Pray for a Brave Heart

by Helen MacInnes

Vintage paperback

Genres: Fiction, Thriller, Espionage, Mystery, Suspense, Spy Thriller, World War II

256 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1955

About the author

Helen MacInnes was a Scottish-American author of espionage novels. She graduated from the University of Glasgow in Scotland in 1928 with a degree in French and German. A librarian, she married Professor Gilbert Highet in 1932 and moved with her husband to New York in 1937 so he could teach classics at Columbia University. She wrote her first novel, Above Suspicion, in 1939. She wrote many bestselling suspense novels and became an American citizen in 1951.

Reviews

[Bill · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've only previously read one book by thriller / intrigue writer Helen MacInnes. She wrote from the early 40's until her last book in 1984. I will definitely have to read more of her works as I've enjoyed the two I have read very much. Pray for a Brave Heart was originally published in 1955 and is an intricate, complex thriller.

There are many different stories taking place in this story. American Bill Denning has worked for the US military after WWII as part of a commission trying to locate art works and other such items that were stolen by the Nazis during the war. He is now retired and preparing to head back to America when an old acquaintance and co-worker shows up at his apartment in Berlin with a story of stolen diamonds, the Herz diamonds, and asks him to stop in Bern on his way home to help with the investigation. This will also involved another friend, American reporter, Scott Waysmith and his wife Paula, a French intelligence expert, Le Brun and most importantly, the man who seems to be pulling all of the strings, Swiss 'reporter' Keppler.

I mentioned it's a complex story. It's one of those spy / thrillers that has you looking over your back at all times. Who is on your side, who isn't? What are they actually looking for; stolen diamonds, Communists who are trying to kill defectors? The story moves along at a perfect pace, the tension builds nicely and the characters are all fascinating, even some of the minor characters. Everyone plays a role of some sort even the young American student Emily who helps Denning in Bern. There are deaths, there are plots and sub-plots, tricks and more tricks from both sides of the story. It's just a rich, entertaining story that keeps you wondering. I definitely have to find more of MacInnes's stories. (4 stars)

[Carla Remy · Rating 3 out of 5]

From 1955
Apparently MacInnes was called The Queen of Spy Novels (not having much female competition). The other by her I read, The Double Image, is from the mid 1960s and did all the fun spy cliches. In this, taking place in 1953, it is not spies, but people trying to locate Nazi seized goods and help others escape. It takes place in Switzerland.
All I can say is I love her writing. Crisp, clean and somehow soothing. Can I/do I really follow the plot?

[Theresa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed it immensely. An exciting story that had me reading into the very wee hours. The story seemed completely new to me, which is remarkable considering I know I read all of MacInnes' works more than once when I was younger. Great sense of location: I've travelled to just about all the locales (specifically Salzburg, Nurnburg, Vienna) and her descriptions bring them all to life in my mind. My first visits were in mid-70's, which while not contemporary to the story, were definitely to cities still much like the ones described.

[Casee Marie · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s 1952 and American Bill Denning is ready to say goodbye to life in the army’s Restitution of Property division with his eyes set on returning home to the States. But when a friend and fellow army man comes to him with a quiet and emphatic request for one last case, Denning finds himself amid tumultuous drama in Switzerland as he works to recover the elusive Herz diamonds, spoilers from the war which are reportedly being smuggled out of the continent. On a mission to retrieve the diamonds, Denning will need all of his wits and a few trusted friends to help him navigate the treacherous territory of Europe during the Cold War and the manipulations of men who will do what they must for their own agendas.

The ninth in Helen MacInnes’s bibliography of more than twenty novels, Pray for a Brave Heart showcases the author’s talent brilliantly. Originally published in 1955, it highlights and expands on many of the elements for which MacInnes continues to be revered, even now, over thirty years after her death; there is a smart energy and a gripping literary prowess that sparks off the pages. Comparing Pray for a Brave Heart with the first of MacInnes’s novels that I recently read, Above Suspicion, I was struck by the way she managed to maintain her unique brand of storytelling while completely altering the experience of the two novels. With fourteen years between the publication of each book, and with seven books in between, MacInnes was able to evolve her story’s thrills to keep her genre fresh without losing touch with the writing style readers instantly came to know her for. I enjoyed the departures from Above Suspicion that she took in Pray for a Brave Heart, most notably the different way she approached her narrative. Bill Denning is a vibrant character and his unique blend of intelligence, humility and vague cynicism bleed through to MacInnes’s writing voice in a way that caught my attention from the very beginning and kept me entertained throughout.

The story, as well, is a riveting journey through post-war Europe; deceptively simple on the surface, the reader is barraged with information, names, places, and scenarios in just the sort of tightly-wound way that gives a good suspense novel its ultimate pull. Smartly crafted, wonderfully paced, and filled with characters whose agendas could be either truthful or malicious, Pray for a Brave Heart is the quintessential exploration of the world of espionage; it’s suspense writing at its finest, and MacInnes at the height of creativity.

(Review © Casee Marie, originally published on February 28, 2013 at LiteraryInklings.com. I received a copy of the book for the purpose of review.)

[Karlyne Landrum · Rating 4 out of 5]

Helen MacInnes is a writer who knows how to build suspense which keeps you on the edge of your page, convey sympathy for her often sad characters, and draw vivid pictures of people, places and things. I would enjoy her books completely except for the fact that I am not very politically minded and she is. Luckily, as times get weirder in America, she gets more timely; and I find her more relevant. Not bad for a book published in 1955....

[Rae · Rating 3 out of 5]

An Old School thriller set in Switzerland involving espionage, jewel robbery, and political kidnapping. I really enjoy MacInnes because her books are suspenseful AND clean. I also enjoyed While Still We Live, Neither Five Nor Three, I And My True Love, and Rest and be Thankful.

[Monique Snyman · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s 1953 and William Denning is set to leave the army and return to the States. Nothing could convince him otherwise… well, nothing except maybe one of the largest diamond hauls ever, which can only mean one thing… trouble. Set against the backdrop of breathtaking scenery in Switzerland, Denning discovers that there is more at stake than a simply heist and that his adversaries are some of the most unlikely and dangerous kind. The question is, will he at the very least get out with his life?

Pray for a Brave Heart by Helen MacInnes is filled with spine-tingling suspense, is richly authentic with memorable characters and has a lasting effect on the reader, even though it’s slightly dated. Then again, who can say no to a good book that revolves around finding Nazi loot, which is written well? Pray for a Brave Heart, unlike Above Suspicion, is set during the Cold War, but we can still find Helen MacInnes’ unique way of telling the story and hinting to World War II. Her characters are well crafted, which has become somewhat of a dying art lately, and Denning is memorable even by today’s standards.

It’s a very thrilling tale, which will leave you wanting more, and the suspense that MacInnes creates is downright nail-biting! You’ll be sitting on the edge of your seat in no time as you get transported back to a time when nobody could be trusted and governments were itching to cross a very fine line between supposed peace and nuclear war. However, what might be the most intriguing part of Pray for a Brave Heart is the contrast that MacInnes had created. We have a beautiful backdrop in the Swiss mountains, but the mission is dark and mysterious, which could very well be a sort of metaphor between the good and evil/ right and wrong/ light and dark scenario.

One has to remember when these books were written in order to understand what the author is trying to convey in the message of the novel. Of course, Pray for a Brave Heart won’t be the type of book that everyone will rush out to buy, but Titan Books’ republished version was a great read and I would advise anyone who’s in the mood for a Sunday read to get their hands on it.

(Originally posted on www.killeraphrodite.com )

[Tiffany · Rating 3 out of 5]

The cover states "A haunting novel of romance and suspense." Snake oil and nonsense! It's nothing of the kind. It's 50% of that statement - it's a novel and it is suspenseful. It is not remotely haunting or romantic. Also, the cover art has no bearing on the time or place or even a scene from the book. All in all I felt entirely misled by the cover of this book - even the blurb on the back is irrelevant to the story! I was hoping for a kind of Mary Stewart-esque treatment of the spy thriller genre. It's not that. It is, however, a well-written and engaging, relatively bloodless, post-WWII, cold-war spy games sort of book. Nothing gritty, nothing gratuitous. I only wish that it had been presented as such on the cover, though, to be fair, I never would have picked it up if it was. So, I don't think I need to read another Helen MacInnes, but I don't regret reading this one. Those seeking suspenseful romance, a la Mary Stewart, may safely look elsewhere.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's been a long time since I read Helen MacInnes but now I remember why I enjoy her books. Written during the cold war, this is a spy, murder action story. Switzerland is the setting for a search for diamonds hidden by the Nazis and claimed by France.

[Sandi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Post World War 2 suspense with the action mainly taking place in Switzerland, this started a bit slowly but soon found its groove.

[Alice · Rating 4 out of 5]

All the hallmarks of classic MacInnes: innocents dragged into spy games, murder in plain sight, and beautiful European scenery. This one has diamonds and people-smuggling, too.

[Ana · Rating 3 out of 5]

Easily read, nothing special.

[Ian Anderson · Rating 4 out of 5]

The protagonist is Bill Denning a US Army officer finishing his second tour of duty in post-WW II Germany working on recovering property stolen by Nazis in WW II. His army buddy Max turns up with a hunch and asks a favour during Bill's upcoming holiday in Switzerland. There is no shortage of 1950s and Cold War political stereotyping. The 2 MacGuffins here are some diamonds stolen during WW II and protecting Americans from being influenced by foreigners (apparently Americans are especially susceptible). Almost all the relevant parties to this plot end up in Bern and start to manoeuvre around each other. The characters include not only professional spies but also draw in amateurs including Bill, his friends and admirers.

While there is quite a bit of exposition and scene-setting it is smoothly done and non-intrusive, and there is plenty for the reader to work out for themselves. The events, even minor ones, are nicely described, with enough detail to set the scene and describe the characters without bogging the reader down. The side plots are also entertaining.

This is the first Helen MacInnes book I have read. The cover tells me that "she is the queen of spy writers" which is interesting because if I hadn't seen a woman's name on the cover I'd assume this book was written by a man. Given that it was set and written in the 1950s and the protagonist, Bill Denning, is a US Army officer one could expect that he and the men he associates with would be male chauvinists. But what jars is that while there are 4 significant female characters among the large cast, they participate mostly as passive tertiary characters. Even the one woman whose international illicit actions have attracted the attention of a superpower becomes a passive spectator once Bill Denning and his pals show up.

I'd be happy to read another Helen MacInnes book, though I probably won't hunt for one.

[Linda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Perhaps I didn't enjoy this book as much as her others because it's so realistic. The amateur-professional tension rings true, because the professionals wonder if the amateur has enough detachment to see the bigger picture (and realize that his lack of knowledge is a hindrance), while the amateur is wondering if the professionals have hidden regional preferences and a lack of normal human response (friendships and loyalty). The collaboration between the 'noble' political geniuses and the calculating criminals, who only object to murder because it's bad for repeat business, also rings true. Most favorite side character: Gregor, the small-time anti-Communist refugee who knows his place in the world.

Best quote: "Gregor was watching her [Francesca the information cell organizer] as he might have looked at a favorite child, performing before company, whose pretty little ways were going to mean a couple of well-earned slaps once the visitors had gone."

Second-best quote: "Francesca, Paul thought unhappily, lived too much with her bitter memories. Gregor was looking at her as if she were some strange phenomenon. 'Now you are being a little bit stupid," he said. Paula stared at him. But he wasn't trying to be rude. He was stating a fact. 'If you are worried,' she asked, 'why don't you call the police?' 'Police!' Gregor began to laugh. Then he checked himself. In a voice so low, and yet so intense that it was frightening, he said, 'What do they understand of political criminals? Pickers of pockets, yes. Murderers of wives, yes. But politicals saying, 'I am noble, look at me how noble!' And then they sell their brothers into slaves. Oh, they are evil, evil, of an evil you do not know. They pick up telephone, like this, easy. They say, 'Two hundred men for Kargopol Camp. At once.' And two hundred men are shipped. Like cattle.' He took a deep breath, almost a sob, into his powerful lungs...His whole body is crying with pain, Paula thought."

Now that is writing.

[David Evans · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s 1955, Berlin. William (Bill) Denning, soldier, language specialist and fine arts graduate had spent the post war years helping search for and repatriate Nazi loot. Following the death of his wife he enlisted for further army service but is now about to leave Germany for a holiday prior to returning to New York.
His plans are interrupted by ex-colleague, Max Meyer, who persuades Bill to join him intercepting $3m worth of looted diamonds that seem to be on their way to Genoa via Bern. The money for the diamonds may be being used to fund communist-backed forcible repatriation of likely defectors to the West.
There’s quite a lot of confusing happenings in Bern and it transpires that the baddies wish to eliminate “The Committee”, a group who facilitate defection and are based in a small chocolate box picture postcard village called Falken. All characters decamp there for the denouement. Uneasy and atmospheric.

[Stef Rozitis · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story was surprisingly good if you ignore the traces of right wing ideology, the American nationalism and the gratuitous misogyny (he just wanted to shake her until her teeth rattled, etc).

I liked Emily, I wish she'd been in more of it. I did not understand Paula or Francesca they kept being completely irrational for no reason (especially Francesca). There was a sort of undercurrent of what I think was supposed to be attraction between Denning and Francesca and it was tiresome...but the story itself was easy to keep reading.

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wonder what it was like to be Helen MacInnes and to write this kind of cold war thriller, meanwhile perpetuating every single sexist idea that was going at the time. Did she believe the things she wrote, or was she just trying to make a living? Actually, in this book, the men think these things about their women, but the women just get on with conquering the baddies. Sort of.

[Rodger Payne · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's an interesting story, with lessons for the modern world, but the heroic gang working against the villains sometimes reminded me of the Scooby Doo crowd. A group of friends solves a series of crimes by working together. Not all are equally talented as sleuths. Some end up injured. There's not much comic relief, but there is at least one dog...

[Janet · Rating 4 out of 5]

I recall reading several of her books years ago and was curious to see how a thriller written in 1955, during the height of the Cold War, would hold up. Her anti-totalitarian message is still relevant. Some lines do go "thud" to our ears now, such as "She's easy to look at" from one of the male (naturally) heroes near the end of the book. But a tight plot and good action for a quick read.

[Maref · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not as expected.

[Steve · Rating 3 out of 5]

Her descriptions of places and people are beautifully evocative, which is perhaps why I enjoy a few of her novels in spite of the suspense element.

[Robert · Rating 3 out of 5]

Three and half stars rounded down.

Kept waiting for just a little excitement toward the end and it never arrived.

[James Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

This wasn’t a bad book at all, it was just quite slow to start and a little jumpy at times. Some of the characters were engaging but others could have been developed a bit more.

[Joseph · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not one of her best. confusing.

[Joemodz · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is 1953, and after four years in Berlin, Army Captain Bill Denning is ready to head home. He spent the post war years working with the restitution of stolen property. As he's packing his art books and art magazines in his apartment, he's joined by his old friend and former superior, Colonel Max Meyer. Max brings news about the alleged reemergence of a horde of diamonds worth millions of dollars. Max's concerned not about what the diamonds are worth, but what the diamonds could buy-- men's minds. And we’re talking about Communism—the Red Scare in the US in the early 50s. Bill had been heading to Davos, Switzerland, but Max persuades him to join him in Bern. Max said that a man named Charles August Martins, a subordinate in the Nicolaides jewelry theft ring, wants to meet with Max. This all sounds rather sketchy to Bill and it takes Max a while to persuade him. Max said that he has already notified Johann Kepler of Swiss security and Monsieur LaBrun of French security. On his first day in Bern, Bill meets, completely by coincidence, the wife of his old friend, Paula Waymith. Paula introduces Bill to her good school friend, Francesca. She tells Bill that her husband, Andy Waysmith, will be joining her in Bern shortly. The story takes a very quick turn of development and moves to a village outside of Bern called Falken, the home of Francesca. The pace quickens with not only a jewelry heist in the making but also an international conspiracy spying and kidnapping. And, since we're in the Swiss mountains, McInnes returns to one of her favorite plot devices: mountain climbing.
Bill is an art academic who spent his post war years trying to restore stolen Nazi property. Is completely out of his depth once he gets to the village of Falken and the plot progresses. He is an innocent who believes in a cause and is willing to fight at any extreme for that cause.
My personal review ratings are based upon the following:
1 Star, “I did not like it or couldn’t finish it”;
2 Stars, “I think it is just Ok, but I’ll never think about it again”;
3 Stars, “I think it is an entertaining, enjoyable book, but it probably won’t warrant a reread”;
4 Stars, “I really love this book, and I may read it again”;
5 Stars, “I think this book is excellent, I will read it again, and it will likely stand the test of time.”

[Paul Cornelius · Rating 4 out of 5]

MacInnes' first few postwar books failed in my view. She tried to move away from the espionage genre into romance. Not only that, it was philosophically-inclined romance, with vast brooding dialog and inner "torment." She isn't suited for that type writing. Few achieve the standard of a Conrad, for example, where love and romance are affixed atop vastly more interesting and important consequences. MacInnes certainly doesn't. And I abandoned one after another of those postwar offerings until I finally met up with this one, Pray for a Brave Heart. Finally, she got back on track, allowing her stories to follow their obsessively linear tracks. She is very good at this.

In Brave Heart, MacInnes uncovers a nest of Communist agents who are abducting notable figures who have fled Hungary, East Germany, and other countries behind the Iron Curtain. Her method is efficient and workable, placing retiring Army agent William Denning on the road from Berlin to Bern, where he encounters old friend Paula Waysmith, awaiting her husband. Paula, her newly arrived husband, and Denning then are off to the Swiss village of Falken, where a committee responsible for bringing defecting East Europeans has set up shop. An easy story that gives itself over entirely to MacInnes' relentless uncovering of personal secrets and political fears and motivations. Good enough to make me want to read another--finally.

[Clare O'Beara · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story starts in Germany, a bit pointlessly, because it immediately moves to Switzerland. There are two main themes - the restoration of Nazi-stolen loot - if it can be found, diamonds especially - and the threat of communism which was big at the time. This isn't even really Cold War stuff, it is someone being barred from leaving Hungary to move to America, because he is a composer. But of course, if illicit diamonds were sold on the black market, the money could be used in ways that would not suit those on the lead's side.
The lead character does a lot of checking in to hotels and disputing which bag is his, talking to other guests and arguing that any reports he submits will be watered down to trivia. James Bond it's not. Almost all characters are male, referred to by surname, the women referred to by first name. The end does have danger, but I would not call this a suspense story. Still, it shows the concerns in Europe in the decade following WW2.

[Sydney Rheeder · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this book tucked away at a thrift store in Northern Minnesota and loved the sound of it. Little did I know I would stumble upon such a fascinating author. I loved every page of this book, MacInnes is a thorough and interesting writer. I’m excited to dig into more of her books!

[Mardi D · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read this 30+ years ago and decided I like it enough to keep and read again. Finally did that and realized that I remembered nothing of the story line but I still enjoyed it. A different writing style than modern writing but still interesting!

[Cindy B. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not her best but worth reading… narration is fine.