The Diamond Eye by Kate Quinn

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.

Paperback, 448 pages

Published March 29, 2022

 by William Morrow

Audiobook, 12 hours, 51 minutes

Narrated by Saskia Maarleveld

4.5/5 stars

How wonderful to dive into a Kate Quinn book again.  Having read her Ancient Rome books and continued with WW2, she is one of the few authors where I've managed to stay current with.  This was released  year ago, so better late then never I say.

Mila is a young mother, student and librarian. When war breaks out she begins her journey to become a renowned sniper (Lady Death).  What follows is a captivating story through WW2.  Alternating between the Russian countryside and a tour of the US (19432).

I did a combo read/listen.  Listening was great to get the proper pronunciation of names of places.  The narrator's accent added to the atmosphere.  This story is well written and research.  Alternating between Mila and a US pov added the suspense/mystery to keep the story going.

Again with a good HF novel the author notes are part of my read.  to see the author's motivation, research and read whats fact vs fiction is a nice finishing touch.

Hats off Kate Quinn for another entertaining and educational read.  Can't wait to see whats next.

This book was part of my 2023 Reading Off My Shelf Challenge (the audiobook was through CloudLibrary).