Spies

by Brian Gallagher

Orphan Johnny Dunne has fled Balbriggan, where he spied for the rebels in Ireland's War of Independence. Now he has a new and even more dangerous mission. Rebel leader Michael Collins engages in a cut-throat secret war with British Intelligence: and Johnny, Ireland's youngest spy at only fourteen years of age, finds himself at the centre of the action. In a Dublin full of gunmen, soldiers, police informers and the dreaded Black and Tans, Johnny has to watch his every move. But it's hard to turn his back on the past, especially on his friendships with Alice Goodman, and with Stella Radcliffe, the daughter of a British officer, who risked her own life to save his. As the War of Independence grows more lethal, the three friends must decide where their loyalties lie. Then a secret from Johnny's past changes everything.

256 pages, Paperback

Published August 13, 2018

About the author

Brian Gallagher is a full-time writer whose plays and short stories have been produced in Ireland, Britain and Canada. He has worked extensively in radio and television, writing many dramas and documentaries. He collaborated with composer Shaun Purcell on the musical, Larkin, for which he wrote the book and lyrics, and on Winds of Change for RTE’s Lyric FM.

His first book of historical fiction for young readers was Across the Divide, set in the 1913 Dublin Lockout, followed by Taking Sides, set against the background of the Civil War, and Secrets and Shadows, an exciting spy novel that begins with the North Strand bombings during World War II.

Brian lives with his family in Dublin.

Reviews

[Arsenic · Rating 4 out of 5]

Je ne pensais pas accroché autant à ce livre, trouvé par hasard dans une librairie irlandaise.
C'est un roman jeunesse mettant en scène 3 amis de 14 ans au début des années 1920.
C'est apparemment la suite de Pawns: Ireland's War of Independence, ce que je ne savais pas en commençant le bouquin. Je n'ai pas lu Pawns et je n'ai eu aucun problème pour comprendre l'histoire dans Spies.
Le style de l'auteur est simple mais efficace, j'ai été bien prise dans l'histoire et le niveau d'anglais n'a pas été trop compliqué pour moi. :)

J'ai aimé les amitiés décrites dans le livre, le fait qu'il n'y ait pas de romance (ce que j'aurai trouvé très cliché), les éléments d'Histoire et le fait que ça ne soit pas tout blanc ou tout noir mais qu'il y ait de la nuance dans les propos des personnages.
Une très chouette histoire d'amitié sous fond d'indépendance de l'Irlande.