By 
Lindas Book Obsession Reviews “A Most Clever Girl” by Stephanie Marie Thornton, Berkley Publishing, September 2021
Stephanie Marie Thornton, author of “A Most Clever Girl” has written a captivating, intriguing and memorial historical fiction novel. The genres for this novel are Biographical Historial Fiction, and Biographical Fiction. The story is written in two timelines. This is a story of espionage, betrayal, danger, romance and loyalty. I love the way the author has one of her characters weave her story much as the character Scheherazade who saved herself through many tales.There are twists and turns, danger and murder.
Catherine Gray, has lost her mother and President Kennedy’s assassination, has made her seek out Elizabeth Bentley. Catherine wants vengeance, and wants to understand a letter that her mother left her, as well as what motivates Elizabeth Bentley, who is known as a “Red Spy Queen”. What Catherine doesn’t expect is for Elizabeth to tell her how she got involved with communism in college.
I appreciate that the author has her character explain the reasons for her involvement, and some readers will be ambivalent and some sympathetic. The author describes her characters as complex, complicated, and determined.
Kudos to the author for the hours of research into the Communist party in America and Russia. I would recommend this though-provoking book.
Linda's Book Obsession: 