Who Is Vera Kelly [Paperback]

Gripping, subtle, magnificently written . . . This is a cool, strolling boulevardier of a book, worldly, wry, unrushed but never slow, which casts its gaze upon the middle of the last century and forces us to consider how it might be failing us still.Knechts novel is a slow-burn espionage thriller, a complex treatment of queer identity, and an immersive period piece all rolled into one delectable page-turner . . .The personal is most definitely political in Rosalie Knecht's crisp, lively and subversive second novel,?Thanks to Rosalie Knecht's clever, hilarious writing, you'll find yourself wanting everyone you know to read it so that you can discuss together the wholly original, brilliantly subversive character that is Vera Kelly.A splendid genre-pushing thriller . . . A fractured coming-out in the repressive '50s primed Vera for a life of deceptionbut in Knecht's expert hands she's smart and complicated, yearning for connection in a tumultuous world.Forget about 007. This heroine has her own brand of spycraft. . . . Given the current popularity of women-in-trouble psychological suspense tales, where much of the action takes place in the heroines anxious mind, its refreshing to read a novel where a capable young woman not only knows how to fix an electrical short in a transformer, but also how to maneuver around the homophobic biases of her own era.A refreshing and idiosyncratic Cold War spy novel.The character readers have been waiting for. A riveting, satisfying novel.A?buzzing, smoky, gin-soaked charmer.When we first meet Vera Kelly, shes a troubled 1950s teenager whos overdosed on Equanil. Next shes in explosive 1960s Buenos Aires after being recruited by the CIA (I could be charming if I wanted to. There were basic tricks). . . . All the edgy fun of classic noir but in an original voice thats fresh, brisk, and snappy. Hugely buzzing.In?Sardonic, intelligent, and thrillingly original, Rosalie Knecht has not only revitalized the flóL