Crooked Adam

By: D.E. Stevenson

Narrated by: Richard Attlee

1940 finds Adam Southey in a mood of bitter resentment: he cannot join up because he is lame. But at the school where he is teaching, the headmaster, Sam Cooke, is a brilliant scientist. And Adam suddenly finds that the battleground is not the only place to fight a war — for Dr. Cooke has developed a deadly secret weapon and enemy agents are after the plans.

Adam and the doctor move to an engineering works in Scotland to build a working model of the weapon. Here, in the wild beauty of the Highlands, Adam is drawn into a desperate game of cat and mouse with the enemy — and he meets Brenda, who is young and beautiful and in terrible danger. . .

©1942 D.E. Stevenson (P)2025 ISIS Audio

Stevenson tries her hand at a spy thriller

Long time readers/listeners/fans of the works of D. E. Stevenson should be aware that this book isn't really her normal type of work. During WWII she decided to try her hand on a spy thriller, instead of the humorous slice of life novels that are her main output. If you are expecting one of those, you might find this a disappointment, and I admit that spy thrillers aren't my usual read/listen. For a spy thriller written during WWII at a time when no one knew how the war would end, if England or Germany would win, it is an interesting listen. And Richard Attlee does a good job of narration. He puts enough emotion into the characters, without having it be overdone. I found myself listening and watching the tale with my inward eye, as if it would a Hitchcock movie like North By Northwest, especially when the hero finds himself being chased over the hills of Scotland by a pair of German agents.

And one also has Stevenson's skillful use of description and character building. As I don't want to spoil the plot, I won't describe it, the plot summary given by the blurb is accurate.

An interesting change of pace from what one usually expects from a D. E. Stevenson novel.