A Most Clever Girl

A Novel of An American Spy

By: Stephanie Marie Thornton

Narrated by: Tavia Gilbert

A thrilling novel of love, loyalty, and espionage, based on the incredible true story of Elizabeth Bentley, a Cold War double agent spying for the Russians and the United States, from USA Today bestselling author Stephanie Marie Thornton.

1963: Reeling from the death of her mother and President Kennedy’s assassination, Catherine Gray shows up on Elizabeth Bentley’s doorstep demanding answers to the shocking mystery she just uncovered about her family. What she doesn’t expect is for Bentley to ensnare her in her own story of becoming a controversial World War II spy and Cold War informer…

Recruited by the American Communist Party to spy on fascists at the outbreak of World War II, a young Bentley—code name Clever Girl—finds she has an unexpected gift for espionage. But after falling desperately in love with her handler, Elizabeth makes another surprise discovery when she learns he is actually a Russian spy. Together, they will build the largest Soviet spy network in America and Elizabeth will become its uncrowned Red Spy Queen. However, once the war ends and the U.S. and U.S.S.R. become embroiled in the Cold War, it is Elizabeth who will dangerously clash with the NKVD, the brutal Soviet espionage agency.

As Catherine listens to Elizabeth's harrowing tale, she discovers that the women's lives are linked in shocking ways. Faced with the idea that her entire existence is based on a lie, Catherine realizes that only Elizabeth Bentley can tell her what the truth really is.

What a GREAT story!

I was sucked into this audiobook with zero chance of getting out. The story was so incredibly well written and the narration kept me completely consumed, I had to force myself to take breaks to eat and sleep. I love and recommend the hell out of this book. 10/10⭐️

A Story of Loyalty, Survival, Allegiance, Bravery, and their Oppositea

I enjoyed the narrative, the personal touch on the reasons and justifications of presented events, the existential tiny bits of wisdom coming from supposed villains or villanised people. The normalisation of life of spies challenges the reader to put into perspective the often black and white appearances history provides. The characters are realistically depicted and complex personalities emerge from the justaposition of social and political views over individual drives and expectations.

Over all enjoyed

Over all it was a good story some parts are slow and I enjoyed the historical relevance.

Very Clever!

This was a fun story, love, mystery, and historical were all great parts to this. It was really cool to hear the Authors note where they discussed the historical accuracy.

Loved it

Wow. I knew absolutely nothing about this character and loved every minute of it. Well done.