-
Your next favorite book
is waiting.
Livy Nash Mystery #1
by M. L. Huie
A page-turning new historical mystery for fans of Susan Elia MacNeal's Maggie Hope series and Kate Quinn's The Alice Network.
How far would you go for vengeance?
It's V-E Day 1946 in London. World War II is long over, and former spy Livy Nash is celebrating with her third drink before noon. She went to war to kill Nazis. Dropped behind enemy lines as a courier, she quickly became one of the toughest agents in France. But her war ended with betrayal and the execution of the man she loved. Now, Livy spends her days proofreading a demeaning advice column for little ladies at home, and her nights alone with black market vodka.
But everything changes when she meets the infamous Ian Fleming. The man who will create the world's most sophisticated secret agent has an agenda of his own and sends Livy back to France with one task: track down the traitor who killed the only man she ever loved. Livy jumps at the chance, heading back to Paris undercover as a journalist. But the City of Lights is teeming with spies, and Livy quickly learns just how much the game has changed. With enemies on every corner and ever-shifting alliances, she'll have to learn to fight a new war if she wants to conquer the past once and for all.
"Huie does an excellent job dramatizing events in the early days of the cold war. Vibrant characters, international intrigue, gritty action, and a wittily acerbic Ian Fleming, too—who could ask for more?" - Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"Huie's debut is an old-fashioned mystery shot through with tragedy; for aficionados of the glamour and romance of spycraft." - Kirkus Reviews
"This debut is more emotional than Fleming's own Bond novels...Nash is a welcome new protagonist who will be welcomed by fans of Kate Atkinson's Transcription and Simon Mawer's Tightrope." - Booklist
"Huie's taut spy thriller takes the reader to a Britain and France where the wounds of war are both deep and fresh...An auspicious debut." - Charlie Lovett, New York Times bestselling author of The Bookman's Tale
"Post WWII London and Paris serve as a backdrop for a gutsy, damaged heroine who matches wits with a dangerous new enemy. A riveting page-turner!" - Dianne Freeman, author of the award-winning Countess of Harleigh mystery series
"Huie writes with dry, cracking wit and unflinching heart...Filled with intrigue, betrayal, heartache, and danger, Spitfire is a debut not to be missed." - Meghan Holloway, author of Once More Unto the Breach
This information about Spitfire was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
M. L. Huie is a writer, teacher and actor. In addition to working ten years as a features journalist he has written several plays that have been performed throughout the US and in the UK. Like Livy Nash he loves the northwest of England and has a Yank's appreciation for a good Lancashire Hot Pot. Spitfire is his first novel.
If you liked Spitfire, try these:
by Dan Fesperman
Published 2023
An exhilarating spy thriller inspired by a true story about the precious secrets up for grabs just after the fall of the Berlin Wall - from the acclaimed author of The Cover Wife
by Addison Armstrong
Published 2022
The Paris Library meets The Flight Girls in this captivating historical novel about the sacrifice and courage necessary to live a life of honor, inspired by the first female volunteer librarians during World War I and the first women accepted into the U.S. Naval Academy.
by Rebecca Starford
Published 2022
A twisting, sophisticated World War II novel following a spy who goes undercover as a part of MI5 - in chasing the secrets of others, how much will she lose of herself?
L.A. Women by Ella Berman
Two ambitious writers in 1960s LA face betrayal when one writes a novel based on the other's life.
Your guide toexceptional books
BookBrowse seeks out and recommends the best in contemporary fiction and nonfiction—books that not only engage and entertain but also deepen our understanding of ourselves and the world around us.
