'There's a spy in England. Frankie's letter. Read Frankie's letter...'
These were the last words said by a dying man to Anthony Brooke in Kiel, the heart of Imperial Germany, during the height of World War One.
Anthony Brooke, English secret agent, was unsuspected until Terence Cavanaugh stumbled into his room. His cover blown and with the German army at his heels, Anthony has to escape from Kiel and get the secret of Frankie's letter back to England.
But who is Frankie? The search to discover the truth leads Anthony to an innocent-seeming country house. Here, deep within the English countryside, as Anthony uncovers a web of spies, treachery and terrorists, the war becomes very close, very personal, and, as he falls hopelessly in love, very, very dangerous.'
My thoughts:
Personally, I thought that reading a spy book set in the intrigue of WWI would be interesting. However, this book feel flat. It was clumsily done, rushed, and at times made no sense whatsoever. It seemed like the author just wanted to get done writing this and didn't care about the plot and whether the storyline made any sense. It wasn't horrendous, it just wasn't a good read. The main character is an English spy in Germany, until another spy blows Brooke's cover and Brooke literally must run for his life. This story is basically about Brooke's flight from Germany and his spying in England.
This book was downright boring at times. It really did not keep my interest and I almost wish I hadn't even picked it up to begin with. Spy stories should be thrillers and hit the ground running. While there was a dramatic moment right at the beginning, it fell seriously flat after that. I had a hard time believing the storyline and it felt so rushed to me, it just wasn't a fun read. I highly recommend that you skip this one, unless you prefer to be bored.
To be honest, I am having a hard time writing anything positive about this book at the moment. Normally, I can review a book I don't like by taking the time to explain what I didn't like and what could make the book better, but honestly, I am drawing a blank with this one. To me this book was scatterbrained and not well-thought out and it was confusing to keep up with at times. I am really struggling trying to think of something to write about this book, but I would rather just forget about it. The ending hints at a sequel and I'm praying the author doesn't waste her time bothering.
Overall Rating: 1.5
Title: Frankie's Letter
Author: Dolores Gordon-Smith
Series: N/A
Publisher: Severn House Publishers
Publication Date: January 1, 2013
Pages: 224
Genre: Historical Mystery
Get It: Amazon; Barnes & Noble
Disclaimer: This book was selected from the library by myself and I reviewed this book without compensation of any kind. All thoughts and opinions are solely mine.