Shadows Behind the Scenery

by Mary Ann Noe

"Mary Ann Noe deftly blends historical fiction, espionage, and theater in this tension-laden WWII tale, vividly capturing the hazards of wartime travel, the resilience of Londoners under siege, and the shadowy world of intelligence work." -Cam Torrens, award-winning author of The Tyler Zahn suspense novels

On stage, actors can become anybody. And Lynn Fontanne and Alfred Lunt want to use their acting skills to help a world ravaged by World War II.

Getting to a war zone itself is fraught with peril-U-boats prowling the Atlantic, planes shot down, storms on the high seas. Once safely in London, the Lunts dedicate themselves to supporting the populace by volunteering as air raid wardens and hospital orderlies, and most especially through their cathartic dramas. The tensions of wartime and constant vigilance amid crushing fear and nightly bombings leave the city reeling.

But in the most important performance of their lives, Lynn and Alfred take on the roles of spies to ferret out a suspected Nazi collaborator. He has the potential to destroy Allied secret plans for an invasion across the Channel. Invited to the suspect's isolated manor house, the Lunts play a cat-and-mouse game, teetering on a razor's edge to find proof of the man's dangerous dealings with the Germans.

223 pages, Paperback

Published February 5, 2026

Reviews

[Grandma Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This author is new to me and now a treasure. This story is part of a series. Alfred and Lynn are a dynamic acting couple. They also become spies who have a significant impact on the invasion of Normandy. Mary Ann Noe does a thorough job with her research. Her scenes are also quite descriptive. I want to read all of this series. Highly recommend.

I was blessed with an ARC. Thank you NetGalley and Black Rose Writing, The opinions expressed are my own and unbiased.

[Cam Torrens · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mary Ann Noe deftly blends historical fiction, espionage, and theater in this tension-laden WWII tale. Lynn and Alfred’s quick wits and dramatic flair make them uniquely suited for war-battered London, where deception is a matter of life and death, and their journey—both onstage and off—is filled with danger and intrigue. Noe's novel vividly captures the hazards of wartime travel, the resilience of Londoners under siege, and the shadowy world of intelligence work. Fans of historical thrillers written in an early 20th-century voice will be swept up in this riveting story of the power of performance under duress.

[DL Heim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh, my goodness what a delightful read! Author Mary Ann Noe’s latest novel Shadows Behind the Scenery, a fictionalized account of London in wartime, is at once grounded by historical details and utterly fantastical. We follow Lynn Fontanne and Alfred Lunt, paramours and paragons of the stage, as they employ their considerable acting talents to rally a war weary city, while spying on Nazi sympathizers for the Allies. What I absolutely loved was Noe’s characterization of the Lunts. I expected the author at some point to unmask the actors, to reveal them as deeply flawed in some way. Thankfully, she never did. Whether acting on stage, volunteering for the war effort, supporting each other as a supremely compatible married couple, or engaging in espionage, they never broke character. This novel is a callback to a less cynical time, when fascism was not rebranded as strength, and the world pulled together to defeat evil. Highly recommend, especially if you’re looking for your next book club read.