The Alice Network follows parallel narratives surrounding women and war. In 1947, Charlie St. Clair is a promising young woman: bright, well-educated, and the daughter of wealthy parents. But the toll of the recently-ended war has thrown Charlie off-kilter, leaving her in danger of becoming a disgrace to her family. Nineteen and pregnant, she’s on a trip with her mother to “take care of her little problem” and return to the life her parents have planned for her. But Charlie has another idea: tracking down her beloved cousin Rose, a Frenchwoman who went missing during the war and hasn’t been heard from since. Abandoning her mother, she tries to track down Rose using the little she knows about her life before disappearing. This leads her to the home of Eve Gardiner.
In 1915, Eve was a young woman desperate to do meaningful work while the world is at war. Held back by a stammer despite being highly intelligent and gifted at picking up languages, she is rejected from most job opportunities, until a stunning chance arrives and Eve is recruited into the intelligence service. Due to her perfect French, she is directed to seek employment at a restaurant run by a notorious collaborator and listen in on the conversations of his high-ranking patrons. Eve will be assisted in this effort by her fellow female spies, whose organization gives the novel its name.
Back in 1947, Eve is a bitter, damaged person who only reluctantly assists Charlie after realizing that Charlie’s search for Rose might dovetail with a need she’s felt for decades: to atone for her wartime mistakes and get vengeance. Eve and Charlie are joined in their efforts by Eve’s Scottish driver Finn, a fiercely loyal ex-con who serves Eve devotedly and eventually develops an infatuation with Charlie.
As I listened to the novel on audiobook, I was frustrated by the slow pace of the novel’s first half. There’s a lot of setup going on, and the necessity of its length is up for debate. I was happy to find that the novel’s second-half really picks up the pace. The plot kicks into gear with discoveries and revelations as Eve’s past and Charlie’s present converge in a way that feels more inevitable than coincidental. By the end, I had become quite fond of the main trio and had invested in their pursuits.