The Best of Our Spies

Spy Masters, Book 1

By: Alex Gerlis

Narrated by: John Lee

Length: 15 hrs and 56 mins

Publisher's summary

France, July 1944: a month after the Allied landings in Normandy, and the liberation of Europe is underway. In the Pas-de-Calais, Nathalie Mercier, a young British Special Operations executive secret agent working with the French Resistance, disappears. In London, her husband, Owen Quinn, an officer with Royal Navy Intelligence, discovers the truth about her role in the Allies' sophisticated deception at the heart of D-Day. Appalled but determined, Owen sets off on a perilous hunt through France in search of his wife. With the help of the Resistance, he finds Nathalie, but then the bitterness of war and its insatiable appetite for revenge catch up with them in dramatic fashion. Based on real events of the Second World War, The Best of Our Spies is a thrilling tale of international intrigue, love, deception, and espionage.

©2012 Alex Gerlis (P)2015 Tantor

Don't Pass up The Best if Our Spies!

I chose this book because it's a WWII spy story. We loved it! Great writing, that incorporated historical events to weave a story that keeps you engaged. Full character development and edge-of-your-seat plot twists. I didn't want it to end.

One of the best Historical Novels of WW II

This captivating historical novel created by an extremely talented author and read by an equally talented narrator is one of the best historical fiction I’ve ever read. Mr. Gerlis takes you on a journey full of suspense, intrigue, and espionage that I found hard to put down.

slow, muddled start

As narrator, John Lee made this book much more bearable to hear.He is one narrator who does not go over the top with 'period' accents. And those accents tend to take attention away from the writing. But while Lee was excellent, I thought that Gerlis made the plot too complicated, and that resulted in Gerlis reviewing the previous action. The female protagonist's seem confused, and while Gerlis explains the context for these confusing actions and thoughts, but I remain unconvinced as to what her character really is or how it has changed. In fact, I was not terribly impressed by any of the characterization, nor by a plot that borders on the implausible. Personally, I much prefer Furst and Kerr, or even John Lawton or Jonathan Rabb for that matter. Not a bad book, particularly with John Lee reading it, but not a satisfying book either.

My New Author

John Lee has always been the best at what he does and a great choice to read such a world class book. I have always had 2 favorite authors (Ken Follett and Jack Higgins0 I now have 3 favorite authors. I finished this book 5 minutes ago and will now start book 2 in the next few minutes. Thank you to the author for true entertainment.

Great narration, ok story.

Any additional comments?

John Lee is my favorite narrator, and is why I chose to listen to this book. His narration was excellent as always, and really brought these characters to life.

I like the premise of the story and the setting, and the characters were interesting and dynamic. However, the reader doesn't learn the wife's backstory until the end, which really leaves you wondering about her motive the whole time. I also was kind of bored, and am not sure why.

This was written well, contained great descriptions, and the performance was excellent. I just did not find it to be exceedingly engaging, and it did take me a long time to get through.

Wrong narrator

The narrator ruined it. have listened to other books and not been so bothered. But in this case, his mannerisms worked as deeply inappropriate affectations. I got to the end since I wanted to know who survived, but the moral and psychological complexity that I sense was the author’s goal was lost to me under the falseness of the reader.

You won't stop listening!

Superbly plotted- fabulous characters. Best narration I have heard. This one is a "sleeper" among WW II historical fiction and the spy genre.

Great story and narration

I enjoyed the writing, the story and the narration. A little disappointed in the ending.

First Rate Historical WW Espionage Story

This is one of the better WWII thrillers I have read in a long time. The story was compelling and gripping. The narrator was first rate. His ability to move between different accents, and characters was top-notch! 

Good characters,

Two hours too long. Active place, interesting venue, intriguing spies, good looking spies. Active place, interesting venue, intriguing spies, good lookin