Devil Darling Spy

November 1, 2019

Gr 10 Up-In the even-more-gripping sequel to Orphan Monster Spy, it's 1940 and 16-year-old Jewish orphan Sarah Goldstein is living undercover in Berlin as the "niece" of high-society fixer Helmut Haller, the alias of British spy Jeremy Floyd. Jeremy and Sarah are still reeling from the aftermath of the previous book's events, which left them both with PTSD and increased Sarah's fear that fighting monsters may just turn her into one. But there is no time for recovery now that rumors of a powerful germ weapon being developed in the Congo have reached Berlin. Posing as German military intelligence, Jeremy and Sarah set off on a race across Africa to beat the S.S. from retrieving the disease samples from German missionaries. Accompanying them is Clementine, a brilliant and acerbic half-German, half-Senegalese maid with a hidden agenda. In the Congo, people speak of a White Devil that travels through the jungle and spreads a fatal disease called "the bleeding," which missionaries claim they are trying to treat. Sarah gradually makes the agonizing realization that she (still) can trust no one-and that the Nazis are far from the only monsters out there. This installment retains the breakneck pace, rich imagery, and psychological nuance of the first book, while upping the stakes and increasing the moral complexity that confronts Sarah. The book's historical setting and subject matter-atrocities perpetuated by European colonialists in Africa leading up to and during World War II-are both well handled and rarely depicted in YA, making this a strong purchase for high school collections. While the Ebola germ weapon is fictional, broader observations about colonial-era treatment of African populations and specific references to torture and genocide in the Belgian Congo and German Namibia are based in historical fact, and described in a lengthy author's note. African characters are depicted as individuals with their own histories and goals rather than as mere objects of European brutality. The German language is heavily used and the complex plot demands some background knowledge about the war from readers, as well as a familiarity with the events of the first book. VERDICT This smart, chilling page-turner of a spy thriller set in central Africa will have strong crossover appeal to adult audiences. A first purchase.-Elizabeth Giles, Lubuto Library Partners, Zambia

Copyright 2019 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

November 25, 2019
It’s 1940, and Adm. Wilhelm Canaris, head of German military intelligence, believes the SS is plotting with Japan to weaponize a deadly virus discovered by German missionaries in central Africa. Canaris may be pro-German, but he’s also antigenocide, so he orders fixer Helmut Haller (British spy Capt. Jeremy Floyd), and his “niece,” Ursula (his apprentice, 16-year-old Jewish orphan Sarah Goldstein), to bring him the missionaries and their research, thus removing the disease from play. Accompanied by their Afro-German maid, Clementine, and French-born black priest Claude, Jeremy and Sarah chase rumors of a plague-spreading “White Devil” to the Congo basin, where they find Professor Rudolf Bofinger; his stepdaughter, Dr. Lisbeth Fischer; and an illness dubbed “the Bleeding.” Unbeknownst to them, their mission is far from finished. Killeen’s shattering follow-up to Orphan Monster Spy explores Nazism’s roots, the atrocities of colonialism, and the human cost of war. Though those unfamiliar with both WWII history and the preceding novel may have difficulty following the plot’s intricacies, Killeen delivers an action-packed, emotionally eviscerating tale. Ages 12–up.

December 1, 2019
Evil wears many faces. In this fast-paced sequel to Orphan Monster Spy (2018), Killeen brings back Jewish German Sarah and the British Captain, spies who aim to keep biological warfare out of the hands of the Axis powers during World War II. In order to thwart a plan between Shirō Ishii, a Japanese army surgeon, and SS-Obersturmbannführer Kurt Hasse to wreak biological havoc across the globe, 16-year-old Sarah, the Captain, and Clementine, their new servant of French and Senegalese descent, travel to central Africa. Their goal is to locate the White Devil who is rumored to be spreading a highly contagious disease that causes relentless bleeding, ultimately resulting in death. Their travels take them deep into the Congo, where they pretend to be missionaries. While Sarah works with German missionaries who are already there to treat the plague, Clementine educates her on the complexities of evil. Sarah must determine what--or who--the actual threat to humanity is. As not all people are who they present themselves to be, Sarah uses her wits and spy training to protect the world from pestilence. Unfortunately, Clementine's character is not well developed and her emotions are not nuanced; she comes across as embodying negative stereotypes of black women, appearing mean, hard, and, at times, cruel. A fast-paced thriller full of twists and surprises. (author's note) (Historical thriller. 13-17)

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November 15, 2019
Grades 9-12 Fifteen-year-old Jewish orphan spy Sarah poses as the Shirley Temple of Third Reich high society with her uncle, British spy Captain Floyd. But as the captain fights a morphine addiction acquired after a near-fatal shooting, Sarah finds she must take on more decision-making. Along with a half-Senegalese, half-German girl, Clementine, who poses as their maid but has an agenda of her own, they travel to Africa in search of a rogue German doctor bent on handing Hitler the gift of germ warfare. Letters to a classmate, memories of her prewar life with her mother, and a complicated relationship with the German doctor involved in the germ-warfare experiments provide a revealing window into Sarah's often-ambiguous character. Killeen's (Orphan Monster Spy, 2018) careful research is detailed in a fascinating author's note, where he describes his discovery of the Nama and Herero genocides and the germ-warfare crimes of Japan's Unit 731. The complexity of both plot and content make this an eye-opening read for fans of historical fiction.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2019, American Library Association.)