THE DIAMOND EYE

Saskia Maarleveld, with her unusually beautiful voice and her talent for European accents, is especially well matched to an audio thriller set during the Soviets' WWII. Quinn's heroine, Mila Pavlichenko, based on a real person, is a gifted sniper fighting the "Hitlerites" in Ukraine, as well as sexism and misogyny in the Red Army and at home. On a 1942 propaganda trip to the U.S., Quinn also puts the "girl sniper" in the crosshairs of an evil Western sniper-for-hire commissioned to assassinate FDR and blame the Russian visitor. Quinn's Mila is a complicated character who believably intrigues the first lady, and Maarleveld gives her humor and heart. She also snarls and purrs her way through roomfuls of Russians, Americans, and others like the pro she is. B.G. © AudioFile 2022, Portland, Maine [Published: APRIL 2022]