THE DEVIL IN HARBOUR

by Catherine Gavin ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 18, 1968

Many readers clamor for adult novels that are romantic but innocent of clinical sex, active but not brutal, and suspenseful without being incredible. This novel suits these requirements, with only the slightest strain on the reader's willing suspension of disbelief. It is a spy story of WWI and it starts with a Russian ballerina acting as an unwitting courier for the Germans. Trained from childhood to revere the romantic myths she dances, she falls in love with a German naval officer and does no background research into his claims that he is a simple American businessman. She is also a patriot and when her opportunity comes to aid in the escape of a British sailor from the Dutch city in which her troupe is dancing, she does so. He's the brother of a demi-suffragette released from woman's ordinary role by the demands of the war to a key position at the naval decoding office. The ballerina's spy is concerned with codes. The sailor is half way to being in love with the girl he left behind on the Orkney islands; she's half Swedish and the niece of a Swede who is profiteering through his connection with the ballerina's spy and. . . well, the deceptions are as shameless as the interconnections are complex, but the story's energy carries you back to a simpler, less cynical era for spies and counterspies to a quiet evening's satisfying entertainment.

Pub Date: Oct. 18, 1968

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Morrow

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 1968

Categories: FICTION