Historical fiction is all about blending the original with the familiar, about those delicate new stitches woven into the tapestry. The best practitioners of this often subtle art can sew those new threads without ever breaking the pattern, until the new and the old, the real and the fictional, are one and the same. With her latest novel, Kate Quinn announces herself as one of the best artists of the genre.

The Alice Network jumps deftly and briskly between two tumultuous periods of European history: 1947, in the wake of the second world war; and 1915, in the heat of the first. After World War II, Charlie St. Clair—a young American woman being shuffled off to Europe by her family due to a surprise pregnancy—is searching for her lost French cousin, and her quest leads her to the London doorstep of a prickly, drunken woman named Eve Gardiner.

In 1915, a much younger Eve is working as a file girl for the war effort when her multilingual skills and ability to go unnoticed (helped by her stammer) earn her the opportunity to work as a spy in German-occupied France. Eve wants to be on the front lines, but she may be unprepared for how far she'll have to go.

Quinn's novel links the two women across time, as it becomes clear that something from Eve's dark past lingers in Charlie's present. The plotting is seamless, the pace breathtaking, and the prose is both vivid and laced with just the right amount of detail. Charlie is a fiercely entertaining narrator, and Eve is one of the most complex and rewarding characters you'll find in a new novel this year.

Fans of historical fiction, spy fiction and thrilling drama will love every moment of The Alice Network. It's a masterful novel that will leave you craving more.

This article was originally published in the June 2017 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.

Those looking for intrigue and danger in their summer fiction may be drawn to Quinn's (Mistress of Rome) latest, already generating positive early buzz. Featuring a time line split between a woman desperately seeking her cousin in 1947 postwar France and the doings of the "Alice Network" of female spies during World War I, this fast-paced story offers courageous heroines, villains you love to hate, and dramatic life-or-death stakes.

In May 1947, Charlotte "Charlie" St. Clair and her mother have crossed the Atlantic so the unwed Charlie can discreetly end her pregnancy in a Swiss clinic. A chance to search for her beloved cousin Rose, who disappeared during World War II, gives Charlie the courage to break free and head to London. Rose may have been involved in the French Resistance, and her last known connection was a woman named Eve, who carries her own war secrets. Even with the background detail given at the novel's outset, there is so much more to learn as these characters are thoughtfully developed through interior decision making and the actions they take. Allowing Charlie to describe present events, while Eve shares her experience as an English spy for the real-life Alice Network during World War I, creates a fascinating tension that intensifies as the finale approaches. VERDICT A compelling blend of historical fiction, mystery, and women's fiction, Quinn's ("Empress of Rome" series) complex story and engaging characters have something to offer just about everyone. [See "Summer Escapes," LJ 5/15/17.]—Stacey Hayman, Rocky River P.L., OH

Pregnant and uncertain of her future, a desperate Charlie investigates her cousin's disappearance during World War II—a probe that soon uncovers secrets about a vast network of female spies during World War I. (LJ 6/1/17)