I really enjoyed this book which includes most of what I want in a read--action, fresh character driven plotting, interesting main character. When a serious puzzle is part of the mix, I'm completely hooked. Now I'm trying to find a copy of Silver's first book.

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"He'd given her very precise instructions, and she intended to follow them to the letter. With just a little . . . punctuation . . . of her own..."
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What a great find this was! I am always drawn to books about books and the people who love them, so the title caught my eye right away (as did the gorgeous cover). The story wasn't exactly what I expected, but that was not a problem at all. It's not that the blurb isn't accurate - it is, almost too much so. It is just that there were so many things layered over, under, and through the highlights mentioned in the blurb that the book felt richer and more decadent than the description - tiramisu rather than mere cake. Of course, as with any sweet treat, there were a few moments that felt a little too much - too unreal, too over the top, too convenient. But those moments were balanced out by a handful of characters (most notably for me, Lara the Bookworm herself and, even though he only appears in Dictaphone format, Noel Coward) who felt oddly real even when behaving in ways that seemed contradictory (real people are, after all, prone to such moments, even if we like to think we are not). The other characters (most notably, Grisha, the American and Russian presidents, Maltsev, and Lev) were caricatures but that seemed intentional, and it served them in their respective roles to be so. It allowed them to serve as appropriate foils for Lara as she sought to figure out what was going on around her (in both past and present). The build-up of tension was steady throughout, with excellent pacing for the reveals of the historical and modern conspiracies.

And then it all tied together and ended. Literally. The last 4% of the book revealed everything in a blur of revelations and action.

I must admit that I did think that the ending felt a little rushed and unbelievable. The build was so consistently even, with the tension ratcheting up bit by bit, throughout - then all of a sudden it all fell into place with reveal after reveal. Grisha's and Nikki's endings seemed a bit over-the-top, although they both were flamboyantly aggressive throughout the story, so perhaps that's entirely appropriate after all. And despite the blurb telling me it would happen, I didn't expect Lara and Maltsev to wind up as they did (in literally the last lines, no less). It felt off and unlikely, and I found myself oddly disappointed in her as a result. Not enough to throw off my good feelings about either her or the rest of the book, mind you, it just made me cringe a little and shake my head.

All in all I really enjoyed this one. The writing was engaging and kept me hooked. The characters were well crafted and suited to their respective roles in the story. And I really liked the way Silver managed the shifts between past and present by using the Dictaphone cylinders - it allowed him to lay out backstory without feeling like he was laying out backstory. The incorporation of historical figures and gossipy tidbits by Coward made the history feel more real, which helped sell the concept for me.

From concept to finish--this is a first-rate read. A thriller. A mystery. Noel Coward. Ian Fleming. Wax cylinders. The 1930s Kennedys (Joe Kennedy when he was FDR's Ambassador to the United Kingdom). A modern-day romance. And a bible with a worm-hole in it (the bible contains a prophecy that influences Hitler and changes the course of World War II). A lot of intrigue during which it is difficult to tell the good guys from the bad. And, not to be a spoiler--but an all's-well-that-ends-well ending. All the while, bearing in mind that nothing is what it seems. Again....an excellent read.

This story is a bit of everything, a mystery at its base, a tad of political shenanigan to captivate us, some known historical figures to pique our interest (Kennedy, Hitler, Churchill and the French physician Nostradamus) oh…to put a smile on our faces, thinly disguised are our 2 maverick and colourful leaders in a cameo role. To top it all off which is the base of this novel is a conspiracy to keeps us on our toes. With a soupçon of reality and a big dose of fiction we have one ambitious novel that should please most readers.

The setting mainly plays out in Moscow but changes locations between London and Alaska. The mystery features Larissa Klimt, who is a professor of Geopolitical History and her twin brother Lev, who works in Alaska monitoring the oil fields. The plot comes to life when Lara (Larissa) is asked to translate six audio recordings done in the 1940’s from English to Russian and find the book, subject of the recordings. What she hears is just the beginning of her troubles…the book (Bible) contains a false prophecy of all time. Through a series of circumstances Lara and Lev become entwined in the hoax and are pulled into danger and the world of espionage…..

I have mixed feeling about this book. In great parts I liked it a lot and in others I found it dragged so much I was losing interest. It took too much time to get going although I do admit lots was happening but everything seemed to turn in circle then suddenly action and suspense kicked in and voilà you just reached the end. As for the characters they missed colours but were OK in their roles but lacked the credibility and motive to push the mystery forward and make it captivating. I liked the premise, the story is great and interesting and some of the side bars are also very good “ the Bookworm mystery”, “Conception Day”, “King takes Queen”, Lara’s events with her ex-husband the Russian spy just to mention some…..(I let you discover all this).

This novel may not have been my favourite of all times but it was worthwhile passing time reading it nevertheless.

Didn't care for the book. Too much going on, too many coincidences and caricatures of people.

The Bookworm is a good read that could have been great. Mitch Silver knows how to move a story along. But the book falls short due to too many implausible parts of the plot and, more seriously, the lack of character development so that the reader is left questioning motivations. The ending is particularly troubling, as everything that led to it indicated a troubled couple, in the midst of divorcing, who suddenly walk off into the proverbial sunset together. It was an unnecessary detail that spoils the memory of what had been a good read.

The Bookworm was a great mystery, a bit of a political thriller and a bit of a literary, history fiction book. I received a free copy from Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Lara is a history professor who spent part of her youth in the U.S. where she also went to university. She is brilliant and even was a chess prodigy when she was younger. She is approached by an unknown person with a bag of audio reels from the 1940's with some pretty damning evidence against the U.S. and its role in the fight against Hitler. She is asked to translate the six audio recordings from English to Russian and help the source of the recordings find a book that is the subject of the recordings.

Lara, who is very skeptical about the contents of the recording until something said in the recordings sparks a memory and she begins thinking that the recordings just might be authentic. What is not authentic are all of the people and groups trying to get into her good graces to obtain the book for their own purposes. The Bookworm hints at the two leaders at the center of what is now something that can cause a lot of trouble for both the Russian government and the U.S. government. As she investigates the contents of the recording it seems that a lot of things might be tied together as her twin brother Lev, who has been working in Alaska, stumbles upon another aspect of what just might be a conspiracy, against who is the big question. The Bookworm is a book that appeals to readers of multiple genres and definitely makes me want to investigate more by the author. Review can also be seen at LadyTechie's Book Musings ladytechiesbookmusings.blogspot.com.

This book turns on the parallel lives of twins. One who lives in the US and the other in Russia. Through various coincidences they've been set to due the bidding of the leaders of those countries thinly disguised as Putin and Trump. Additionally making appearances are JFK, Winston Churchill, Noel Coward among other famous names. There were too many coincidences that allowed the author to "name drop" and this really took away from the storyline which is quite intriguing. I appreciated the opportunity to read an ARC from Pegasus Books through NetGalley.

Really two and a half stars.

This is an ambitious thriler--what else can you say about a title that features Noel Coward, JFK, Churchill, Hitler, Nostradamus, thinly viewed caricatures of Trump and Putin, and two of the greatest hoaxes of all time? The main characters are Russian twins, Lara and Lev, she a teaching professor in Russia and he monitoring the Alaskan oil fields. Through a series of convoluted circumstances, they separately become entwined in a conspiracy to perpetuate a hoax on the American and Russian peoples, due to the machinations of the corrupt leaders of each country.

A series of old recordings leads Lara to search for a Bible containing a false prophecy that enticed Hitler to attack Russia instead of England; Lev becomes suspicious of the origins of oil coming from Alaskan pipelines; and all comes together in an improbable series of circumstances that draws Lara's almost ex-husband, a Russian spy, into the mix.

Mitch Silver obviously knows his history and much about the world of espionage. However, a lot of this book just happens, not enough character development and characters who lack believable motives. Lara's decision making at the end of the book is inexplicable, given events with her estranged husband throughout the book.

Silver has all the makings of an enthralling spy thriller; nevertheless, the elements don't quite come together smoothly and believably enough to make this a must read.

Full Disclosure--Net Gallery and the publisher provided me with a digital ARC of this book. This is my honest review.

I really enjoyed this book, it was the right balance of historical fiction with a modern crime drama. It had a lot of depth to the story but it was hard to follow at times. It was a very enjoyable book but not necessarily an easy read as it needs a bit of time to understand many of the topics.

I liked the main character, Lara and found her to be a strong protagonist with her combination of brains and bravery. There were many other characters in the book and again it takes a bit of time and effort to follow them all. The book jumps between WW2 and the present day in Russia, USA, Germany and the U.K. and it really helps to bring life to the story.

The ending was a quite abrupt and left me a bit confused about what had happened, I thought the book was trying to be a bit too clever and would have preferred more explanations at the end and along the way. I did not enjoy the very last paragraph of the story as I felt it was a cheap ending and tarnished the quality of the book. But it didn't ruin it!

In short, a really good and cleverness er book which I would thoroughly recommend.

What a delightful suspense-filled historical thriller this was. My interest was captured from the very first page. Lara is a history professor in Russia who ends up with 6 Dictaphone cassettes to listen to and things just take off from there. Her twin brother, Lev, works in Alaska and that is another exciting thread. All the different threads were neatly tied in a perfect bow at the end of the book. What a great read!