Doublespeak: A Novel (Lena Stillman, #2) by Alisa Smith

Doublespeak: A Novel (Lena Stillman, #2) Reviews

• 
  Magdalena aka A Bookaholic Swede

  Lieutenant Lena Stillman is stunned when she receives a message from a man she thought was dead. She's working in Alaska as a code-breaker and now her old lover Bill wants her to come to Siam. Not only that, he may be able to help her locate Corporal Link Hughes who she felt she betrayed. Now it seems that Bill knows where Link is. But what are his motives? And can she abandon her position in Alaska? What will her boss, spymaster Miss Maggie, say about that?
  
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• 
  Stanley McShane

  Written in noir style, the novel is dark and intriguing using multiple first persons. Lieutenant Lena Stillman is an ex-bank robber and ended up in Shemya, Alaska at the end of WW2 as a code-breaker. Years before, Lena was part of a criminal element that was called the Clockwork Gang. There were four in the gang. Bill Bagley was the brains and two others besides herself, Byron Godfrey and Link Hughes. Bill settled in Siam and secured a lucrative enterprise. Lena feels responsible for what happened to Link during the war. And now, years after they scattered, she receives an astounding message from Bill regarding Link. Regardless of her feelings for Bill, she absolutely MUST travel to Siam to see Link and square herself with him. And she is not the only one from the old gang receiving an urgent message.
  First, I enjoyed the author's sagacity when it came to matters of spying, foreign lands, pre, during, and post-war politics, and being "the criminal used for good" (they have the expertise a by-the-book grunt wouldn't). I had not read Book 1, but felt it could function as a standalone as we certainly get the person that is Bill/William, as well as the other main characters.
  Several chapters evolve before you begin to get a sense of who is speaking and then you must discern if they are a reliable narrator. The timeline is not a lengthy one, but there is a lot to take in. The dialogue between main characters and those they are dealing with feel natural. The storyline is well-plotted and builds tension as each of the individuals share their perspective and pressure escalates. The people, the smells, the overcrowded and unhealthy conditions bring forth an unwelcome conjuring of sights you can't unsee. And still, it takes a while before the entire mission becomes clear.
  I received this ebook from the publisher and NetGalley and appreciated the opportunity to read and review. While this novel may not be for everyone, if you are looking for something different, enjoy historical novels, and spy action-adventure, particularly with a single-minded capable female protagonist, you'll enjoy this one.
  
  See my full review at
  https://rosepointpublishing.com/2019/...
  
• 
  Jessica

  Thanks to St Martin's Press for the free advanced copy in exchange for my honest review
  
  It’s no secret that I love historical fiction and I love mysteries, well when you combine them then it’s a surefire hit for me. DOUBLESPEAK by Alisa Smith hit the elements from both genres that I love. This is book two in the series, but I think this read just fine as a standalone because I never felt lost. I do, however, want to go back and pick up SPEAKEASY because I’ve heard nothing but incredible things.
  
  We follow Lieutenant Lena Stillman from her code-breaking mission in Alaska to her recuse mission in Bangkok. She is reunited with pieces of her past and everyone’s alliances come into question as the story progresses. Smith does a great job setting the post-WWII scene for us and illustrating the tensions and adjustments to life now that the war has ended. We get such a wide range of scenery thrown at us and none of it feels disjointed. We are dropped in Alaska with Lena and then transported to exotic Bangkok as she embarks on her next mission.
  
  This historical fiction/mystery novel also has the espionage and spy element that I love. I think the pacing stayed consistent and quick, the characterization was solid and I felt like I got to know Lena without having anything lost in translation (not having read book one), and there was plenty of action. Who can she trust? Who has ulterior motives? Who is good and who is bad? So many questions and I think Smith seamlessly wove this complex plot.
  
  Overall, if you’re looking for a solid historical fiction meets espionage/spy mystery, then this is the book for you! Off to pick up book one in the Lena Stillman series and I’ll be keeping an eye out for more from Smith.
• 
  Seema Rao

  Thrilling ~ Perplexing ~ Wraught
  
  tl;dr: Spies don't get breaks in peace time.
  
  Doublespeak follows the path of a code-breaker Lena Stillman into post-World War II South East Asia. The writing is more John Le Carre than Ian Fleming with a matter-of-factness. While this is the second book in the series, it was my first. I didn't necesarily feel lost. I did wonder for much of the book where the truth lay, and often wondered if the protagonist was reliable. But, the reader's feeling of uncertainty might be due to the genre. The book is full of people making poor choices for country and personal profit. In all, like many spy thrillers, these sorts of books remind me why subterfuge isn't my bag. In terms of a book, this was a well-made spy thriller/ mystery with a strong female protagonist. I enjoyed the read.
  
  TW: There are plenty of 40s-style references to natives, who are being treated as you might imagine.
  
  Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
  
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• 
  nikkia neil

  I was given a ARC of this book in exchange for a honest review.
  
  Love this change of location to the far East. This is a fast paced, dangerous, exciting, and provocative novel.
• 
  Sarah Swedberg

  A good end-of-summer read. It's an old-timey feeling spy novel, but with a woman as one of the main characters.
• 
  Amber

  3.5 stars. I didn’t like this as much as the first but it was still a really good story. It takes place approximately 3 years after WWII mostly in Alaska and Siam.
• 
  Denise

  Thank you to netgalley.com for the ARC.
  
  I had read the first book in the series and enjoyed all the characters. I wanted to say that I actually liked the characters even better in this second book in the series. The story moves from the Pacific Northwest to Alaska, Hawaii, and Thailand (Siam in the book). The description of the locations are phenomenal and I felt that I was in Siam in the 1940's. I enjoyed the story line and how the characters from the first book were brought back together again in an ingenious way. Lena, the story's heroine, is a flawed character but relatable. I look forward to reading more of her adventures.
• 
  Kristen McDermott

  My review of this book appears in
  Historical Novels Review issue 89 (August 2019):
  
  “Fairy tales have lives of their own.” Lena Stillman, the narrator of this fine sequel to
  Speakeasy, knows that our deeds are one thing, but the stories we tell ourselves about them quite another. Even a brilliant, unsentimental cryptographer like Lena can fall prey to dreams and fantasies in the right circumstances, and Smith packs her novel with a propulsive plot, and her characters with twisty, complicated motives.
  
  As the novel begins, Lena is one of the few remaining intelligence officers posted on the remote island of Shemya in the Aleutians, decoding intercepted Russian radio transmissions while struggling with ennui and cynicism about how the end of WWII left no clear winners, just an open theater for the new Cold War. Meanwhile, her co-narrator (as in the first novel), the shady accountant Byron Godfrey, is propelled out of the comfortable post-criminal life he has made by the news that Bill Bagley, his partner in his old bank-robbing gang (and Lena’s former lover) had escaped from death row in a Vancouver prison. Byron is summoned to join him in Bangkok for new, if unsavory, financial opportunities. Lena receives a similar summons and goes AWOL to answer it for reasons of her own.
  
  The atmosphere as both Byron and Lena make their way to Thailand is torrid and cynical. Smith balances the general unpleasantness of her characters’ personalities with lush descriptions of postwar Siam. Lena and Byron become increasingly dependent on one another as Bill maneuvers them into a spy plot that may have broad international implications. For this reason, readers will want to have read Speakeasy first; otherwise the sinister hold that Bill has on the two narrators will seem implausible and inexplicable. As a sequel, however, this is a satisfying adventure, especially for readers who wish Graham Greene and John le Carré had created more strong female protagonists.
• 
  Shkolnikjx

  This book really touched me. I felt completely engrossed by the intricate storyline and the characters that were beautiful inside and out.
  A truly marvelous piece of writing.
• 
  Carol Custer

  This was more of a 'spy' novel than I usually read and I'm afraid it didn't hold my interest very well. Still, the writing is good and the characters were well-defined. Just not my favorite kind of book