QUICK TAKE: I wouldn’t consider myself a huge fan of espionage thrillers, and have never quite connected with those stories in the ways I do with other genres I tend to prioritize. That being said, Lea Carpenter’s ILIUM, out this week, is a fantastic addition to the spy genre. It’s ALIAS by way of John Le Carre, about a young woman who falls for a charming older man who ultimately recruits her to spy on a wealthy Russian Oligarch living off the coast of France. The book is a slow-burn thriller, smaller in scope and sizzle; but what it lacks in size, it makes up with some of the best character work I’ve read in a long time. Carpenter does so much with so little, an author who manages to infiltrate sex and romance and mystery into a story without overtly showing her hand. The book is mysterious and sexy and violent, and I’ve been thinking about it all week. At 215 pages, it’s the perfect post-holiday read for those of you struggling to kick-start your 2024 reading goals.

Ilium is a spy novel, but unlike the vast majority of books in that genre. It's slow-burn espionage, a kind of spy dream. A woman is recruited, inserted into the extended family of the target and tasked with supplying intel that will facilitate elimination of said target. Things don't exactly as planned. Throw in a bit of family interconnectedness and a dash of Stockholm Syndrome and you have a brainy but entertaining discourse on the secret world.

International espionage. Exotic locations. Dark characters. The art world. Iliad checks all sorts of boxes for me. There’s a moody wistfulness to Ilium that I couldn’t quite put my finger on. Maybe it’s because the protagonist, a 21-year-old woman wooed by a man thirty-three years her senior, is more or less innocent. She’s drawn into the world of spies through this unbalanced love interest and ends up a “tool” or “asset” despite her lack of experience.

There’s a lot of depth to this novel—layers of intrigue and character development. It’s been a long time since I read the ancient Greek poem The Iliad so I needed a refresher. It’s set towards the end of the Trojan War and depicts events in the siege’s final weeks. I think if you’re familiar with it, you’ll pick up more in the novel than I did. But you don’t have to know anything about ancient Greeks to understand the plot.

If you're drawn to CIA intrigue with a dash of opulence and a side of love, you’ll enjoy this. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for allowing me to read an advance copy.

Thank you Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor, Knopf for accepting my request to read and review Ilium on NetGalley.

Published: 01/16/24

Stars: 2.5

Not for me. I picked this up based on the description: key words -- international espionage, suspenseful, and gripping. The wait is over; there were spies.

This is a slow moving book. Many times I thought I was reading write whatever comes to your mind pages. I don't have a lot to say -- there wasn't anything that I found worthy of a pitch to a publisher. This is a story that needed some action. I can't even quantify this as psychological, there just isn't enough substance.

Published by Knopf on January 16, 2024

Many thrillers, particularly spy novels, attempt a slow build to a startling climax, only to disappoint. Ilium succeeds. While spy novels often depict espionage as a dirty business, few illustrate its big-picture futility as effectively as Ilium.

Edouard and Dasha worked together in Russian intelligence before they entered into a marriage of convenience. Dasha was a widow. She wanted a father for her daughter Nikki and Edouard was happy to have a daughter. In any event, Edouard’s boss told him he needed a wife, so Edouard chose one who happened to be nearby. It was easy for Dasha to say yes. Edouard’s father was one of Russia’s original oligarchs, so Edouard could offer Dasha and Nikki a very comfortable life.

Two weeks after they married, Edouard was in bed with Sophie in Beirut. He promised her a family but neglected to mention Dasha and Nikki. Sophie gave him a son named Felix but suffered a tragic end that sets the story in motion. Edouard worships Felix but Dasha views him as a reminder of Edouard’s infidelity.

Before he became a spy for the Russian government, Edouard had a successful career in the military. Although Edouard is getting old, he is such a successful spy that the CIA, Mossad, and MI6 track his every move. The intelligence agencies are after revenge. Russia may agree that Edouard’s personal vendetta has gone too far.

The central character of Ilium is an unnamed woman from London who tells her part of the story in the first person. In her early years, the narrator was empty and vulnerable, making her the perfect target for recruitment as an intelligence asset. At a party, she met a successful American named Marcus. She was 21 and he was in his early 50s. To her surprise — because she is convinced that she is not special in any way — Marcus married her. The marriage will not last long because Marcus is dying — a fact he chooses not to disclose until after their wedding. When Marcus tells her, he reveals his other life-changing secret.

Marcus wants the narrator to perform a task. Her job is simple: infiltrate and listen. Her cover identity as a fledgling art dealer is a bit more complex. The narrator tackles the job with enthusiasm because she would do anything for Marcus. She’s excited to do anything at all to enliven a life that, before Marcus, was without color or purpose.

Marcus introduces the narrator to a Lebanese man named Raja, a man who — like Marcus — is not what he appears to be. Raja creates a pretext that allows the narrator to visit Edouard’s home in Cap Ferret. Raja only wants her to learn whether Edouard is there. Since he is not, Raja arranges her return on a new pretext. This time she stays for a bit and gets to know the family. Felix, in particular, bonds with her, perhaps because he feels unloved by his stepmother and stepsister. The narrator’s task remains the same: determine whether Edouard is there and, if so, when he will be leaving.

The reader and the narrator will intuit that Raja will use the narrator’s information in a way that will not be good for Edouard. While there is little reason to feel compassion for Edouard (or for his wife and stepdaughter), he is kind to the narrator, perhaps because of her resemblance to Sophie. The reader will likely share the narrator’s fear that Felix’s life is about to be upended.

We learn in the novel’s closing pages that Edouard must be removed from the game because a mistake gave birth to a reprisal that fueled the desire for revenge. The games never end. “All the wars which were really just one war, the targeting and developing of assets, the unending plays for power and redemption, self-loathing gradually obliterated by pride in the mission, good work, ‘the long game’.”

I appreciated the precision of Lea Carpenter’s insightful prose and the elegant style in which the story is told. Here’s an example that merges insight and elegance: “War endures by design. The history of war is a history of romance and mission, of malice slapping the wrist of good intent. The history of war is a history of action, reaction, repeat. War is tragedy, and tragedy, as Aristotle knew, is a game of subtraction, a game of loss.”

The Iliad and The Odyssey provide a recurring backdrop to the story. The narrator has no education beyond high school, but she is exposed to various interpretations of Homer’s epic works as the novel unfolds. Carpenter returns to Homer at the end of the story when she argues that Priam and Achilles provide an example of men who are able to set aside their lust for war and vengeance and discover, through conversation, that they share the experience of loss, that revenge never satisfies. That lesson is ably taught in a novel that goes beyond the cloak-and-dagger trappings of spy novels to explore deeper questions about conflicts between nations and the forces that shape lives.

RECOMMENDED

Yes, it's a book about espionage, spies, developing assets, etc. and the accompanying complexities involved in this line of work. But what strikes me most about this book is the prose; the pace and flow of the narration. It has an "outside-looking-in" or "dreamlike" feel throughout the storytelling but delivers crucial pieces of information in a consistent manner that keeps me engaged. I could not stop reading to find out who exactly is Edouard? What did he do to deserve such an elaborate and well-planned assassination scheme? When and where did all this originate? How will the plan be executed and will it be successful? All in all a successful piece of work I am glad to have read. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.

3.5 stars. I was able to read this as an ARC from Netgalley. Like almost any book, it had a variety of pros and cons for me. The pros were that it is an interesting story and the writing is good. Carpenter uses many unknowns in the story to keep you guessing. The cons for me were that the main character could be a quite passive- she seems to go through life not asking many questions of anyone around her. The plot could be a bit confusing at times too. Overall, an entertaining read.

Thank you Knopf for the copy of Lea Carpenter's Ilium! I requested this as I saw a review/mention of it and it seemed under the radar.
This is a solid spy/espionage thriller... I might have just wanted something new, off the beaten track for me as a reader but this one really worked for me. High stakes thrills, interesting characters, a constant sense of intrigue, and since I was willing to suspend some disbelief for the sake of enjoying this book, a generally captivating and sucked me in kind of read. Exotic settings, spy stuff, intrigue, and a swirling plot!

Ilium is marketed as a spy thriller and the first part is true but not so much the thriller part. I liked the beginning where a young milquetoast woman is unknowingly being spied on as she goes about her day. Then as a newlywed she meekly concedes to participate in some secret operation when asked by her spy husband. The main setting of the book is beautiful but nothing much happens beyond leisurely lunches and walks. At about the 40% point we finally learn what the end game is and things fall into place but the stroll to the finish never really heated up enough for me to care.
Three lukewarm stars

Wow! This one sent my blood pressure through the roof! A twisty espionage story that keeps you guessing with characters that are relatable and ground the story, I loved that this was less action-based and more psychological. It made me think and I won't stop thinking about it for a while.

Thanks to Knopf for the copy to review.

interesting and well done thriller! i totally love the whole vibe of it start to end. tysmm for the arc.

I absolutely loved this tale, full of espionage, broken promises, and a woman who seems like she doesn't belong. A fascinating way of portraying a tale of espionage — less technical, more ambiguous — but phenomenal nonetheless. Writing style took a little bit to get used to (cadence, dialogue, etc), but once I was in, I was IN.

This was a different type of spy novel that I quite enjoyed. The narrator, whose name we never learn, is a young and naive girl who falls in love and is groomed for espionage in order to track down a Russian assassin. The writing was engaging and the story kept my interest but it would have been even better if it had been a little longer with a bit more character development.

Thank you to Knopf and NetGalley for this advance copy that I would definitely recommend. I look forward to more books by Lea Carpenter.

I love a good spy novel and this story is just what I needed.

A story of a woman getting involved in the spy game from the very beginning. I liked how the story was short and packed with a woman's journey of being intertwined with her first mission. Some parts of this felt bogged down with a little too much information which became somewhat confusing. But overall, a good spy story!

Love leads a young woman into dangerous world of espionage.

A young woman has left behind a childhood with warring parents and meager financial resources, but at the age of 21 is still trying to figure out who she is and what her life will be. When she meets Marcus, a wealthy and attractive man many years her senior, he sweeps her off her feet and plunges her into an exotic new life. But despite the glamorous locales to which they travel this is not a Cinderella story; she is the perfect person to slip into the life of a former Russian general named Edouard, and Marcus and people in his circle need her to do just that. What seems like a simple task….just observe the goings on at Edourd’s compound near Cap Ferret and report back her findings to Marcus’s friend Raza…will prove to be anything but easy. For a naive and relatively innocent person, creating bonds with a man and his family as she lives a lie will exact a price on her,

Ilium is equal parts espionage novel and observation of the evolution of a young woman whose naïveté and isolated life make her the perfect candidate to enter the duplicitous world of spies. She narrates the story from a period some time after the events she describes took place, which lends a distance to all that she experiences. With an intriguing group of characters whose lives are entangled, she slowly begins to see how carefully she was selected for this role While her love for Marcus (plus perhaps a desire for a more exciting life) renders her more than willing to do what he and Raza ask, it is only when she meets the people on whom she is to spy that she comes to understand the difficulty of maintaining a cover story and extending friendship to people whom she will ultimately betray. Is what she is doing morally wrong, or will the end justify the means? How much must she sacrifice in pursuit of the mission? What kind of person can live in this world of blurred lines and loyalties and come through the other end intact? Not a traditional espionage novel at all, which may lessen its appeal to some. Readers of authors like Chris Pavone, Anna Pitoniak and Clémence Michallon (as well as fans of the Iliad, which plays a role in the story) may want to take a chance on Ilium, For me, the choice of narrative style created a distance from the characters and story which I found to be a barrier to fully caring about them, but I still would describe it as a very well written novel, with the verisimilitude that only someone who understands that world profoundly could deliver. Many thanks to NetGalley and Knopf, Pantheion, VIntage and Anchor books for allowing me access to a copy of this cleverly crafted novel.

“Ilium” by Lea Carpenter is a tale of international espionage. A very young English girl is plunged into this treacherous world and marries a much older man and ex spy who brings her into the world of t clandestine operations. The book is very character driven and not an edge of your seat thriller. It reminded me of the style of John Le Carrie. I did enjoy the story so I recommend to all who enjoy this slow burn type of thriller.

Thank you NetGalley and Knopf, Pantheon, Vantage, and Anchor for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

This is a spy novel in the vein of John Le Carre. The tension builds from the outset. My only issue with this story is that the protagonist is too young and naive to completely carry story she's playing.

Thanks to Netgalley and Knopf for the ebook. A young woman gets swept off her feet by an older man and soon finds herself married. Instead of a happy ever after, the woman is pulled into a high stakes political operation to eliminate a former Russian general who has been hiding for years. It’s interesting from so many angles, but it’s original in the way that the woman doesn’t feel used or betrayed. She goes along with being a spy with no training as though this was always to be her destiny.

This was a DNF for me. I am not a slow-burn person and I felt like the character suddenly accepting her life of espionage felt too convenient.

This was wildly different than the type of book I normally read and I can say I'm glad I did. The beginning was slow and sort of outlandish. I didn't think I'd love it until the main character completely accepts her role as a spy and that's when things got really interesting. While we normally see intelligence as sort of this wild and fictional thing, this really humanizes it. It really gives you a lot to consider in a world constantly at war.