Book Review for The Diamond Eye by Kate Quinn

 The Diamond Eye  by  Kate Quinn 

Hardcover, 448 pages

Publication: March 29th 2022 by William Morrow & Company

Genre:  Historical Fiction, WWII, Russia

 

From Goodreads:  The New York Times bestselling author of The Rose Code returns with an unforgettable World War II tale of a quiet bookworm who becomes history's deadliest female sniper. Based on a true story.

In the snowbound city of Kiev, wry and bookish history student Mila Pavlichenko organizes her life around her library job and her young son--but Hitler's invasion of Russia sends her on a different path. Given a rifle and sent to join the fight, Mila must forge herself from studious girl to deadly sniper--a lethal hunter of Nazis known as Lady Death. When news of her three hundredth kill makes her a national heroine, Mila finds herself torn from the bloody battlefields of the eastern front and sent to America on a goodwill tour.

Still reeling from war wounds and devastated by loss, Mila finds herself isolated and lonely in the glittering world of Washington, DC--until an unexpected friendship with First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt and an even more unexpected connection with a silent fellow sniper offer the possibility of happiness. But when an old enemy from Mila's past joins forces with a deadly new foe lurking in the shadows, Lady Death finds herself battling her own demons and enemy bullets in the deadliest duel of her life.

Based on a true story, The Diamond Eye is a haunting novel of heroism born of desperation, of a mother who became a soldier, of a woman who found her place in the world and changed the course of history forever. 

My Thoughts:  I am a WWII book junkie.  I especially love reading a fiction book based on a true story with a unique storyline.  The Diamond Eye is exactly that.   The story tells of the well known horrors of war but this story is unique because it is told from the point of view of a sharpshooter.  A woman sniper.  It was rare for women to be on the frontline during WWII but Mila is not only on the frontline, she is a sniper with over 300 kills. 

I did not know as much about Russia’s part in WWII as I thought I did.  I was amazed at the smaller sizes of their military and that they had many women involved not just in the medical aspect but in the fighting aspect of the war.  The Diamond Eye is rich in history and it is history I will remember because of the way Kate Quinn wrote the book.  She made the characters real.   The storyline flowed perfectly with great details given so I could picture what Mila was having to live through. 

I have been a fan of Kate Quinn for a while and The Diamond Eye just cemented her in the must-read list of authors.  I highly recommend this book for any historical fiction reader.  I am sure this will be in my top books of 2022 list.

**Thank you William Morrow Books for a copy of the book via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

 

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Meet Kate Quinn:  (Taken from Kate’s website)  Kate Quinn is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of historical fiction. A native of southern California, she attended Boston University where she earned a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Classical Voice. She has written four novels in the Empress of Rome Saga, and two books in the Italian Renaissance, before turning to the 20th century with “The Alice Network”, “The Huntress,” “The Rose Code,” and “The Diamond Eye.” All have been translated into multiple languages. Kate and her husband now live in San Diego with three rescue dogs.