Sophia Rose Reviews- A Truth to Lie For by Anne Perry

Today Sophia Rose is back reviewing Anne Perry's #4 in her Elana Standish series, A Truth to Lie For.
Enjoy!

A Truth to Lie For by Anne Perry

#4 Elena Standish

Historical Mystery

Publisher: Ballantine Books

Published: 9.20.22

ASIN:  B09NXFQ88B

Pages:  288

Rating: 5 stars

Format: eARC

Source: NetGalley

Sellers: Amazon

ADD TO: GoodReads

 

GoodReads Blurb:

The fourth novel in Anne Perry's breathtakingly tense and exciting spy thriller series, featuring young British photographer and secret agent Elena Standish, set in the 1930s when the world was a place of increasing fear and uncertainty...

It is the 1930s and with the threat of war looming, political tensions begin to rise...

Elena Standish, a young English photographer working for British Intelligence, is sent on her latest mission to Berlin, where painful memories of her escape from the Gestapo come flooding back. With the help of another spy, she must rescue a renowned scientist and return to England unscathed. But, as rumours start to spread of germ warfare, Elena and her family know she must act quickly to save lives.

 

Sophia Rose's Review:

Elena’s latest MI-6 assignment takes her back to the beginning of her career- back to a Germany darkening under the Nazi Party takeover of the country and build up to war.  Anne Perry has long been a favorite author of historically authentic, complexly charactered, and well plotted mysteries, but this latest series featuring Elena Standish crosses over into thriller territory with Elena’s espionage work and I’m all anticipation.

A Truth to Die for is the fourth book in a series of strongly connected books that don’t make for good standalones. 

Elena’s up against her most dreaded assignment yet.  She must return to Berlin and extract a scientist working on germ warfare right out from under the nose of the formidable Gestapo who are watching the scientists closely.  She encounters familiar faces and this is good because when the plan goes awry and she must improvise, Elena needs all the help she can get.

Elena shares the narration and storylines of this latest with her grandfather who ran MI-6 during WWI and has a more active role than simply consultant or teacher in this one, and also a German Gestapo officer, Hans Beckendorff, whose loyalties are more than divided though climbing through the ranks swiftly after the brutal ‘Night of the Long Knives that made him see the actuality doesn’t live up to the earlier rhetoric.  And, the future will likely bring more and worse.

 

The last book, A Darker Reality, was a mixed bag for me so I went into this one warily.  But, the annoying immature behavior in Elena that shocked me after the first two books was blessedly absent and this was back to a woman who is vulnerable and learning, very afraid, but still putting herself on the line against dangerous opponents.  My stomach was in knots so many times as it looked like Elena was about to get caught or I wasn’t sure whose side someone near her was on.  Hans’ situation snug up against Hitler and the powerful men around him had me equally tense.  Elena’s grandfather is usually at home in his house and providing advice to the current British espionage workers, but this time, an old enemy sets him on a more active course.

The plot marched on at a steady fast pace as it swapped scenes and narrators and kept the reader on the edge of the seat.  There were moments that were there to show just how high the stakes are even though this is pre-war time.  The ending had me unable to put the book down until I got to the finish and even then I was tingling for the next installment and what comes next.

 

More espionage thriller than mystery set in an interesting and tension-filled time of the world in the 1930’s with the shadow of WWII growing bigger and darker on the horizon, an intrepid young woman went from clever amateur photographer and failed foreign office worker to a valuable British spy.  I love this world and the series and recommend it highly to historical mystery fans who like some spy action.

 

Author’s Bio:

Anne’s publishing career began with The Cater Street Hangman. Published in 1979, this was the first book in the series to feature the Victorian policeman Thomas Pitt and his well-born wife Charlotte. This is arguably the longest sustained crime series by a living writer. Murder on the Serpentine is the latest (32nd) in the series.  She has now started a series featuring their son Daniel, beginning with 21 Days (2017).

In 1990, Anne started a second series of detective novels with The Face of a Stranger. These are set about 35 years before and features the private detective William Monk and volatile nurse Hester Latterly. The most recent of these (24th in the series) is Dark Tide Rising.

Anne won an Edgar award in 2000 with her short story “Heroes”. The main character in the story features in an ambitious five-book series set during the First World War, which were published between 2003 and 2007. Anne is now working on more titles in the Pitt and Monk series, both of which are under option.

None of her books has ever been out of print, and they have received critical acclaim and huge popular success: over 26 million books are in print world-wide. Her books have appeared on bestseller lists in a number of foreign countries, where she has also had excellent reviews.   Her books regularly appear in the New York Times bestseller list, and have also been bestsellers in France, Germany and Canada.  The Times selected her as one of the “100 Masters of Crime”, and in 2015 she was awarded the Premio de Honor Aragón Negro.

Moving into a different area, Anne has responded to requests for workshops and teaching by producing her first ‘how to write’ instructional DVD “Put Your Heart On The Page: An Introduction To Writing” and her much-loved tote bags which also carry that slogan.  Both items are now available to buy direct from her website. “Developing Your Characters” is the third instalment in Anne’s instructional films.

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/AnnePerryAuthor

Twitter:  https://twitter.com/anneperrywriter

 

 

Sophia’s Bio:

Sophia is a quiet though curious gal who dabbles in cooking, book reviewing, and gardening. Encouraged and supported by an incredible man and loving family. A Northern Californian transplant to the Great Lakes Region of the US. Lover of Jane Austen, Baseball, Cats, Scooby Doo, and Chocolate.

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