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

Helen MacInnes is one of the biggest writers you have 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.

Pray for a Brave Heart stars Bill Denning as an American trying to prevent a stash of Nazi diamonds from being smuggled out of Switzerland.  MacInnes shows off her writing talents and takes the reader through every emotion with her incredible descriptions.  First is the edge of the seat spy story.  Time after Time in Helen’s writing the heroes find themselves in situations that readers are sure there’s no way escape.  Fans get so used to the “rules” and expect the main character to be unharmed, alive and successful at the end of the story.  Its a rare pleasure (which makes the pleasure even more enjoyable) to have a writer so masterful those rules are forgotten.  Not to say that everything does work out well for all involved, but any more explanation would be telling.

This book also showcases MacInnes’s ability to paint an image.  Every location is described with richer terms than the best travel books.  Her vivid imagery for Switzerland’s landscape only makes the more dangerous and darker parts of the story that much more intense.  Her balance of light and dark applies not just to the locales but to the characters as well.

While Pray for a Brave Heart wasn’t as good as Above Suspicion it is still leagues better than the mystery and spy novels currently found on that small table at the front of Barnes and Noble.  As more of Helen MacInnes’s books are re-released they will come at the highest recommendation.