this was a really unique spy read, I enjoyed that about it. The characters were great and I really enjoyed reading this book.

A Spy with Scruples was a very emotional read for me. I don't know if it was just because we had been watching We were Soldiers and Young and this was another view of what the Vietnam War took from others, or it created some anger in me for a war that seemed needless. 

I enjoyed the mystery of this book. I felt that it moved quickly, revolved around Scott Stoddard and Desiree in a way that it wasn't overindulgent of Desiree's desires over the war effort. 

It was entertaining, emotional as I said, and as the book description says, complicated. 

I am not sure that this was my type of book, but those who love historical fiction and mysteries will want to read this book. I read the first book in the series, An Improbable Pairing and this book, was not as endearing to me as that one was, sorry. 

I give this book 3.5 stars

Thank you, Netgally and River Grove Books for letting me read this book in lieu of my honest review.

A big thank you to the author Gary Dickson, the publisher Greenleaf Book Press and NetGalley for providing me an ARC in exchange for my candid review.

This is the second book about the same characters. It is about an American Man who marries a very rich Swiss Countess and proceeds to live the good life. Until the US CIA decides to recruit him as a spy. The story is still interesting and is set in the background of the 1960's European glam tram. Realizing that he will never be able to life a free life while embroiled with the CIA, our protaganist proceeds to look for a way to blackmail someone into letting him go.

The story takes us to Paris, Geneva, Zurich, Berlin, St. Moritz and all around Europe. I love the story mainly for the intimate look into the experiences of the rich and beautiful in 1960's Europe.

A Spy with Scruples gave me a look into part of history I'm not overly familiar with. I didn't know it was a sequel before starting the novel, and may have appreciated it more if I'd read the first. It may be my lack of understanding about the spy business, but I thought some of the main character's actions were a little far fetched. Overall I recommend the novel to anyone that likes this time in history or spy plots.

This was, unfortunately, a book I just couldn't get into. The premise made me curious but the characters never drew me in far enough to get into the plot in any meaningful way.

Well written with a good plot.  However I did get bogged down in a few spots. The main characters were “glitzy” and I had a hard time relating to them. 
Many thanks to Greenleaf Book Group and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

An interesting Cold War spy story involving a newly wed couple with a little one on the way. The husband keeps his spy life from his family and tries to find a way out to return to normalcy. I enjoyed that this was a story without high tech gadgets and relied on brains. I received a complimentary copy from NetGalley and the publisher and this is my honest opinion.

I was given this book to read in exchange for an honest review.  I have to say I didn't really like this book.  I had read the first book about these characters and although there were a couple things that irritated me in the book, it was still an enjoyable read (An Improbable Pairing).  This next book that continued the story was very difficult to get through.  It covers the first couple years of the characters marriage and a time period when Scott became a spy.  No he became a double spy.  No it was really a triple spy.  Well maybe it was????  What it was was very confusing to keep up with.  He had numerous "contacts" with the various organizations he was spying for and some of them used more than one name or had changed names throughout their careers.  I wish when all those people had started showing up that I had started a cheat sheet to keep track of everyone.  But by the time I realized I needed a cheat sheet I was too far along to go back and create one.  I slogged through until the end because I wanted to see if they ever returned to a normal life but it was a battle to stick with it from about 60% on.  I'm not much into the spy type books so maybe that the issue but it was just too confusing.  I'm not sure how Scott even kept track of all the people he was dealing with and all the "signs" he had to keep track of to communicate with them all.

Scott Stoddard is enjoying his honeymoon in the South of Fance in 1964.  Scott, an American student studying in Geneva has just married the former Countess de Rovere, Desiree in an unexpected and whirlwind romance when a letter from the draft board appears saying his status is under review.  Scott must now report to a base in Germany to be tested and then tested again only to learn that the CIA is forcing him to train as a spy and use his new social status to gain information and pass it along.  Scott is not pleased about how he has to go about his duty, keep secrets from his new wife and spend time away from his baby daughter.  However, he finds a way to use this position for good as well as finding a way back to his life. 

A Spy With Scruples is the sequel to An Improbable Pairing, while this could be read as a stand-alone it is helpful to know Scott and Desiree backgrounds and romance.  This picks up right after the first book with the couple enjoying married life and waiting for the arrival of their new baby.  Much like the first book, A Spy with Scruples is a tour of the opulence and luxury of the upper class European community.  The descriptions dazzle with the dress of the time period, the hotels, restaurants and cuisine, vacation resorts and parties.  Desiree shines with her charm and intellect, I'm not at all surprised that she caught on to Scott's situation.  Scott remains one of the luckiest and fast-thinking men ever; even though he was in a less than desirable situation, it was better than having to fight in Vietnam.  Scott's time as a spy was filled with suspense, but not a lot of action.  Through his articles and meetings, I was able to see the many intricacies of the influences of different European countries during the Cold War.  I particularly liked his interviews with Vietnamese families and tracking of former Nazi's.  Overall, A Spy with Scruples offers a different kind of spy thriller focused on the gathering of information.

This book was received for free in return for an honest review.

Received this from Net Gallery! "The Spy With Scruples" is a very unusual spy mystery book. Very well written and mysterious on who these people are that want Scott to give up so much for information and he doesn't even know who "they" are! Very rich indeed on the adventures he comes across and he is a American who "they" want him to give up living in Europe during the 1960's Viet Nam era. Have to say this book had me reading more and more to find out who"they" are and does he get out of the clutches of "these" people safely and still alive!

This post is going to take a look at A Spy with Scruples written by Gary Dickson. It is the sequel to An Improbable Pairing, and was released in March 2020. I received an eARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book picks up right where the last one left off. While the happy couple, Scott Stoddard, and the former Countess de Rovere are honeymooning, Scott receives word to report for testing that may revise his draft status for the Vietnam War. Apparently he did too well on the test and now the CIA wants him to work for them, and he has no choice. Work for them, or get drafted.

A Spy with Scruples focuses much more on what is going on with Scott, than Desirée. In the last book, I was impressed that a male author, writing about a romantic relationship would write about such a strong willed woman during the early 1960s, when she was brought up with a certain decorum of how she should act. This book back tracks all of that. She's now the typical pregnant wife that takes the back seat. We see Scott starting to make decisions to get them back to their carefree lifestyle.

Readers watch as he manipulates the press in multiple countries, and even the CIA, in hopes of getting out of service, without ending up drafted or dead. The book was a decent read, but I was quite disappointed in the drastic change between the style of the first book and the second. I'd be interested to see how this relationship may change, if there were to be a third book now that their lives have returned to a calm state.

I'd be interested in hearing what any of you have thought about this book.

Happy reading :)

I received this book from Netgalley. 
I was intrigued by the cover and the description. I was hoping for a more fast paced Cold War spy book but it was a bit slower than I hoped. I still feel like it was well written and I liked the characters. They were relatable and I really was able to envision the struggles of the men of this historical time period. I think I would have enjoyed it more if it wasn’t so slow.

I was really looking forward to #aspywithscruples by Gary Dickson after reading #animprobablepair but I’m afraid it was a little disappointing to me. This book follows Scott more closely than Desiree as he is the title character and she has just had their baby. It is pretty much void of the glittering lifestyle we saw in the first book and totally about the machinations of Scott, his handlers and the opposition. While it was interesting it didn’t have the zing of the first book and at times felt contrived and a bit unbelievable.  I thank #netgalley and the publishers for this ebook to read and review

I enjoyed this book, but it was not one of my favorites. I typically love books about spies, and, as a bonus, spies who work across countries. I found this book to be rather ho-hum as far as spy stories go. However, I have great respect for the hero and heroine, and I think that Scott Stoddard can only be described as noble throughout the book. Which, in and of itself, makes for a great hero.  I think the writing itself is quite good, and I will say that I was drawn into the story, setting and action from the first page of the book.  In terms of descriptive elements, this author has a wonderful way of ensuring the reader is surrounded by vivid images of sight, sound, feel, etc. - a book for all of the senses.

I received a free copy of “A Spy With Scruples” through Net Galley with the provision that I leave an honest review.
I did not like it , at all.
  The hero Scott is a student at a Swiss University during the mid 1960’s . He is a newly wed, married to a wealthy Italian noblexwoman after a whirlwind courtship, which was covered by paparazzi and the tabloid press. Soon after his wife finds that she is pregnant, Scott receives notice that he must appear at a nearby American military base For pre- induction testing. That is, he is being drafted. He’s, the war in Vietnam is blazing,. To make a long, and rather boring seven chapters short, Scott passes the iNtelligence tests with such high scores,, that he is recruited by the CIA.   More exactly, Scott is drafted into the CIA with the threat that he takes the job of being a society spy in Europe or get sent to a. A sty war.
   Most of the book is filled with descriptions of the life of a wealthy pseudo- student and his glamorous life. If I was expecting a hard-edged spy novel, and I was from the plot summary of the book on offer, it was not happening. The last thing I care to read is a out the days of the elite classes. Villas, exclusive hotels, the south of France in late summer, etc.  A. It of Cold War Germany, true, but by that stage of reading it was not enough. For goodness sake , Scott has to join an exclusive fencing exile to build. his cover. How horrible!  Eating  foie gras , drinking champagne...it’s far from the gray world of George Smiley or even the virile.world of James. Bond. The book was, in my reader opinion quite boring and silly. The longer I read, the more I speed read the pages to find something even a bit exciting , compelling or tense. Ther was a little, but damn little.
 I would not recommend this book to anyone. 








 


Q

Somewhat better than the first book, "An Improbable Pairing," but still lacking in depth.  The chemistry between Scott and Desiree is referred to frequently, but I just did not feel it - and the repeated reference to their sex life being a barometer to how their relationship was doing got old very quickly, especially since the same phrasing was used often in the first book as well.  Was hoping for better connection with the characters after a second book, but it just did not deliver.  Good premise to the story, needed a lot more detail and depth to be more believable.

Although somewhat plodding .. we are told every step of the way what's going on .. I rather enjoyed the way Scott, a young newly married American worked it to avoid fighting the Vietnam war .. a horrendous one! His wife is not nearly developed so it's stained to believe he'd care for this thin creature ...but .. his acing an exam has brought him to attention of CIA .. so plans go awry .. fun if incredible ...spying becomes his game behind journalism...

If you are expecting a spy novel the likes of Robert Ludlum or even Ian Fleming then this isn't it. It was very slow moving and probably what being a spy is really like. Scott Stoddard is newly married to the beautiful and very rich Desiree. He is a college student in Switzerland and she is a 29-year-old divorcee. The book takes place in 1964 and Scott's status for the draft is changed to 1-A. He is tested for the service and does so well he is forced to work for the CIA undercover or be sent to Vietnam.

I felt the writing was flat and one-dimensional. It was the 60's but I had no feel for the time frame other than the Vietnam war being mentioned. Desiree is hounded by paparazzi but it was never explained what made her so fascinating other than her money. As Scott's wife and mother of his child the character was never developed other than a pretty thing with good clothes and a great deal of money and a social life that means a lot to her. Scott seems resentful that he is forced to work for them and wants to be fired but he also seems to be doing what he can to accomplish their goal even while being a bit rebellious. I never did understand what exactly Scott was doing. With a half hour left in the book when I should be getting excited for the conclusion I found I no longer cared what he was doing or why.

Thank you to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my opinion.

As spy novels go, this one seems a bit on the bland side. Perhaps the world of spies is more like that which is described here than it is in the books and stories to which we are accustomed. It is not a fast paced story; it is, in human terms, very easy to accept. It is politically very interesting.

The Vietnam War Era was a fraught period in both American and world history. Keeping this time period in mind, the events leading to Scott Stoddard's recruitment seem more believable than I would believe could happen today. I found myself looking at the incidents told here from the point of view of a student (in 1964) and a member of the military (1966). By 1969, I found myself in a march against the war.

I believe that for at least the first two thirds of the book, I was leaning toward a 3-star review; however, upon completion and further reflection, and the very good writing, it does indeed deserve a 4-star rating.

Those of us who grew up reading Ian Fleming and Frederick Forsyth will inevitably look for action and nail biting situation in a spy thriller. Gary Dickson gives us a different look by providing a more mundane experience. A spy need not be capable of jumping tall buildings in a single bound, he can be a rather intelligent, albeit normal, guy who can get the job done and walk away unscathed.

A good read, entertaining and engrossing. I liked the vivid historical background, the cast of characters and the plot.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.