Northern spy

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Series
Northern spy volume 1
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Varies, see individual formats and editions
Publication Date
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Language
English

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Reese’s Book Club Pick Instant New York Times Bestseller A New York Times Book Review Top 10 Thriller of 2021 A Washington Post Top 10 Thriller or Mystery of 2021   “If you love a mystery, then you’ll devour [Northern Spy] . . . I loved this thrill ride of a book.”—Reese Witherspoon“A chilling, gorgeously written tale . . . Berry keeps the tension almost unbearably high.” –The New York Times Book ReviewThe acclaimed author of Under the Harrow and A Double Life returns with her most riveting novel to date: the story of two sisters who become entangled with the IRAA producer at the BBC and mother to a new baby, Tessa is at work in Belfast one day when the news of another raid comes on the air. The IRA may have gone underground in the two decades since the Good Friday Agreement, but they never really went away, and lately bomb threats, security checkpoints, and helicopters floating ominously over the city have become features of everyday life. As the news reporter requests the public's help in locating those responsible for the robbery, security footage reveals Tessa's sister, Marian, pulling a black ski mask over her face. The police believe Marian has joined the IRA, but Tessa is convinced she must have been abducted or coerced; the sisters have always opposed the violence enacted in the name of uniting Ireland. And besides, Marian is vacationing on the north coast. Tessa just spoke to her yesterday.When the truth about Marian comes to light, Tessa is faced with impossible choices that will test the limits of her ideals, the bonds of her family, her notions of right and wrong, and her identity as a sister and a mother. Walking an increasingly perilous road, she wants nothing more than to protect the one person she loves more fiercely than her sister: her infant son, Finn. Riveting, atmospheric, and exquisitely written, Northern Spy is at once a heart-pounding story of the contemporary IRA and a moving portrait of sister- and motherhood, and of life in a deeply divided society.

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ISBN
9780735224995
9780593395110
9780735225008

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Also in this Series

  • Northern spy (Northern spy Volume 1) Cover
  • Trust her (Northern spy Volume 2) Cover

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Similar Series From Novelist

NoveList provides detailed suggestions for series you might like if you enjoyed this book. Suggestions are based on recommendations from librarians and other contributors.
These complex thrillers combine the tension of fraught family dynamics with high-stakes danger. Female journalists deal with their sisters' involvement with the IRA in Northern Spy; vigilantes in the U.S. in Sawyer Brooks. Both star sympathetic protagonists navigating systemic dangers. -- Andrienne Cruz
These atmospheric and intricately plotted thrillers with a strong sense of place star Northern Irish women whose personal lives are dragged into police investigations (Paula Maguire) and espionage (Northern Spy). -- Andrienne Cruz
These suspenseful and intricately plotted crime (Ructions O' Hare) and thriller (Northern Spy) series tackle the effects of criminal activities on the personal lives of complex protagonists with ties to the IRA. -- Andrienne Cruz
These series have the genres "political thrillers" and "spy fiction"; and the subjects "intelligence service," "secrecy," and "threat (psychology)."
These series have the appeal factors suspenseful and intricately plotted, and they have the genres "thrillers and suspense" and "spy fiction"; and the subjects "suspicion," "former cia agents," and "secrets."
These series have the appeal factors intricately plotted, and they have the genres "thrillers and suspense" and "psychological suspense"; the subjects "family secrets" and "deception"; and characters that are "sympathetic characters."
These series have the appeal factors suspenseful and intricately plotted, and they have the genre "thrillers and suspense"; and the subjects "suspicion" and "secrets."
These series have the appeal factors cinematic, character-driven, and intricately plotted, and they have the genre "thrillers and suspense"; the subjects "informers," "familial love," and "organized crime"; and characters that are "sympathetic characters," "flawed characters," and "complex characters."
These series have the appeal factors suspenseful, fast-paced, and intricately plotted, and they have the genre "thrillers and suspense"; and the subjects "suspicion," "deception," and "secrets."

Similar Titles From NoveList

NoveList provides detailed suggestions for titles you might like if you enjoyed this book. Suggestions are based on recommendations from librarians and other contributors.
These books have the appeal factors stylistically complex, and they have the genre "literary fiction"; the subjects "sisters" and "the troubles, 1968-1998"; and characters that are "complex characters."
These books have the appeal factors suspenseful, fast-paced, and intricately plotted, and they have the genre "thrillers and suspense"; and the subjects "single mothers," "motherhood," and "divorced women."
These books have the appeal factors atmospheric, intensifying, and intricately plotted, and they have the genre "literary fiction"; the subjects "families" and "the troubles, 1968-1998"; and characters that are "complex characters."
These books have the appeal factors suspenseful, fast-paced, and intricately plotted, and they have the genres "thrillers and suspense" and "psychological suspense"; the subjects "single mothers," "single fathers," and "divorced women"; and characters that are "complex characters" and "well-developed characters."
These books have the appeal factors suspenseful and intricately plotted, and they have the subjects "sisters," "motherhood," and "mothers and daughters"; and characters that are "complex characters" and "flawed characters."
These books have the appeal factors intricately plotted, and they have the subjects "single mothers," "families," and "family relationships"; and characters that are "complex characters" and "flawed characters."
These suspenseful, atmospheric, and twisty novels feature intricate plots centered on a fictional spy mission (Northern Spy) and real-life bank heist (Northern Heist) involving members of the Irish Republican Army. -- Andrienne Cruz
These books have the appeal factors suspenseful and intricately plotted, and they have the genres "thrillers and suspense" and "psychological suspense"; the subjects "families," "motherhood," and "mothers"; and characters that are "complex characters" and "flawed characters."
Readers interested in the history of Northern Ireland will enjoy these similarly paced thrillers in which "The Troubles" provides the backdrop for stories about family, whether fictional (Northern Spy) or true crime (Say Nothing). -- Alexandra Foster
These books have the appeal factors intricately plotted, and they have the subjects "families" and "family relationships"; and characters that are "well-developed characters."
In these twisty and intricately plotted thrillers, women undertake dangerous espionage missions to rescue their sisters from North Korea (Star of the North) and the clutches of the IRA (Northern Spy). -- Kaitlin Conner
Though the female protagonist in The Expats has previous spy experience, the one in Northern Spy does not; both find themselves entangled in dangerous situations without much backup. Both offer a strong sense of place -- Europe and Northern Ireland respectively. -- Shauna Griffin

Similar Authors From NoveList

NoveList provides detailed suggestions for other authors you might want to read if you enjoyed this book. Suggestions are based on recommendations from librarians and other contributors.
Fans of psychological suspense with intricate plots and interesting female protagonists will enjoy the works of Hallie Ephron and Flynn Berry. Both American authors weave suspenseful and emotional scenarios in mostly domestic settings where unexpected twists and turns uncover surprising revelations. -- Andrienne Cruz
Kate Moretti and Flynn Berry write compelling and intricately plotted psychological suspense novels where well-defined female protagonists are roped into tense and dangerous scenarios as they contend with familial baggage and concerns for their own safety. Both authors are skilled in creating storylines taut with emotion and suspense. -- Andrienne Cruz
These authors' works have the appeal factors atmospheric and intensifying, and they have the genres "thrillers and suspense" and "psychological suspense"; the subjects "suspicion," "missing persons," and "secrets"; and characters that are "complex characters."
These authors' works have the appeal factors intensifying and intricately plotted, and they have the genres "psychological suspense" and "political thrillers"; the subjects "sisters," "suspicion," and "motherhood"; and characters that are "complex characters" and "flawed characters."
These authors' works have the appeal factors menacing, intensifying, and unreliable narrator, and they have the genres "thrillers and suspense" and "psychological suspense"; and the subjects "obsession," "life change events," and "suspicion."
These authors' works have the appeal factors menacing and intensifying, and they have the genre "psychological suspense"; the subjects "obsession," "suspicion," and "single mothers"; and characters that are "complex characters."
These authors' works have the appeal factors intensifying, and they have the genres "psychological suspense" and "political thrillers"; the subjects "motherhood" and "mothers"; and characters that are "complex characters."
These authors' works have the appeal factors intensifying, and they have the genres "thrillers and suspense" and "psychological suspense"; and the subjects "sisters," "single mothers," and "motherhood."
These authors' works have the appeal factors intensifying, and they have the genres "psychological suspense" and "political thrillers"; the subjects "sisters," "life change events," and "motherhood"; and characters that are "complex characters" and "flawed characters."
These authors' works have the appeal factors intensifying and unreliable narrator, and they have the genres "psychological suspense" and "political thrillers"; the subjects "sisters," "obsession," and "single mothers"; and characters that are "complex characters" and "flawed characters."
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These authors' works have the appeal factors stylistically complex, and they have the subjects "sisters," "suspicion," and "threat (psychology)"; and characters that are "complex characters."

Published Reviews

Booklist Review

Berry juxtaposes the pleasures, wonder, and frustrations of life with a baby against a journalist's life in contemporary Northern Ireland. Terrorism first encroaches on Tessa Daly's life as a single mother when she sees her sister, Marian, on TV donning a ski mask to rob a bank with IRA members. Baby care and work fade to insignificance as Tessa scrambles to determine where her sister is, whether she was kidnapped by the terrorists and forced to do take part in the robbery, and how to get her home. That's just the start of this twisting thriller, though, as Tessa becomes far more involved with the terrorists' cause than she ever planned, risking her life to save all she loves. Edgar-winning Berry (Under the Harrow, 2016) unobtrusively uses Tessa's agonizing journey to portray life in the IRA and the nonchalance of the British forces toward Northern Ireland's locals, in the process dropping readers headfirst into the emotions of living in conflict. Berry's portrayal of Irish life is uncannily accurate; give this to all who love an emotional thriller, but also to Irish and Irish American patrons seeking a no-shamrocks look at Ireland in the not-so-distant past.

From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
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Publisher's Weekly Review

Belfast BBC political news producer Tessa Daly, the protagonist of this moving contemporary thriller from Edgar winner Berry (A Double Life), is struggling to juggle her job with caring for her six-month-old son, whose custody she shares with her ex-husband, when she sees a TV clip showing a gas station being robbed by a gun-wielding IRA trio. One of them is her younger sister, Marian, whom Tessa believed to be vacationing on the north coast. Detective Inspector Fenton and his team, who subsequently interrogate Tessa, seem convinced that she must also be IRA or, at the very least, privy to her sister's activities. It turns out that the local authorities don't know an awful lot about the now-fugitive Marian, whose efforts to press Tessa to assist her in her current clandestine mission puts both mother and baby at risk. The tension becomes at times almost unbearable as the plot takes increasingly sharp, sometimes improbable twists. It's a measure of the author's skill that she never loses sight of the humanity of her characters. Berry remains a writer to watch. Agent: Emily Forland, Brandt & Hochman Literary. (Mar.)

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Kirkus Book Review

Berry delivers a taut and compassionate thriller as young mother Tessa is drawn into working as a double agent in the Irish Republican Army to protect her sister. It's been years since the Good Friday Agreement was signed, but tensions in Northern Ireland remain at a constant simmer. Tessa moves through the simple motions of her life: taking care of her infant son, working at the BBC News Belfast bureau, spending time with her mother and sister. The physical isolation and beauty of her home village hint at the possibility of a world in which one doesn't always have to be alert for terrorists; Tessa is old enough, however, to remember the Troubles, and she fears that the IRA will never truly surrender. Still, it comes as a shock at work one day when she sees a video of her sister participating in an IRA robbery. But even more shocking is the revelation that comes from Marian herself once she is able to reach out to Tessa: She's been a member of the IRA for seven years, drawn in by their talk about economic inequality, and has recently begun feeding information to MI5 in order to create space for peace talks. After a bomb she created for the IRA failed to blow up, though, she's under constant surveillance and can no longer meet with her British handler. And so Tessa joins her sister as a double agent: She's accepted by Marian's crew and asked to do increasingly dangerous tasks for the IRA, which she then reports to her handler. Days of espionage are balanced by quiet moments with her son as Tessa comes to realize that putting herself in danger is justified, even necessary, if she wants him to grow up in a safer Ireland. Berry's use of short chapters, often divided into several smaller episodes, is particularly effective in reflecting Tessa's fragmented sense of loyalty and safety. This is not a book of action, though there is plenty, but instead a greater reflection on personal choice and consequence. A poignant and lyrical novel that asks what is worth sacrificing for peace--and provides some answers. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
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Booklist Reviews

*Starred Review* Berry juxtaposes the pleasures, wonder, and frustrations of life with a baby against a journalist's life in contemporary Northern Ireland. Terrorism first encroaches on Tessa Daly's life as a single mother when she sees her sister, Marian, on TV donning a ski mask to rob a bank with IRA members. Baby care and work fade to insignificance as Tessa scrambles to determine where her sister is, whether she was kidnapped by the terrorists and forced to do take part in the robbery, and how to get her home. That's just the start of this twisting thriller, though, as Tessa becomes far more involved with the terrorists' cause than she ever planned, risking her life to save all she loves. Edgar-winning Berry (Under the Harrow, 2016) unobtrusively uses Tessa's agonizing journey to portray life in the IRA and the nonchalance of the British forces toward Northern Ireland's locals, in the process dropping readers headfirst into the emotions of living in conflict. Berry's portrayal of Irish life is uncannily accurate; give this to all who love an emotional thriller, but also to Irish and Irish American patrons seeking a no-shamrocks look at Ireland in the not-so-distant past. Copyright 2020 Booklist Reviews.

Copyright 2020 Booklist Reviews.
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Publishers Weekly Reviews

Belfast BBC political news producer Tessa Daly, the protagonist of this moving contemporary thriller from Edgar winner Berry (A Double Life), is struggling to juggle her job with caring for her six-month-old son, whose custody she shares with her ex-husband, when she sees a TV clip showing a gas station being robbed by a gun-wielding IRA trio. One of them is her younger sister, Marian, whom Tessa believed to be vacationing on the north coast. Detective Inspector Fenton and his team, who subsequently interrogate Tessa, seem convinced that she must also be IRA or, at the very least, privy to her sister's activities. It turns out that the local authorities don't know an awful lot about the now-fugitive Marian, whose efforts to press Tessa to assist her in her current clandestine mission puts both mother and baby at risk. The tension becomes at times almost unbearable as the plot takes increasingly sharp, sometimes improbable twists. It's a measure of the author's skill that she never loses sight of the humanity of her characters. Berry remains a writer to watch. Agent: Emily Forland, Brandt & Hochman Literary. (Mar.)

Copyright 2020 Publishers Weekly.

Copyright 2020 Publishers Weekly.
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