justice against the backdrop of World War II.

This novel has lots of interest once it gets going. Unfortunately, it’s terribly slow to start and only picks up pace once the WWII timeline scenes begin around page 60. From there, it does improve, however, the writing style remains stoic. Dual timeline novels are quite popular at the moment and Wells shines best when writing the historical components of this story. The contemporary timeline falls somewhat flat. The subject matter and obligatory romance plot are probably just enough to make this a passable read, but it does not live up to its potential. Good if you like middle-of-the-road Women’s Weekly type books.

Reviewed by Sam Bond
Twitter: @SamStaceyBond

Rating out of 10:  6

Distributed by: Penguin Random House Australia
Release date: May 2017
RRP: $32.99 trade paperback, $12.99 eBook

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