Read twice. Bought this one as gift.

I enjoyed this book. The book is written in the usual brilliant, fast-paced and detailed style by Macintyre. It reads as a history of the Cold War and espionage regime over the period. While the story might not be quite as action packed or initially as recognisable as the Kim Philby story, it covers a lot of ground, and by covering the stories of many people involved with Sonya, is as much a good story as it is a great piece of history. I think that anyone with an interest in modern history and Cold War history will really enjoy this book.

The book is very good but for me skips blithely around one major issue as to the extent of her dealings, if any, with Roger Hollis. There is strong circumstantial evidence elsewhere that she was Hollis's case officer but the author dismisses this with the dubious statement that if Hollis was a Russian Mole Putin would be extolling the fact now to rub Western faces in it. Strictly on a personal level I do not like it that her family was saved by Britain from certain death in Germany and in return she, and most of them, spent the rest of their useless lives betraying us!