Northern Spy

Reviews

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

“[A] twisting thriller of espionage, competing loyalties and sisterhood . . . [a] title everyone will be talking about this season.” —Parade

"Taut and passionate. . . full of threat and heartbreak. . . Northern Spy will be a hit for readers of Dublin noir and tartan noir. . . Denise Mina and Tana French readers can also find familiar ground—but so in fact can any readers who treasure a well-plotted mystery with a powerful sense of how place and the near past can force a person to cross the lines they once felt were sacred." —New York Journal of Books

"Berry broadens her range with the volatile Belfast setting and twisty espionage plot. Tautly told and unsentimental, Northern Spy keeps the pressure on as the Daly sisters improvise their waythrough a chilling minefield of loyalty and betrayal." —AirMail.com 

“[A] twisting . . . emotional thriller . . . Berry’s portrayal of Irish life is uncannily accurate . . . dropping readers headfirst into the emotions of living in conflict.” —Booklist (starred review) 

“A taut and compassionate thriller . . . [and a] reflection on personal choice and consequence . . . A poignant and lyrical novel that asks what is worth sacrificing for peace.” —Kirkus (starred review)

 “[A] moving contemporary thriller . . . It’s a measure of the author’s skill that she never loses sight of the humanity of her characters. Berry remains a writer to watch.” —Publishers Weekly

“A sharp, moving thriller, combining motherhood and espionage, sisterhood and sacrifice. You lose your breath for adrenalin, but also in empathy: for Tessa and Finn, in those quiet nightime moments between mother and son. As tender as it is tense.” —Abigail Dean, author of Girl A

“Tense, terrifying, and briskly paced, Flynn Berry’s Northern Spy is not only a thrilling tale of espionage and conflicting loyalties in a deeply divided Northern Ireland, it is also a tender and honest portrayal of those fierce, all-consuming early days of motherhood and the complicated bonds between sisters, mothers, and daughters. A stunning story, beautifully told. I couldn’t put it down.” —Elizabeth Wetmore, New York Times bestselling author of Valentine Expand reviews