Restless
- Downloads：7863
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2021-03-18 03:15:37
- Update Date：2025-09-07
- Status：finish
- Author：William Boyd
- ISBN：B002SQ7IEU
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary
Shortlisted for the British Book Awards， Richard and Judy Best Read， 2007。
Winner of the Costa Book Awards， Novel of the Year， 2006。
A Richard and Judy Book Club selection。
Longlisted for the Audiobook Download of the Year， 2007。
What happens when everything you thought you knew about your mother turns out to be an elaborate lie？ During the summer of 1976， Ruth Gilmartin discovers that her very English mother， Sally， is really Eva Delectorskaya， a Russian émigrée and one-time spy。
Recruited for the British Secret Service at the start of the Second World War by the mysterious Lucas Romer， Eva learns to become the perfect spy， to mask her emotions and trust no one。 Since then， Eva has carefully rebuilt her life - but once a spy， always a spy。 And now she must complete one final assignment。 This time， though， she needs Ruth's help。
Winner of the Costa Book Awards， Novel of the Year， 2006。
A Richard and Judy Book Club selection。
Longlisted for the Audiobook Download of the Year， 2007。
What happens when everything you thought you knew about your mother turns out to be an elaborate lie？ During the summer of 1976， Ruth Gilmartin discovers that her very English mother， Sally， is really Eva Delectorskaya， a Russian émigrée and one-time spy。
Recruited for the British Secret Service at the start of the Second World War by the mysterious Lucas Romer， Eva learns to become the perfect spy， to mask her emotions and trust no one。 Since then， Eva has carefully rebuilt her life - but once a spy， always a spy。 And now she must complete one final assignment。 This time， though， she needs Ruth's help。
Reviews
Barbara
，
Mediocre
Janice Montgomery
，
A really satisfying thriller。
Kathleen Bicat
，
A compelling read as Sally Gilmartin reveals to her daughter her true self， Eva Delectorskata， one-time secret agent in the WW2 propaganda machine。 The imaginative detail and twists and turns of life in the propaganda world is convincing and the characters are clearly drawn and almost believable。
Madison
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Very good。 I enjoyed it except for the last page。 The last page ruined it for me。
Mark
，
This is a solid espionage novel set in the time， leading up to America's entry into WWII。The spy here is Eva Delectorskaya， a Russian born woman， working for the Brits。 The main plot is how hard England tried to get the U。S。 into the war。 A chapter in history， I was not aware of。 3。5 stars This is a solid espionage novel set in the time， leading up to America's entry into WWII。The spy here is Eva Delectorskaya， a Russian born woman， working for the Brits。 The main plot is how hard England tried to get the U。S。 into the war。 A chapter in history， I was not aware of。 3。5 stars 。。。more
Sherry H
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This was pretty good。 The mysterious bit near the end was completely unsolvable by the reader， though-very， VERY specific and detailed and lost me。
Barbara A。 Steffy
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Loved this book， very interesting spy story。。。。surprising ending
Lesley Moseley
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3 1/2 rounded up as it is my style。 Enjoyed it。
Nathan
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A cool insight into what life might have been life as a spy， and interestingly what it might have been like adjusting to “normal” life afterwards。The story of Eva Delectorskaya， and her relationship with Lucas in particular， was gripping and had me hooked right until the end。
Anniek
，
Het （historisch） onderwerp was nieuw voor mij， maar sommige plotwendingen waren helemaal niet logisch en daardoor ongeloofwaardig， net zoals een aantal dialogen niet echt waren zoals mensen met elkaar praten。
Anne
，
Despite this being on the Duchess of Cornwall's lockdown reading list and having great reviews I gave it just one star。 A spy story covering two time settings in which a daughter finds her mother has led a secret life which haunts the present it sounded intriguing。 In practice I found it unrealistic with poor characterisation and confusing plot twists。 Only finished it because I had agreed to read it alongside a friend for lockdown chats。 My friend was equally critical but it did give us somethi Despite this being on the Duchess of Cornwall's lockdown reading list and having great reviews I gave it just one star。 A spy story covering two time settings in which a daughter finds her mother has led a secret life which haunts the present it sounded intriguing。 In practice I found it unrealistic with poor characterisation and confusing plot twists。 Only finished it because I had agreed to read it alongside a friend for lockdown chats。 My friend was equally critical but it did give us something other than covid to grumble about！ 。。。more
Yasemin
，
Restless tells the story of a daughter who discovers that her mother worked as a spy for the British Secret Service during WWII。 The novel is gripping， fast-paced and was a real page-turner for me。 I thoroughly enjoyed it and found it believable too which is not always the case with thrillers/spy novels and historical fiction。
Chris Parmenter
，
FascinatingFascinating really enjoyed one of these books you can't wait to pick up again the intrigue the twist and turns how she involved her daughter and so well written excellent story line I just found it hard to put down ， I didn't want it to end。 FascinatingFascinating really enjoyed one of these books you can't wait to pick up again the intrigue the twist and turns how she involved her daughter and so well written excellent story line I just found it hard to put down ， I didn't want it to end。 。。。more
Kiran
，
I really like most of William Boyd’s novels but this was a bit harder to get into for me， although the rewards did come later。 It’s quite a slow burn - often feeling far too slow， with no clear sense of where the plot was going， in the ‘present day’ 1976 timeline certainly （although back in the past， the betrayal in the WWII story seemed more inevitable the closer Eva and Romer became）。 As always with these dual timeline novels， the past was more interesting and engaging than the plot and charac I really like most of William Boyd’s novels but this was a bit harder to get into for me， although the rewards did come later。 It’s quite a slow burn - often feeling far too slow， with no clear sense of where the plot was going， in the ‘present day’ 1976 timeline certainly （although back in the past， the betrayal in the WWII story seemed more inevitable the closer Eva and Romer became）。 As always with these dual timeline novels， the past was more interesting and engaging than the plot and characters in the present。 。。。more
Sarah Brighton
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A true page-turner and beautifully narrated on Audible by Rosamund Pike。
Aurélie
，
Je n'avais pas prévu de le lire mais ce fut une très bonne surprise。 D'ailleurs je l'ai lu en un après-midi。Très intéressant du point de vue historique car on découvre l'implication des services secrets britanniques dans l'entrée en guerre des Etats Unis avant l'attaque de Pearl Harbour。 Je n'avais pas prévu de le lire mais ce fut une très bonne surprise。 D'ailleurs je l'ai lu en un après-midi。Très intéressant du point de vue historique car on découvre l'implication des services secrets britanniques dans l'entrée en guerre des Etats Unis avant l'attaque de Pearl Harbour。 。。。more
Janelle
，
Strong woman presence in WWIILovely story of a woman's role during WWII。 How she out witted her male counterparts and helped her country fight its war。 Strong woman presence in WWIILovely story of a woman's role during WWII。 How she out witted her male counterparts and helped her country fight its war。 。。。more
Maisie
，
Ruth receives a huge surprise when her mother Sally Gilmarten reveals that this is a name to cover her wartime past and her involvement in espionage。 With Sally's written account of the events of her past Ruth and the reader are carried on a journey of secrets and discovery。 This fast paced page turner has strong characters， a credible storyline， moments of excitement and surprise throughout。 A book to bring enjoyment and one to recommend。 Ruth receives a huge surprise when her mother Sally Gilmarten reveals that this is a name to cover her wartime past and her involvement in espionage。 With Sally's written account of the events of her past Ruth and the reader are carried on a journey of secrets and discovery。 This fast paced page turner has strong characters， a credible storyline， moments of excitement and surprise throughout。 A book to bring enjoyment and one to recommend。 。。。more
Madli Jõks
，
Lugu oli väga põnev ja hästi üles ehitatud， samuti meeldivad mulle aina enam vahelduva tegevuspaiga/aja/peategelasega raamatud。 Aga keeleliselt oli see pigem nagu filmilinal toimuva kirjeldus ja ei pakkunud kirjanduslikus mõttes väga palju。 Samuti häiris mind see wannabe-bondilik seksuaalsus iga nurga peal。
Jill Brandes
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I am a professional book facilitator。 In all my years with book clubs ， “Restless” was the only novel that was universally loved by all， regardless of age or gender！ Still one of my favourite books。
Diane Johnson
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Not my usual genre。 Fun， intriguing， twists and turns。
Peter J
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I loved this book。 Two time shifted threads that come together beautifully at the end。 I love thrillers and this was very high class writing and story telling。 My first Boyd but I will be reading many more。 I was totally gripped throughout。
Nancy
，
Well done！
Ashleigh Green
，
3。75
Tracey Keir
，
Took me a while to get into， then was good read。 The unfolding story of a spy in the second world war。Anyone want it passed on？
Jan Hills
，
Draws you inEnjoyed this 。 It starts of like may Ofer historical spy stories but draws you in 。 The bits about Eva are better than some of the ‘today’ story
Nancy
，
Spy thriller recommended by the Camilla， Duchess of Cornwall。
Nicola
，
Intriguing spy thriller set around an historical true story。 The first book I've read by boyd and not the last。 Refreshing to have two female protagonists。 Very enjoyable scene seeing and story。 Intriguing spy thriller set around an historical true story。 The first book I've read by boyd and not the last。 Refreshing to have two female protagonists。 Very enjoyable scene seeing and story。 。。。more
Helen
，
Restless is a novel with a dual timeline/narrative， recounted in alternate chapters from the perspectives of a mother and daughter: Eva Delectorskaya （aka Sal Gilmartin）， and her daughter Ruth。Eva's story begins in 1939 when she is recruited as a spy and is attached to a British Government espionage unit， led by the enigmatic Lucas Romer， working on the dissemination of false news stories which ， it is hoped， will prompt the United States to join in the war。Ruth's narrative is the 1970s， when Restless is a novel with a dual timeline/narrative， recounted in alternate chapters from the perspectives of a mother and daughter: Eva Delectorskaya （aka Sal Gilmartin）， and her daughter Ruth。Eva's story begins in 1939 when she is recruited as a spy and is attached to a British Government espionage unit， led by the enigmatic Lucas Romer， working on the dissemination of false news stories which ， it is hoped， will prompt the United States to join in the war。Ruth's narrative is the 1970s， when she is working on her MA at Oxford， whilst teaching English to foreign students and looking after her 5 year old son。 She finally learns about her mother's past， when Sal， ever the consummate spy， starts feeding instalments of her history to her daughter because she needs her help with one final mission。As with all good spy thrillers there are a number of red herrings thrown in along the way， and this fast-moving espionage thriller is intricately plotted。 It is well written， atmospheric， and completely absorbing with the requisite tension and intrigue to snare the reader from the start， and keep them hooked to the very last page。 。。。more
Alison Rayner
，
A true spy thriller with an interesting facts woven in。
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Restless
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Restless&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft
The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Restless&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0