Bravo Perry!

Unknown to each of them members of the Standish family is flung into situations that come together in unexpected and sometimes dangerous ways. Perry has once again given us some amazing new characters to come close to in an age that is pregnant with malice and a taste of things to come.
It's the Interbellum period in Europe between World War I and II. Germany is still stinging from its defeat and looking for a better way. Hitler is on the rise and Austria is wavering. Italy is governed by Mussolini. Churchill is out the way and many powerful Brits want peace at all costs. A German organization xx is becoming more powerful and appears to be a vanguard for a new push.
Elena is asked by MI6 operative Peter to go to Trieste to check on an agent under deep cover who might be in danger.
Margo has gone to Berlin to attend her best friend's wedding to a high ranking German Officer and is alarmed by what she hears and sees. It's a pleasure to find out more about Margo.
Lucas has a visit from an old friend who subsequently takes a fall down steps and dies.
From the dangerous to innocent situations, the plot morphs into something more.
I'm loving the Standish family and the satellite characters that form part of their challenging and secretive bubble.

A Random House - Ballantine ARC via NetGalley

I love Anne Perry's books and A Question of Betrayal does not disappoint. I thought it was a great read. I am giving it four and a half stars.

Anne Perry is a queen of historical mystery (and such an interesting story herself!) and I always enjoy her books. I will say that this read slowly for me for some reason, but it was still good, so take my word for it and read it and decide for yourself. I love the twists and red herrings she uses, and its so much fun to try and guess the ending!

This book is different that her Victorian books.  This takes place just before WWII.  Elena Standish is the main character.  She works for MI6 and is sent to Trieste to make contact with another agent.  There is a lot of cloak and dagger activities and you never know who is on your side.  The intrigue is cat and mouse is great and kept my attention.  The characters are very different from Pitt and Monk.  The plot reflects the changes in morals of a more modern time.

Excellent mystery.  It kept me guessing as to who really was the bad guy.

I can always count on Anne Perry to provide me with a read that awes me with the power and skill of the writing. I really liked Death in Focus, the first book in this new series by Perry, and this second book was just as absorbing. Much of the story takes place in Italy, in the 1930's, where Elena has been sent to locate a man who is an operative of the M16 in England, the same man who broke Elena's heart in the earlier book. So while there is some romance entertwined in this story, the majority of the focus is on the dangerous situation that both Elena and Aiden are in, and the action becomes fast and treacherous as they try to escape from Mussolini's Italy. Yet, even while the action is so heated, Perry takes time to give descriptive detail about the Italian fall season, which always adds richness to my reading experience.
During this same time period Elena's older sister Margot has gone to Berlin for the wedding of a very close friend. Margot finds that the groom is a member of the Nazi party, and at the wedding she overhears a disturbing conversation about the plans the Nazis have for the invasion of other European countries. And even at home in England, there are developments, and some unexpected danger from a surprising source, which underscores the sense of unrest throughout Europe at this time. Perry craftily develops the sense of impending catastrophe and violence throughout all the layers of this story.
I wish to thank the author, Ballantine Books, and Netgalley for the copy of this book I received.

Was this the best book I have read on this subject? No, but it wasn't the worse. I believe Anne Perry just needs to get her rhythm. The characters and plot needs to be flushed out more. This feels like a cozy mystery and that is fine if that is the goal. I hope the twists and such keep going throughout the series.

The characters are well developed and the plot flows well. Unfortunately, I had figured out who the bad guys were less than halfway through the story, but the suspense and drama builds to a peak of excitement. 

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for providing a copy of this book to read and review. The opinions expressed here are my own.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an earc of this book.
Beautiful,almost lyrical language, well developed, interesting characters, book 2 in this series does not disappoint. Can't wait for book 3.

Anne Perry, once again brings her readers a great series of mysteries.  This time we are following the exploits of Elena Standish, granddaughter of retired director of MI6, Lucas Standish. 

World War One has ended and the countries of Europe are trying to rebuild.  In Germany Adolf Hitler is starting to take advantage of the war torn country to build his followers and make the people believe he is offering the best solution to their troubles.  In England Lucas Standish who lead MI6 through the war has stepped down and though he still has his ear to the ground and friends on the inside he is in retirement.

This is the second book in the series and I look forward to more of this fascinating collections of adventures that Elena will be taking as she becomes a more experienced spy for Britain.  Though in the last book she had been dumped by the man she loved her, and fired from her job, she went off on a holiday and got caught up in a murder and espionage.  Now back in this second mystery, she has proved herself worthy of being a undercover agent for the British intelligence and is sent off to northern Italy to help bring informant Aiden Strother back with the information he has gathered, because it has become clear his cover has been blown.  Elena has been chosen because she may be the only one who can recognize him... he is the man she loved who dumped her.  

Elena has to accomplish this mission to prove herself worthy of continuing to be a trusted agent.  She has to maintain her level of calm, control and not get caught up in personal feelings.  It is hard to be a young woman scorned and still want to rescue the man who ruined her name.  

This is a absorbing book, with a good mystery, good character development and some historical developments that keep the plot moving and the story compelling.  It will be fun to watch Elena and her sister Margot  as they move forward with their personal relationships and their top secret government positions.  Also very relatable are their grandparents, Lucas and Josephine Standish.

New York Times bestselling author #Anne Perry has a new novel. This is her second in the spy series set in Europe. '# A Question of Betrayal' is the first mission for MI6, and she's a daring young photographer. The mission is to rescue the lover who betrayed her. Author # Anne Perry has a novel full of suspense, political intrigue, and the struggle between love and loyalty.
This is a wonderful thriller. For all of us stay at home happy people it's perfect. This I would buy for a gift since it's a series and holiday time approaching.
Thank you,
#Netgalley, # Anne Perry, and # Random House

Excellent story with a bit of a surprise ending.  The setting, between WWI and WWII in Europe was well described and added to the story.  The characters were believable and well developed. I am looking forward to the next book in this series.

This book was quite good. It was just as good or even better than the first! I was unsure because sometimes sequels don't match up to the first success in the series. It exceeded all my expectations!

This new series by Anne Perry is definitely going to be a winner. With mystery and intrigue surrounding the time of WW2, fans of both historical fiction and mysteries will find themselves drawn into Elena and the difficult mission she finds herself on. This book kept me reading from start to finish and on the edge of my seat at times!! Cannot wait for the next book!

I voluntarily reviewed a copy of this book provided by NetGalley.

Caught against the backdrop of an ever changing world,a young MI6 recruit gets the opportunity to make her mark by pinpointing an agent out of contact and feared lost. Elina has personal reasons to have this mission succeed. The elusive Aiden Strother destroyed a young girls life only to have her be the only person to pull off the mission. A story rife with world turmoil and a cast of characters with the depth you’ve come expect from Perry.

Ooooh this book! Perry does a marvelous job of getting inside a character's emotions, to the point you can feel the anxiety or agony or dread or nervousness a person feels. As I delved more and more into this book, with three major plot points, I thought there was no way to get this all wrapped up nice and neat-I was wrong! It was an engaging and good read, fast but well paced. Elena had more stamina and grit in this novel-despite the heartache and loss she's experienced, she's grown as a woman and as a spy and it really shines in this book. I liked that we saw more of her family in this book, and I surprisingly found myself liking her sister more and more. I'm hoping if this series continues, we see them paired up on a future assignment together. 
Well written, well done!

This is the second novel in the Elena Standish series and the second I have read. The first was well worth reading for Anne Perry's sheer skill, but the greater reason was that it conveyed some of the atmosphere of the Nazi rise to power in Germany, which in many unfortunate ways is being emulated here in the United States. Although set in Italy, this one conveys much of the same feeling of danger and impending doom. There is a history lesson here that we all need to absorb. In terms of characterization, Elena Standish is not as fully fleshed out as Ms. Perry's William Monk, for instance, but she is admirable and likable. I will be reading future books in the series.

A Question of Betrayal is the second installment in Anne Perry's spy series set on the cusp of World War II. Like Death in Focus, the new novel features Elena Standish, an M16 spy who poses as a professional photographer when working overseas. This time around she travels to Trieste in 1933 to locate a missing British spy whose handler has disappeared. It's Elena's first official mission—or at least her first really dangerous one--and the assignment is difficult for a number of reasons. Not only must she venture into Mussolini's Italy and guide a jittery agent back to safety, but she must also confront the love of her life. Make that former love of her life. Because it was solely due to Aiden Strother's efforts that Elena was publicly humiliated and forced to leave her respectable government job. Oh, and did I mention he broke her heart?

Not too surprisingly, she's not exactly keen to see him again. But as the granddaughter of former M16 chief Lucas Standish, spycraft is in her blood. And Elena is one of the few operatives who knows Aiden well enough to recognize him under cover. So she sets aside her feelings and settles into city life. At the same time, two additional subplots begin to unfold. One involves Lucas, now enjoying his retirement in the English countryside. A third involves Elena's older sister Margot, who has been invited to a friend's wedding in Berlin. All three strands are interwoven to create an engaging historical mystery that comes together to create a satisfying ending.

I've read quite a lot of books set during World War II, but only a handful set in the pre-war years. The historical backdrop—which involves Austria's Fatherland Front and Christian Social Party leader Engelbert Dollfuss--was my favorite thing about the book. I can't say more without giving away the plot, but I did a little research on the Fatherland Front after I finished. The supremacist group did indeed exist and its fascist, far-right goals were just as much of a threat in real life as they were in Perry's novel.

A Question of Betrayal is the first book I've read in the Standish series but I had no problem picking up on the backstory. I liked Elena's character and from what I could gather, she's changed quite a bit from the inexperienced mousy woman she was when she first met Aiden. Of course, Aiden has changed as well. Or has he? Will he betray her again? Is Elena's life in as much danger as his missing handler? More importantly, can she manage to bring him – and the information he's discovered – back to London?

There are plenty of twists along the way to finding out the answers to these questions and though the ending wasn't what I expected, I thoroughly enjoyed it. I do prefer Perry's new Daniel Pitt series, but the Elena Standish mysteries are a solid addition to Perry's extensive body of historical fiction. I'll definitely be on the look-out for book three.

Much thanks to Random House and Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

An well-written work that keeps the reader engaged and guessing who the real good "guys" are right up to the end. This account of events in Europe leading up to WWII portrays the role of women in previously male dominated roles of information gatherers. The female protagonist is strong, but vulnerable, having a certain frailty but with an inner strength.

Unfortunately NetGalley didn't send me this book, even though it appears in the list of my shelf, so I am obligated to provide a review and rating even though I wasn't able to read it. There needs to be a way to alert netGalley when a book isn't showing up on my kindle. Better luck next time?

I really enjoy Ms. Perry's writing and have been a long time avid fan.  I started reading this book in good faith and then just got bogged down and put it down hoping to be able to come back to it in a better refreshed frame of mind.  I picked it up and put it down several times. I try not to look at other reviews on a book because I don't want their opinions to color mine but in this instance I actually went to look both on Netgalley and Amazon and found the story had great reviews. 
With all good intentions I picked it up again but for some reason and it's got to be me but I cannot make my way through this story.