THE BOOK SPY

Alan Hlad is the internationally bestselling author of historical fiction novels inspired by real-life people and events during WWI and WWII, including Churchill’s Secret Messenger and the USA Today and IndieBound bestseller The Long Flight Home. His shorter work has appeared in The Bleeding Lion, Larks Fiction Magazine, The National Underwriter and Claims Magazine. In addition to writing meticulously researched historical fiction, Alan is president of an executive search firm, a frequent conference speaker, and a member of the Historical Novel Society, Literary Cleveland, and the Akron Writers’ Group.  He lives in Ohio with his wife and children.

Author Website

Praise for Alan Hlad’s Novels:

“I’ve always been fascinated by homing pigeons, and Alan Hlad makes these amazing birds and their trainers shine in The Long Flight Home–a sweeping tale full of romance and espionage, poignant sacrifice and missed chances, uncommon courage, and the ongoing costs of war. A compelling debut told with conviction and great heart.” —Paula McLain, author of The Paris Wife and Love and Ruin on The Long Flight Home

“The walled-off feeling of loneliness in a crowd pervades the pages of Hlad’s piercing historical thriller. Based on a fascinating and little-known true story of World War II… Hlad’s immersive portrayal of wartime Lisbon and its inhabitants, of the loneliness caused by the terror that anybody at any time could be an informant, plus his captivating thriller/romance tale make this a must-read, especially for fans of Kate Quinn’s The Rose Code.”—firstCLUE, starred review for The Book Spy

“Tense, heartwarming and life affirming, The Long Flight Home gives a fresh slant on heroism in WWII.” —Rhys Bowen, New York Times bestselling author on The Long Flight Home

“Hlad’s debut snares readers with its fresh angle on the blitz of WWII, focusing on the homing pigeons used by the British, and the people who trained and cared for them… Descriptions of the horrors of war and the excitement of battle are engaging, and the unusual element of the carrier pigeons lends an intriguing twist. This story will speak not only to romance readers and WWII buffs but also to animal advocates and anyone who enjoys discovering quirky details that are hidden in history.” —Publishers Weekly on The Long Flight Home

“Drawing on historical material, Hlad concocts an appealing and exciting story… intertwining the romance and action stories, treating both realistically and largely without melodrama.” —Booklist on Churchill’s Secret Messenger

1. The Book Spy is inspired by the very real but largely underrecognized librarians who served as intelligence agents during World War II. Before reading this novel, did you have much knowledge of how librarians contributed to the war effort? How did your prior knowledge – or lack thereof – affect your interest in this storyline?

2. Why did Colonel Donovan decide librarians and microfilm specialists would be best suited to serve as agents for the Interdepartmental Committee for the Acquisition of Foreign Publications? Are there any ordinary activities you perform in your job on a regular basis that you think would be well suited to an intelligence agent?

3. During WWII, Lisbon, Portugal was considered the last gate out of Europe for people fleeing Nazi persecution. An estimated one million refugees fled there to acquire ship passage to the United States, Canada, or Latin America. Before reading The Book Spy, were you aware of Portugal’s significance in this regard? What did you learn from the novel about the experiences of Jewish refugees who escaped German-occupied Europe through the neutral port of Lisbon?

4. The character of Maria was inspired by Adele Kibre, an American archivist with a PhD in medieval linguistics who was recruited to the Interdepartmental Committee for the Acquisition of Foreign Publications (IDC) and stationed in Stockholm during WWII. Intelligent, brave, and not afraid to break the rules, Kibre was an expert in microphotography, fluent in 7 languages, and was—according to records—the most accomplished of the IDC agents. Despite her achievements and heroism, few people have heard of Adele Kibre. Why do you think there isn’t more awareness of Adele Kibre and other librarians who served as intelligence agents?

5. There are many women from the past, like Adele Kibre, who do not often make it into our history books. Who is one woman from history that you greatly admire and think that the world should know more about?

6. While working in Lisbon, Maria and Tiago fall in love. What do you think brings them together? Why does their relationship develop so quickly? At what point do you think Maria realized she loved Tiago? How is the war a catalyst for their affection?