She’s a Hollywood starlet, returned home to Sweden on a secret mission for the OSS. He’s the handsome and rich man whose loyalty is in question – and a mortifying part of her past. But when they encounter each other, Amelie finds her cover as a dimwitted blonde more difficult to maintain and stoic Fynn finds it hard to maintain his air of indifference, especially when they are united by the pursuit of a murderer and retrieving missing documents from Nazi sympathizers. And stoic Fynn finds it harder to maintain his distance from Amelie, though he is determined to try.
Espionage, perill, faith, romance, and questions of trust feature in this story set in neutral Sweden during World War II. The Starlet Spy is Rachel Scott McDaniel’s contribution to the multi-author Heroines of WWII series from Barbour Books.
Recommended.
This review refers to a library audiobook narrated by Moniqua Plante for Oasis Audio and a purchased paperback. All opinions expressed are my own.
About the Book
Hollywood Star Turns Spy
In 1943, Movie producer Henrik Zoltan approaches Amelie Blake under the guise of offering the Hollywood star a leading part in his upcoming film, but he has a more meaningful role in mind. Amelie’s homeland of Sweden declared neutrality in the war, but Stockholm has become the ‘Casablanca of the North.’ When top-secret atomic research goes missing in Sweden, the Allied forces scramble to recover the files before they fall into Nazi hands.
The United States Office of Strategic Services (OSS) needs someone who’s subtle enough to spy on the Swedish elite without triggering suspicion. Who better than the “all beauty, no brains” Scandinavian starlet? Fluent in three languages and possessing a brilliant memory, Amelie loathes being labeled witless but uses the misconception as her disguise. She’s tasked with searching for the crucial files, but Finn Ristaffason keeps getting in her way. Is the charming shipping magnate after the missing research? Or does he have other reasons for showing up at her every turn?
With the Gestapo on her heels, Amelie must rely on her smarts in addition to her acting skills to survive a world of deadly spies and counterspies.
Don’t miss these other stories:
The Cryptographer’s Dilemma by Johnnie Alexander
Picture of Hope by Liz Tolsma
Saving Mrs. Roosevelt by Candice Sue Patterson
Mrs. Witherspoon Goes to War by Mary Davis
A Rose for the Resistance by Angela K. Couch
Season of My Enemy by Naomi Musch
Escape from Amsterdam by Lauralee Bliss
On My Honor by Patty Hall
The Escape Game by Marilyn Turk
Beneath a Peaceful Moon by Debby Lee
Capturing Hope by Angela G. Crouch
The Starlet Spy by Rachel Scott McDaniels (Heroines of WWII) | Barbour Books, July 2023 | paperback, 256 pages
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