Neither Five Nor Three

All Helen MacInnes' adventure/spy novels are as well written as anything LeCarre wrote, but more than that, were based on facts. Her husband was a member of England's MI5, Intelligence, which contributed to her knowledge of the doings of Soviet's Smersh and the implements of death developed in Dept 13. One member of my family thought Smersh was a fiction, was astonished when she learned it actually existed! This particular... Read Full Review

MacInnes often has a main character who is a journalist, struggling to fight against lies being circulated into the media by Communist-controlled or -inspired writers. In this novel, we may have her clearest portrayal of writer as freedom fighter, fighting to expose the hidden sources of anit-American journalists. There is her usual element of romance, as well as the gifted amateurs who take on the trained operatives, and... Read Full Review

My first contact with Helen MacInnes was when I was 13 years old and found Neither five nor three in the school library. From then on I have searched for her books in my country in the US and France. I keep rereading my torn copy. In these times the way Helen MacInnes depicts the struggle between communism and democracy may seem out of date, yet the characters, on both sides are very well built, with depth and humor. You... Read Full Review