Berlin Calling

by Kelly Durham

Irish-American Maggie O’Dea is bright, beautiful and resourceful—and she hates the English! It’s the summer of 1938 and Maggie is studying in Heidelberg when she meets the dashing Kurt Engel, a German soldier. Maggie agrees to follow Kurt to Berlin provided he helps her find a job. And what a job! Maggie lands a position as assistant to Clive Barnes, an obese and often intoxicated Englishman known over the airwaves as ‘Lord Lyon.’ Barnes broadcasts Nazi propaganda to his homeland each evening. After Kurt is deployed, Maggie spends more time at work, growing closer to her colleague Dieter Schmidt.

Erich Greinke is an American who’s been fighting alongside the Germans in Spain’s civil war. He’s recruited by WWI hero ‘Wild’ Bill Donovan to report on developments in the German capital. Erich quickly identifies Maggie as an opportunity to penetrate Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels’ inner circle. As Europe plunges into the abyss of world war, Maggie begins to question the guidance she receives from the Ministry and begins to realize she has fallen victim to the very propaganda she has helped create.

Caught between her conscience and the Gestapo’s tightening noose, Maggie walks a deadly tight-rope as she navigates between love and loyalty, survival and discovery.

“Quick-thinking Maggie is a fully fleshed character who comes across as an auburn-haired Linda Darnell… Her credible transformation from full-fledged believer in the German right of conquest to supporter of the Allies is handled with finesse… There’s chemistry aplenty in the wisecracking banter ... well written … offers a lesson in history for those in need of a refresher”.

Kirkus Reviews

Genres: Historical Fiction, World War II, Historical, Fiction, Germany, War, Historical Romance

376 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 26, 2012

Reviews

[Erin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Oh, you may think that the English are high and mighty, Mr. Greinke,but I see them for what they are: arrogant, bloody, violent imperliasts.

Germany 1938 Irish American Maggie is studying abroad when she meets German soldier, Kurt. Enamored by his Aryan looks, Maggie impulsively decides to stay in Germany and follow her lover to Berlin. Kurt uses his connections and manages to help Maggie find a job- working as a journalist in the propaganda ministry.

Maggie, unlike other WWII female protagonists in the vast majority of historical fiction books doesn't act towards the Nazis with contempt or see them as oppressors. No, in fact, Maggie holds admiration and respect for the German people and doesn't appear to have much of a problem with Nazi policies. For most of the novel Maggie is caught up in her own little universe. Lots of boy drama as every man whether he's a regular soldier, Gestapo, alcoholic Brit,colleague, spy etc wants her in his bed. Neither anti-Semitic messages or marching into other European countries appears to bother our dear little Maggie in the slightest. Maggie is the perfect candidate to work in propaganda because she believes in it- 100%.

If it sounds like I didn't care much for the main character, I don't. But I will say that in the beginning of the story that I was able to make peace with that. I said "Hmmm, Mr Kelly Durham, you've got my attention." After all, resistance, sabotage espionage, and Rosie the Riveter are all great stories, but there were many more people( in and out of Germany) at that time that agreed with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi government. So, I resolved that Durham was going to show another side to the war. Interesting twist to make that character an American girl.

What does upset me is the turn around Maggie makes half way through the story. Mostly because her actions were rather shallow and based more on her own survival. Those last few chapters drove me crazy ! I literally felt no connection as she talked about "her suffering" As a reader, I felt manipulated by Durham who was trying to make his character into something that felt more forced than authentic.

All in all, this book failed to connect with me, but the concept is intriguing enough to give it 3 stars.

Thanks to NetGalley for an e-arc of this book.

[Cold War Conversations Podcast · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well researched and gripping historical fiction

Set in Nazi Berlin with a strong female lead this book tells the story of an Irish American woman who whilst in Germany gets a job working for German Radio. The story follows her disillusionment with the Nazis and subsequent work for OSS.

Kelly Durham has created a great character in Maggie O’Dea and has obviously researched the period well. Several actual historical characters make their appearance including Propaganda Minister Josef Goebbels alongside fictional characters such “Lord Lyons” who appears to be based on Lord Haw Haw.

An entertaining, quite pacey historical read covering the interesting subject of collaboration.

[Ellie Midwood · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Berlin Calling” is a very interesting account of an American woman, Maggie, landing a job with the German radio right before the war and eventually becoming a voice of its propaganda but also, a spy for the OSS. Through Maggie’s eyes, we are shown the gradual disillusionment with the regime, the growing anxiety at the changes in former friends and lovers, the mounting fear for one’s life as the most outspoken colleagues begin to disappear and the rumors about mass exterminations begin to swell. The plot is fast-paced and full of intrigue; the leading heroine is wonderfully spunky and fearless; the atmosphere - brooding and charged with tension. If you’re a fan of historical fiction, I’d definitely recommend it.

[Amy J RAREtte4Life · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really good solid read from inside Germany during WW2.
Good audible.
Free on Amazon

[Vikki Vaught · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent descriptive writing, bringing the turbulent times to life. I struggled with the main character at times, but she was definitely courageous and determined. Great detail of the propaganda that went on during WWII. Glad I took a chance on this book. I received it as a Kindle First. I listened to the audio version and the narrator is superb. Happy reading!

[Sam · Rating 2 out of 5]

When I started Berlin Calling I found it very hard to feel anything for Maggie, the main character. Essentially I found her naive view of what was happening around her to be frustrating. However, as the war progressed and Maggie became more exposed and aware of the events happening around her, I found myself becoming more engaged with her story.

All in all, not a bad read.

[Linda Zagon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would like to thank NetGalley, and Lake Union Publishing for the ARC of "Berlin Calling" by Kelly Durham. The genre of this book is historical fiction. The author writes about a different aspect of World War Two in Germany. One of his main characters Maggie O'Dea, is an Irish descent American citizen studying abroad in Germany. Maggie is extremely naive, and falls in love with a handsome German soldier. Her soldier convinces her to follow him to Berlin, and gets a job for Maggie in the Propaganda Ministry. There, Maggie works in writing and broadcasting as "Betty". As nationalism picks up in Germany, Maggie goes with the flow, and feels justified in supporting Germany in broadcasts to England.
Maggie's boyfriend is away at the front, and she meets many intriguing characters. She meets journalists in Germany also from America, that warn her of the dangers ahead. As Germany starts invading other countries,Maggie makes excuses and becomes extremely conflicted. Maggie has met Joseph Goebbel and others in his circle.
Some of the journalists provide horrific details that are occurring throughout the world. Maggie is approached to give any information that she hears, which can put her life in danger. Now she is broadcasting to America convincing the Americans that German has weapons of mass destruction. Maggie has many doubts of the propaganda that she has been told to report.
It is difficult to believe that an American living in Germany could play such a part in the war. The author writes that this novel was based on an American student who did actually work for the German Propaganda Ministry, and this was his motivation for his story.
The author discusses the horrific, appalling and deplorable conditions of war and its effects on people, families and countries. I find that Kelly Durham describes a cast of characters, each with major conflicts, and shows the effects of war on their personalities. I also reflected how journalists faced dangers reporting the news during this time. In addition journalism and propaganda had a major influence on the war. I would recommend this book for people who like to read historical fiction during the World War Two timeline.

[Bonnye Reed · Rating 4 out of 5]

GNab I received a free electronic copy of this historical novel from Netgalley, Kelly Durham, and Lake Union Publishing in exchange for an honest review. Thank you all for sharing your hard work with me.

This was an excellent historical novel, told from a rather unique perspective. Maggie O'Dea, an Irish American, is taking classes in Heidelberg, Germany in July of 1938. Because her father was heavily involved in the failed Irish rebellion in 1916, he had to flee Ireland for political asylum in America, and his wife and daughter were able to follow a year or two later. Consequently, Maggie truly hates the British. But she falls in love with Germany and - hard - for a young German soldier, Kurt Engel, on leave in his hometown of Heidelberg.

They meet later in Berlin, where with Kurt's help, Maggie is able to get her student visa changed into a work visa, and finds a job with the Ministry of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda's Broadcasting Division, where the official German version of affairs are transmitted to all corners of the world in various languages. Maggie is a hard worker, and enjoys her work. She is naive enough believe what she is told are the true facts in the news, and very good at scripting radio programs that employ that Germanic slant without being preachy.

And the news unfolds as time goes by. Austria. Czechoslovakia. Poland. Returning ethnic Germans who's communities were awarded to other countries at the end of the first war. Not aggression, but reunification. But then the Nordic countries begin to fall. Much harder for Maggie to legitimatize, much harder to rationalize. And Maggie is left with a big choice to make - who's side is she really on? And how can she best help the good guys win? Where will she most effectively make a difference in the outcome of the war?


Pub date Fed 14, 2017

[Meg Newton · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a pleasant surprise to read a book written by a friend who I did not even realize WAS a writer until his sweet wife selected this book to read for our little book club. I regret that I did not finish it in time for our meeting at their home but I did finish it after the hustle and bustle of Christmas actives were over.

I really enjoyed this book. I love historical fiction, and especially, WW II fiction. I had never read an account of an American working in Germany during the war and it was interesting to consider what that was like.

Spoilers!
My only criticisms were that I felt that Kurt would not have been as "forgiving" with Dieter. That wrapped up a little too nicely in my opinion. He had already shown his dark side and threatened Maggie but did nothing when he so easily could have? From what I know of the Nazi's, they were brutal always and particularly to prisoners. Therefore, I don't think Maggie would have had it so "easy" in her incarceration. I guess we are to believe that because she was so beautiful in face and form that she could get away with so much with any man...another slightly irritating thing about this book.

Overall, I really enjoyed it and had a hard time putting it down for the last 2/3rds! I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys good fiction. Good job Kelly!

[Miss Night · Rating 2 out of 5]

The story was interesting enough, but the main character was one dimensional and did not feel authentic. One more book where a male author fails at writing realistic, strong female characters.

[January Gray · Rating 5 out of 5]

It took a few moments to get into this book, but once I did, it was amazing.

[Heather Boaz ( mlleboaz.bibliophile) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you NetGalley for the eARC of this book!

If you enjoy fun, historical fiction with a slightly different perspective on things, this is the book for you. The story was a fresh look, and for the most part kept me on my toes - with a slight lull in the middle due to its epic size and lack of some detail to fill in the gaps. My enjoyment of of this book primarily sat with the narrative, given the unique perspective of an Irish- American woman who gets wrapped up broadcasting propaganda in Berlin, after a period of study which landed her there in the late 1930s.

I was perturbed at first that I could not find the protagonist sympathetic - especially considering her lack of loyalty and her choices in romantic relationships AND nationalistic efforts. But I realized by the end of the book that my continued push to like her was futile anyway and that the story could still be enjoyed without agreeing with, or even liking our main gal. It was particularly intriguing to find actual historical figures surrounding her in this fictionalized imagining of Nazi Berlin.

Pick this up for a vacation read (especially if you're a quick reader - there is a lot of ground covered in this book!) and don't think too hard about historical details or facts - the enjoyment lies in the escape.

[Glenn · Rating 4 out of 5]

My love of reading about World War II brought me to this book. It is historical fiction concentrating primarily on the German propaganda broadcasts from Berlin to England and America. Enjoyed the story and kept my interest throughout.

[Book Inspector · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am quite a bit of a fan, when it comes to books about World War II, add women in it, and I’m intrigued. That was what drew me to this book, a woman figure in the context of war and not just woman, a foreigner. The description above, describes this novel quite well. It started with very romantic notes, how Maggie met Kurt, and how she ended up in Berlin, landing a job in Propaganda House. Maggie is very interesting character in this book, and I really loved her in this novel. She is beautiful, pleasant to be around, incredibly hard working and independent. I’m kind of used to these disturbed characters which are used in most of the books, and it was very refreshing to read about one, who is not mentally or emotionally messed up. Other characters were interesting to read about as well, and all of them where quite the personalities. I really enjoyed, that author did not make this book from one characters perspective, and included most of the characters by allowing them to speak. This made the book more pleasant to read, and more interesting.

The plot of this book was really absorbing, and different from most of the WWII books I read. Normally, I encountered the books, which used to describe the tragedy of war, such as concentration camps or Jew’s killings, and their fighting for survival. This book was softer on that part, it mentioned the cruelties’ which happened during the war, but never in so much detail to make it stomach turning. It was written more about the political aspects of it, and how German propaganda was used to influence people from other countries. It’s been a while since I studied history of WWII, and I studied from different countries’ perspective, so to see how it looked from Germany's perspective was quite appealing. I think that author was trying to show, how Germans thought about this war and why most of them supported what Hitler was doing.

I am a big fan of short chapters, and this book didn’t disappoint me with that. The chapters were divided into smaller parts, which made it more pleasant to read. Every chapter was quite detailed, but the meaning and the point of that chapter was very lovely opened, and concluded for the reader. The story was flowing nicely and smoothly. I believe Author has a great personal knowledge about war, and used it greatly in this book. There was a little bit of monotony while reading this book, and lack of twists and turns, that would’ve make it more exciting. The language used was not difficult and easy to read, but I had to look up some German terms used in this book, as I’m not familiar with the language. The ending of the book was really entertaining but not complete. I wished more conclusions, and to know what happened to Dieter. To conclude, it is a great book if you looking for World War II stories of war from German perspective, love, and survival.

[Glady · Rating 3 out of 5]

Berlin Calling focuses on a young, impetuous, wickedly smart Irish-American woman who travels to prewar Germany for her studies. Maggie is described a little too often as being remarkably beautiful. When she meets Kurt, a young German soldier, she quickly finishes her studies and travels to Berlin to be with him. Due to her language skills she lands a position with the German radio service whose primary goal is to explain, defend, propagandize Hitler's political positions to the English and then American people.

Maggie's resentment of England and the English people is the result of her father's treatment in Ireland. This resentment makes her more pliable to the German viewpoint since, initially, their primary political enemy is England. When war comes, she remains in Berlin and continues her now on-air presence distributing German propaganda. She is very talented at her job and soon is a frequent attendee at meetings with Propaganda Minister Goebbels.

American reporters and embassy staffers are in Berlin for an extended period of time after the beginning of the war. Erich, an American and former comrade of some Germans during the Spanish Civil War, now serves as an embassy employee and OSS agent. He is determined to befriend Maggie, encourage her growing doubts about the Nazi regime, and utilize her position close to Goebbels.

Maggie's actions are absolutely related to her emotional and physical attachments to young men in her life. Any risks she takes are viewed through the lens of personal connections rather than deep political beliefs. In a way, that makes Maggie a more realistic character as her transformation from lovely girl about town to spy is a slow one.

Durham describes the people and the city of Berlin, from confident center of power to devastated rubble, with clarity. Berlin Calling was a fast read.

[Susanna Braithwaite · Rating 2 out of 5]

I enjoyed the book to start with, but really struggled to finish it due to extreme boredom. The main plot didn’t take place until approximately two thirds of the way in, and I felt the book was promising up until this point, except that it felt it was taking too long to get to the main part. This was a long book which felt to me, could have been a lot shorter without taking anything away from the story.

When the book eventually got to the main part, this was even less interesting than the background part which had taken the majority of the book. I was tempted to discontinue reading the book about 70% in but was thinking I’d already invested so much time in the book and it may get more interesting, however, the opposite happened.

It didn’t help that there was very little information about what the main character was thinking and so she didn’t come across as a character I could warm to or sympathise with. There was something about her character I did not like and I felt nothing towards her. After such a slow and long build up which took up the majority of the book, I wrongly anticipated the last part of the book would be exciting and better than the first half at the very least. The main reason for my disappointment is because the plot was interesting and the book seemed promising at the start.

I would not recommend this book to anyone. This is the first book I have read from this author, and I’m unsure at this point whether I would read any others.

[Leith Devine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Berlin Calling tells the story of an American girl of Irish descent, Maggie O'Dea, who is studying in Berlin just as WWII is starting. She meets a German boy (soon to be a Nazi soldier) and decides to stay, and ends up working in the Nazi broadcasting propaganda department. She is anti-English and anti-war, and it takes her a while to realize she has been slowly tricked by the Nazis. She meets a fellow American, Erich, who is secretly working for the OSS, and he finally talks her into providing secret information to the Americans.

I enjoyed the book very much. Maggie is definitely a reluctant spy, and she sees the Germans she knows as people she likes, not as Nazis, until she starts hearing about some of the atrocities committed during the war. I liked the descriptions of wartime Berlin, and I will look for other books by Kelly Durham.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC of this book.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

This novel was difficult to rate because the storyline itself was really interesting but the characters fell rather flat for me.

I thought it was really interesting to tell a story about WWII from the point of a Nazi-sympathiser and not necessarily sympathetic character. Focusing on the everyday life of the people living in Berlin during the war instead of on the atrocities committed during this war gave the novel a more intimate scope and it was really chilling to realize how easy it was for Maggie to rationalize everything happening around her.

Unfortunately, Maggie is not really a well-rounded character and the supporting cast is barely fleshed out.

Overall, an interesting read but it would have been much better with greater character development.

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

I won this in a giveaway. It took a little while for me to get into it but I did eventually like it, for the most part. I thought that there were a few parts that could have used more detail and of course others less detail. The ending was a little abrupt and didn't resolve the character's fates one way or another. It was an interesting read and once I got into it I liked it more, but I don't think I ended up liking it as much as I initially thought I would. It does show an interesting perspective that many other books based on World War II don't show as much, and it was easy to imagine what the characters were going through.

[Melanie Hutton · Rating 3 out of 5]

I started this book 5 months ago and I'm only half way finished. It's deep and honestly I think about it all the time but it's dragging out. I really love the subject matter and I can see similarities to media today. It's well written and some of the characters were real people so it's good from a historical standpoint to see how the author has portrayed them, whether it aligns with history or not. I'll finish it at some point, I just wish it moved a little faster.

[Marianne · Rating 2 out of 5]

Another story about a headstrong and pretty woman who gets to be a heroine. This is so contrived because in fact the heroine is dumb and without interest.

[Jane · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a bad read. I thought the lead character was a little shallow and self absorbed seeing WW2 as a chance to give her a career.

[Holly · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm starting to notice that I'm a sucker for WWII books. Berlin Calling is about an American girl who studies abroad in Germany in 1938 and ends up getting a job in the Berlin Broadcasting House, a subdivision of Goebbel's German propaganda machine, in the English-speaking sector that makes propaganda material and radio shows for England and the States. Their aim is to bring people in England and America over to their side and pressure their governments for peace. Maggie is the daughter of an Irish immigrant and has major prejudices against the British for their treatment of the Irish and other colonized nations. She is fully on board with the Nazi regime and truly believes (in the beginning) that the Nazis are the good guys. However, that slowly starts to change as Maggie witnesses Germany's invasion of Norway and France, followed by rumors of their eugenics program. When one of Maggie's friends, who also happens to be an American working for the American embassy, asks Maggie to share information about Goebbel's propaganda department, she essentially turns into an American spy.

I was GLUED to this book. I both read and listened to this book, which I'm starting to learn is one of my favorite methods of reading because I can listen to it while I'm making dinner, folding laundry, doing dishes, etc., and then when I'm done with those tasks, I can sit down and continue reading normally. I loved Maggie's journey from this naive, overly trusting, American who fully believed in the Nazi cause, to realizing that she had been deceived, lied to, and in considerable danger being as close to Goebbels as she was. I also loved another new prospective of a WWII story. I read a lot of WWII historical fiction but it has always been from a French, British, or American prospective. This is the second book I've read in the past 2 months that was from a German prospective and I loved it. Conflict is not black and white and we need to understand how millions of people can support a cause that seems so repugnant in order to learn and grow (especially with the political landscape that is America right now). I also loved the pacing of this book. I was never bored and honestly didn't want to put this book down.

What keeps this from being a 5 star book is a few small reasons and one big one. The author continually talks about how charming and arrestingly beautiful Maggie is. She floats along flirting with every single man in an effort to be charming, which totally works and gets her ahead in life. It just gets a little old, reading book after book written by men who rely on the overly beautiful young woman main character who uses her beauty to either get ahead or as a shield to hide their true intentions. It's outplayed and not relatable to the vast majority of women out there. This wasn't a deal breaker but did make me roll my eyes a few times. I also was a little irked that the author did not exploit the conflict between Kurt and Dieter later in the book. When they met again, I about died on the inside and kept waiting for the big confrontation or fight. But the way the author handled their relationship was pretty believable. I wanted more, but not mad about how the author handled it. The biggest issue was the abrupt ending. The author left SO MANY QUESTIONS UNANSWERED!! Even the last chapter gave new information that could lead to more chapters. Nothing was wrapped up, nothing was resolved, and the author gave no indication about what was to come. I re-read the last paragraph just now to make sure I didn't miss something but it still doesn't seem like a real ending. I'm actually upset that I didn't get closure on a few things and would have preferred an easy 2-page afterwards/flashforward type of thing at the end. Out of roughly 8 characters that the author spent time developing and giving personality traits to, we only learn the fate of 3 of them.

This book was great and don't be dissuaded from reading it, but if you're like me and want to know what happens to the characters, you may have issues with the ending like I did.

[Marek · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tento román je inspirovaný skutečným osudem Američanky Maggie, která se za 2. světové války podílela na zahraničním vysílání hitlerovského Německa. V knize se vyskytuje několik historických postav (např. Joseph Goebbels - říšský ministr propagandy). Opět se nám do rukou dostává kniha, jejíž děj se odehrává během 2. světové války. Děj se odehrává v Berlíně. Jsou zde popsány předválečné události, kdy se Hitler postupnými kroky zmocňoval území Československa, později napadl Polsko a tím začala 2. světová válka a postupně obsadil další státy v Evropě. Téma knihy upoutalo moji pozornost, poněvadž můžeme nahlédnout, jakým způsobem se připravovaly a prezentovaly zprávy v rádiu, které bylo pod dohledem ministerstva propagandy v Německu a které se vysílaly pro občany do zahraniční (Anglie, USA..). Knihu s tímto námětem jsem četl poprvé.

Hlavní představitelka Maggie nenávidí Angličany, zpočátku ráda spolupracuje a připravuje zprávy pro zahraniční vysílání, postupně však přichází na to, že byla naivní a že situace je zcela jiná, než za jakou ji pokládala. Během pobytu v Německu potkává řadu lidí, se kterými naváže přátelství a také uzavře dohodu, která pro ni bude znamenat velké nebezpečí..

Kniha je velmi obsáhlá a rozvláčná. Jedná se o knihu, kterou jsem mohl kdykoliv odložit. Stylem, jak byla kniha napsána, mne nenutila abych stále četl. U této knihy nelze očekávat větší napětí. Vyskytovaly se sice situace, které byly napínavé, spíše v závěru knihy, ale těchto událostí nebylo mnoho. Myslím si, že pokud se čtenář rozhodně přečíst tuto knihu, rozhodně mu to může rozšířit obzory o zahraničním vysílání z Berlína, může mu to přiblížit Berlín a celkovou jeho atmosféru před 2. světovou válkou a během 2. světové války.

[Jackie Cain · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading this book. It was, for me, a very different perspective on life during WWII, set as it was in Germany. The protagonist, Maggie O’Dea, is the daughter of Irish freedom fighters or rebels, depending on your perspective, and that means she is anti-British from the start. Also, when she is first in Germany, she is there on a language course, which is not that dissimilar from what I did when I was at school. Of course, even before the war started, the regime passed laws discriminating against Jews but I can understand that people often turn a blind eye to politics when they are in a country. Of course, it's also a romance novel but the first few chapters have more of that than the later ones.

The protagonist seemed very modern to me and I enjoyed that but wondered whether her characterisation and, indeed, the historical setting were truly accurate. It was only after I'd read the book that I reliased taht Kelly Durham, the author, is a man. Then I thought: "I wonder if that was why there was no agonising about birth control - or even much agonising?"

Still, quite a light read and interesting. Well written and plotted.

[Rosemary · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought I was done with World War II. I began reading this book with dread. The first few pages, especially, made me feel dread, b/c I know much of what happened in real life. I felt like the main character's situation was so improbable, and I felt anxious reading. But it is a book club book that my neighbors and I will discuss later this month, so I forged ahead. I'm not sorry I did. Once I got going, I could hardly bear to put it down. I finished it over my breakfast Monday morning!

When I read, I look a lot of things up as I go. I learned a lot during the reading of this book about real Americans who broadcast Nazi propaganda during WWII. I learned a fair amount about the terrifying Goebels. I refreshed my awareness of some basic European geography. And finally, I re-encountered CIA director William Donovan, who loomed large in a nonfiction book I read late last year, A Woman of No Importance by the wonderful writer, Sonia Purnell. (I recommend it, not for Donovan, but because it is a great and harrowing WWII true story.)

Spoiler alert
I wanted to know more about Clive, but I guess, truly, I probably know what happened to him by the book's end.

[Jenna · Rating 3 out of 5]

With the current vogue for fiction set in WW2 Europe, such as Susan Elia MacNeal's WW2 mystery featuring Maggie Hope or Jane Thynne's series featuring Clara Vine, I was curious to see what this book did with the era.

Overall, I enjoyed it and was interesting to have a character that didn't necessarily start out on the "good" side -- which definitely lead the modern reader to potentially have issues with, and perhaps feel less sympathy for, the main protagonist. (Or any of the characters).

Ww2 is not my area of expertise, but the research seemed quite solid and provided a fascinating view into the mind-set of a set of British who apparently favored peace with Germany during the years leading up to WW2/beginning of WW2.

I was a bit troubled by the absence of any major discussion of the Holocaust or anti-Jewish actions -- it was never a large focus -- and while I understand that wasn't the point of the book, it surprised me the main protragonist never seemed to witness any of it herself (but since this isn't my area of expertise) maybe the everyday German in Berlin really didn't see much of the Jews being hauled off by Gestapo, etc., so that in the end they could say "I had no idea it was happening"...though I find it hard to believe...but for the heroine, for instance, to only hear second-hand reports of Kristallnacht....

[Sally Coles · Rating 4 out of 5]

Maggie is an American of Irish descent, who hates the British, and so when she is in Germany in 1938 she falls in love with the country and the people, especially Kurt! When the war starts she decides to stay and with Kurt's help gets a job in the propaganda department, where she very naively believes everything that she is told!

Eventually she realises that all is not as it seems and she has to make a decision - continue as she is or pass information on to the Americans.

I enjoyed this book particularly because of the different slant of having the main character of Irish descent and not British which gave her a very different aspect - especially as her own family in Ireland had suffered at the hands of the British and so she didn't have the same affinity - even so she was still incredibly naïve to believe all that she was told!

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Maggie O'Dea is an American student studying German in Heidelberg when she meets Kurt a young German officer and the attraction seems to be immediate. She is smitten enough to follow Kurt to Berlin. Being the independent sort she convinces Kurt to help her get a job. She immediately proves her self in the American Branch of the German Broadcast House, which is a branch of the Nazi propaganda machine. Maggie being the daughter of Irish immigrants has a bit of a chip on her shoulder about the British and she is all for trying to subdue them into not fighting back. She is a bit naive about what the Nazi regime is all about but as she learns a little at a time her natural tendency is to help the American cause. The story relayed here is based on a real person.

[Tandi Caldwell · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the second book I've read by this author and it was great! The plot, of an American broadcaster working for the Nazi propaganda machine turned spy, was very interesting and filled with history. The characters were well developed. The hilarious, jovial Clive, known as "Lord Lyon", who would sneak a bottle of gin right before going live on the radio, forces Maggie, the main character, into covering for him and taking his spot. Resonating with English listeners, Maggie is naive to the Nazis at first, until she sees the truth. Then the excitement really begins! The techniques used by the spy and handler are interesting and when we see an appearance from "Wild Bill" O'Donovan, so you know it will be a fun ride.