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  • Northern Spy

  • Reese's Book Club (A Novel)
  • Written by: Flynn Berry
  • Narrated by: Katharine Lee McEwan
  • Length: 7 hrs and 52 mins
  • 4.3 out of 5 stars (156 ratings)

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Northern Spy

Written by: Flynn Berry
Narrated by: Katharine Lee McEwan
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Publisher's Summary

Reese’s Book Club Pick
Instant New York Times Best Seller
A New York Times Book Review Top 10 Thriller of 2021
A Washington Post Top 10 Thriller or Mystery of 2021

“If you love a mystery, then you’ll devour [Northern Spy].... I loved this thrill ride of a book.” (Reese Witherspoon)

“A chilling, gorgeously written tale.... Berry keeps the tension almost unbearably high.” (The New York Times Book Review)

The acclaimed author of Under the Harrow and A Double Life returns with her most riveting novel to date: the story of two sisters who become entangled with the IRA

A producer at the BBC and mother to a new baby, Tessa is at work in Belfast one day when the news of another raid comes on the air. The IRA may have gone underground in the two decades since the Good Friday Agreement, but they never really went away, and lately bomb threats, security checkpoints, and helicopters floating ominously over the city have become features of everyday life. As the news reporter requests the public's help in locating those responsible for the robbery, security footage reveals Tessa's sister, Marian, pulling a black ski mask over her face. 

The police believe Marian has joined the IRA, but Tessa is convinced she must have been abducted or coerced; the sisters have always opposed the violence enacted in the name of uniting Ireland. And besides, Marian is vacationing on the north coast. Tessa just spoke to her yesterday.

When the truth about Marian comes to light, Tessa is faced with impossible choices that will test the limits of her ideals, the bonds of her family, her notions of right and wrong, and her identity as a sister and a mother. Walking an increasingly perilous road, she wants nothing more than to protect the one person she loves more fiercely than her sister: her infant son, Finn. 

Riveting, atmospheric, and exquisitely written, Northern Spy is at once a heart-pounding story of the contemporary IRA and a moving portrait of sister- and motherhood, and of life in a deeply divided society.

©2021 Flynn Berry (P)2021 Penguin Audio

What the critics say

Named a Best Book of 2021 by The New York Times, The Washington Post, CrimeReads, Kirkus Reviews, and the New York Public Library

“A chilling, gorgeously written tale of a modern community poisoned by ancient grievances.... Berry is a beautiful writer with a sophisticated, nuanced understanding of this most complicated of places.” (The New York Times Book Review)  

“Thrillingly good.... Flynn Berry shows a le Carré-like flair for making you wonder what’s really going on at any given moment.... Berry won an Edgar for Under the Harrow in 2017. Here comes another contender.” (The Washington Post

“[A] beguiling thriller that’s hard to put down.... Even at its highest pitch, [Northern Spy] remains a human-centered story that closely examines the behavior of siblings, babies, mothers and friends.” (The Wall Street Journal

What listeners say about Northern Spy

Average Customer Ratings
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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Political and revealing

This novel is extremely well written and its characters rendered in clear, unsentimental detail. The story is at times bleak, but given the subject matter, it’s inevitable. Flynn Berry examines the pointless violence committed by terrorist organizations and how human life is considered expendable.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Satisfying in every way

An exciting thriller, with well-developed characters (especially the protagonist), and a plausible resolution. It has a wonderful sense of time and place. Beyond that it is a wonderful evocation of motherhood as the story unfolds during the first year of Tessa;s newborn. The narrator's voice is a soft and convincing Irish one.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars
  • CJT
  • 2023-03-16

Real page turner.

Recommend this book for a thriller read. Golly two very brave sisters. I also was also interested in the background of IRA and how it is currently operating underground now. You don’t hear much about this in the news now.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Loved it

Thrilling and moving account. Excellent narration. Very unexpected. I could picture the beautiful landscape through the descriptions.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Great book!

Good plot, great characters! The narration was wonderful, would listen to her read anything really.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Too Much Finn this and Finn that

Beautiful writing but rolled eyes frequently on the constant references to protagonist's son ...just hard to believe she had no other thoughts ever.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

So much potential!

I really enjoyed the narrator of this story, she read well and kept me engaged. The ending definitely picked up, but initially, the text felt rushed and more like the character was telling me everything that happened instead of showing me. i.e. there was some missed opportunity to really build the suspense. Overall, this was an enjoyable read and a fascinating topic.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Interesting info on the IRA

I was interested in the storyline as i don’t know much about the IRA, and find fiction that is based on truth a good way to learn. I found the voice a little too emotionless, and the story line a little too detailed, and found I had to turn it off few times because of that. otherwise it was a decent story to listen to.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Wonderful

Deeply enjoyable. A tender attention to detail and humanity. Lovely to listen to! Can’t wait to read more of Berry’s work.

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  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Too much prose and note enough store

I felt the writing was too detailed,everything was over described.
The story line self was pretty weak.

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