(A copy of this novel was provided by Titan Books for review.)

Helen MacInnes is one of the biggest writers you’ve never heard about.  Once known as “the queen of spy writers” she sold over 25 million books and yet many modern day fans of the genre have never heard of her.  Thanks to Titan Books, these classic tales set during World War II and the Cold War are back in print and being rediscovered by rabid readers around the world.

Her first title, Above Suspicion, is a classic tale of normal people getting caught up in a secret world they weren’t aware of before.  Sure, many stories like that exist today and some may find this book a bit by the numbers.  What those readers need to remember is that this is the book that created those numbers.

This story of Richard Myles and his wife hiking through Europe just before World War II erupts is an intense one.   Through the course of the story these average people are forced to become so much more.  Not only is this a story about a couple saving themselves, but also saving Queen and country as well.   This is also the story that boils.  Every page not only brings the Myles closer to danger, but also the world closer to war.  Characters from England, France and the United States speak not just for themselves but for their countries as well.  Issues of strength, honor and loyalty are explored.  Don’t take MacInnes’s tremendous output as a sign that her writing was rushed.  She created something tremendous here that deserves to be in the short list of great spy novels.