I want to thank Netgally and the publisher for the ability to preview this book. This book has a full gambit of history, politics, espionage, and subterfuge. The "players" go from Ian Fleming, Churchill, John Kennedy, Hitler and barely disguised Trump.. The professor Lara is roped into a scheme to discredit America and their involvement with the switch of Hitler 'letting up ' on England and focusing instead on Russia..
I will admit that the author really linked the past and present well and in a believable way. He had me until about midway through the book. I found myself re-reading because it just was not holding my interest the later half of the book was a struggle to get through. 3 stars but only because of the historical context.

Mitch Silver's erudite, yet sensible, protagonist introduced a very promising academic thriller. I loved the concept of the book, and the character development, but the plot let me down.

It was fun to engage with Noel Coward , JFK , and a literary version of the current President of the United States through the intrigue, but the "action' bogged me down in my reading. I understand the value of blurring the distinction between the evil-doers and the "good guys" but I finished this book without a sense of satisfaction.
The premise was potentially engaging, but it didn't work for this reader.

Many thanks to NetGalley for providing me the opportunity to read and comment on this book.

Addictive and thrilling. Not exactly what I was expecting, but I thoroughly enjoyed the read. The present meets the past in a mystery/thriller that will keep you riveted until the end.

Oh, my, where do I start? I guess I’d start with the easiest part. I’ve read the book. I made myself to finish it. I perceived. I am actually proud of myself for doing so.

I’d wanted to tell you that it (book) gets better with the course of narration. It does not. It actually gets worse.

I think publishers should think twice or even re-think it at all if they want to market this book to Russian-speaking readers. The author should have done his research properly. Oh, an idea, he should have gotten a native Russian-speaking consultants. Mr Silver silvers the narrative with Russian words and phrases. Some of them are so ridiculous they are not even funny. Others are incidental and out of place. The rest… the rest are just plainly stupid.

Starting from the main character: her name is all wrong. A woman like her (Jew/Muslim, a daughter of exiled parents) could have never been allowed to work in Military Archives… Hello…

The rest is even better. Excuse my Russian, but the whole narrative of this book, including all the plot lines are ‘pritianuta za ushi’ are so far-fetched they stop being interesting very early on.

As for the main idea of the book. Hello, please open Google



Prediction:

‘From the depths of the West of Europe,
A young child will be born of poor people,
He who by his tongue will seduce a great troop;
His fame will increase towards the realm of the East.’

Also …

‘Beasts ferocious with hunger will cross the rivers,
The greater part of the battlefield will be against Hister.
Into a cage of iron will the great one be drawn,
When the child of Germany observes nothing.’

What happened: On April 20, 1889 Hitler was born in Western Europe, to very poor parents.

Hitler moved Germany to action in the years following WW I, in part, (who by his tongue)through his over the top oratory skills.

(His fame will increase towards the realm of the East.) The Axis alliance with Japan in the East. Hister is believed to be a spelling error.

The German Army invading France (Beasts ferocious with hunger will cross the rivers) and the ‘greater battlefield’ refers to the Allied Powers defeating Hitler.

Here it is in black and white. There is no need to make a mystery out of it.

What makes this book is a bunch of ridiculous, unbelievable situations that somehow got wrapped up at the end. Starting from Military Archives, to the convoluted trip around Moscow, to speeding on the Ring Road and firing guns on Red Square.

Yes, Moscow in The Bookworm is a place of decay and ruin…. What the

We live in the global village. We have access to the internet. Why are we still made to believe in ‘bears on the streets’ and ‘rations and shortages’…

Russian salad of ‘beets and cucumbers, no lettuce’ really takes the cake…

Don’t waste your time.

I requested this book as i thought it might be a good read, I just did not get along with it.
Some you win, some you loose

This book had me hooked from the start when I was reading about Alaskan oilfields and wondering how this would tie into the title. The author takes the reader on a journey which is varied and intriguing. At times I was not totally sold on the plot and some of the twists, but overall this is an enjoyable read. The combination of modern day and events from World War II added to the overall enjoyment. I am certainly tempted to pick up other novels from Mitch Silver.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

A conspiracy between the American president and the Russian government? This story reads like it just came off the front pages. Dr. Larissa Klimt is a Russian historian who spends her time teaching and researching her new book. On an otherwise ordinary day, a bag full of old Dictaphone cartridges is given to her along with a mysterious message. Before she knows what’s happening, she finds herself trying to unravel a decades old mystery that has a tremendous impact on current events. Suddenly, her life is in danger and Larissa doesn’t know who to trust.

Hold on to your seats, readers, because this is a thrill ride of a story, made even more exciting because it’s all so current and feels very real. I really enjoyed the twists and turns in this one. I also really liked the character of Dr. Larissa Klimt. She’s not exactly the stereotypical history professor, but then again, she kinda is. In any case, she’s as complex as the story she is telling. And then there’s the ex-husband who I just loved to hate, but sometimes he is a bit charming, and he’s cute. I believe this is a stand-alone novel, but I wouldn’t be sad to see more books with these characters as they really grew on me by the end. Overall, I really enjoyed this one. It will definitely satisfy the appetite of the conspiracy theorists out there, and it’s a good mystery too.

Promising, but didn’t quite deliver for me

This book had a lot going for it with an eclectic cast of historical figures from Nostradamus to Noel Coward, Churchill to Kennedy and with a barely disguised Trump, Putin & Hitler in there too.

Mitch Silver has woven an interesting tale of world war 2 and present day deceptions. The early parts I found were the strongest, but felt the book lost its way somewhat later on leading to a quick and action packed finish.

Don’t get me wrong, this was an entertaining read, but I did feel overall the delivery could have been better.

Love that this book had some of everything, mystery, crime, historical events, politics. Very captivating read.

Thank you to Netgalley and Pegasus Books for allowing me to read this novel!
The Bookworm is a thrilling story about a former chess champion and current Russian professor, Lara, who finds a secret about the Allies in WWII from records that were given to her by one of her students. This secret could change the course of history and ruin her career as a history professor. Throughout the novel she struggles with an ex-husband, a romantic partner, and historical secrets that could shatter everyone's perception of history as they knew it.

This novel clearly has ties to certain political figures that we currently have in office and the resemblance is funny to see. The Bookworm is clearly a modern novel, seeing as the President resembles the current American President, Trump. It also has ties to the Russian and American relationship that is currently unfolding.

This novel has a little bit of everything, historical events, mystery, crime, and politics. Silver does an excellent job with keeping mysteries and intrigue going throughout the novel. I was captivated the entire time that I read the novel, however I did feel like the ending was a bit rushed in comparison to the rest of the novel. I do however look forward to other novels by Silver in the future.

I really like the author's concept of mixing historical, political, romance and suspense elements into one book. An ambitious attempt and the author does it well. The pace is tight, and the plot is exciting but sometimes I find the story is a just bit dragging.

Rarely I would skim through any book but I did when reading "The Bookworm." Even though I skimmed through quite a number of pages (but only towards the last 1/3 part of the book after getting some idea of the possible lead of the story and knowing all the key players,) I don't think I have missed much of the essence of the plot. The author has the gift of creating an intriguing story yet the execution is slightly disappointing. Nevertheless, "The Bookworm" is still a good, quick read with a little flaws; I would consider reading the future works by the author as he has the ability to think outside the box.

This is a copy of what I posted on Goodreads:

I received an advance copy of this book through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I was really excited to start reading this book because of the description. I love anything involving Russia and also Nazi history so I thought this would be a slam dunk. Unfortunately, it just fell a bit flat for me and I'm not entirely sure why.

I didn't really get attached to any of the characters and I found them a bit unbelievable. I didn't care about any of the relationships that developed and the I wasn't a huge fan of the ending. I was expecting so much more from the plot. The information contained in the book and on the reels was interesting but underwhelming.

I think my expectations were too high for this and I was disappointed. I liked it, I just didn't love it.

Thanks Pegasus Books and netgalley for this ARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This book will scare the daylights out of you. It's one of the what if? books that seem so real. Beware that this is fiction.

Man oh man this book is awful. Each of the two plots is too thin to stand alone but they don't mesh into a coherent book. The parody of Prez Trump and Melania is ham-handed. The author makes all kinds of technical and linguistic mistakes. I can send you the list of them if you contact me. If you revise the book before publication and I will look at it again.

I was given an advance copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

An excellent book which explores the reason why Hitler did not invade England but went on to invade Russia. It is a spy novel with good guys and bad guys and you will have to figure out who is who. I liked the overlay of chess on the novel, when the heroine decides that she is playing chess with her life at stake.

The book sets a fictional intrigue over real life events in World War II. If you are a fan of historic fiction books---you will enjoy this book.

The Bookworm by Mitch Silver was a mystery and political thriller. I loved the writing style and quickly fell in love with Lara. I loved the historical aspects and found the premise fascinating.

I can say that I read this book in just one day. It is a very good and full of surprises thriller, that keeps you in suspense about the events. I liked a lot its theme and the plot in a degree that I didn't expect it. It combines successfully elements from a political thriller but also from historical fiction. The author combines very well all the events and stories of the book without leaving any gaps. It is well-written and it's a very good read.

This book really does have a little bit of everything, part WW2 historical fiction, part modern political thriller and with a cast of characters that includes Kennedy and Marlene Dietrich. The book opens in current day Russia where a history scholar finds herself caught up in a mystery revolving around a plot to trick Hitler into attacking Russia, and along the way finding out about an ongoing conspiracy to lower oil prices. While there are elements of two good thrillers, putting both into one book meant that at times it felt a little forced. I have to admit I found myself much more engaged in the historical aspects of the book, the idea of using a forgery to trick Hitler was the stronger story , and I wish it had been focused on and elaborated upon a little more.

This book is based around the story of Lara who is listening to recordings of Noel Coward explaining the scheme undertaken by the US during WWII to persuade Germany to invade Russia as a way of making sure they are defeated. This is not expected to go down well with the Russian people due to the many, many loves lost as a result of this decision, Alongside this, there is a conspiracy involving her brother Lev in Alaska. Some of the book was very interesting but I didn't find it very believable- particularly with Noel Coward doing the narration, Her ex-husband is an unpleasant character who I think I was supposed to like, For me, the pace varied a bit too much but I did enjoy the concept.

A thriller with a difference. Present day and world war combined to make anew addictive novel. Enjoyed the thrills and twists and turns of this book which had me hooked right from the start