Bound To Stay Bound

Booklist - 02/01/2026 “Deception,” Barone writes, “could be as powerful a weapon as any on the battlefield,” and here she lays out with absorbing drama the exploits of a small group of double agents that kept the Nazis guessing about where the Allies would be landing, both in 1942 in North Africa and in 1944 in France. Recruited from the ranks of supposed Nazi spies by Britain’s MI5 and slyly dubbed the “Twenty Committee,” this handful of men and women provided such convincing “evidence” that Normandy was just a diversion that German forces remained around Calais for seven weeks after D-Day, waiting for an assault that never came. Drawing on memoirs as well as a slew of other published sources, the author offers intimate profiles of several of the Committee’s more active members and their associated contacts within the Third Reich. Meanwhile, she cranks up the suspense with vivid pictures of the deadly risks they took in playing both sides—or seeming to. Readers fond of true tales of counterespionage, disinformation, and clever spycraft will be riveted from beginning to end. - Copyright 2026 Booklist.

School Library Journal - 03/01/2026 Gr 5–8—With spies and double agents, misdirection and outright fictions, codes, invisible ink, and wireless transmitters, the real world of espionage as described in this nonfiction book is as intriguing as any fictional novel or film. During World War II, the British developed a small spy agency called the Twenty Committee that specialized in feeding incorrect intelligence to the Germans. Barone centers the narrative on four somewhat eccentric spies, providing enough detail to make each character memorable. The role of the Abwehr, Germany's military intelligence agency, in receiving and transmitting information gathered or manufactured through Britain's double agents, also is explained. As each operative is brought on board, the stakes for the mission grow higher. The tension builds, leading up to D-Day, since the Twenty Committee has an integral assignment to draw German attention away from the planned Normandy invasion. As in Rebecca Siegel's How the Ghost Army Hoodwinked Hitler, about American troops' theatrical deceptions, and Barone's own Unbreakable: The Spies Who Cracked the Nazis' Secret Code, this book brings to light a fascinating and little-known aspect of WWII military strategy. It also connects well to recent fiction, such as Adam Gidwitz's Max in the House of Spies and its sequel. Back matter includes a bibliography and end notes. VERDICT With its colorful cast of true characters, this well-researched book goes beyond most war histories, highlighting the unique contributions of double agents and the importance of intelligence in military operations.—Lucinda Whitehurst - Copyright 2026 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.

Other - 03/02/2026 High-octane historical thriller meets cinematic narrative nonfiction in an arresting offering from Barone (Mountains of Fire) that chronicles the essential role that spies and double agents played in turning the tides during WWII. Opening information outlines the work’s key players; subsequent clear, concise prose introduces former spy and MI5 agent Thomas Argyll Robertson as he gathers an elite group of individuals in 1939 for what would become Operation Bodyguard, a disinformation scheme meant to deceive the Abwehr, Nazi Germany’s military intelligence organization. Propulsive, linear chapters with situating opening lines follow Robertson on his recruitment journey, dispensing brief backstories for each of the figures assembled, and including humanizing details such as the warm friendship between spies Dušan Popov and Johann Jebsen, and MI5 agent Lily Sergueiev’s love for her dog as well as the sexism she encountered throughout her career. Quotes from each of the double agents and those who knew them engenders from readers further empathy for the subjects’ plight and desire for their safety as dangers mount. Accessibly approaching the history of the war and chronicling significant battles in which the spies had a role, Barone spins an adventuresome survival tale that capitalizes on heart-wrenching moments to insert readers right into the action. Includes a bibliography and endnotes. Ages 10-14. Agent: Michael Bourret, Dystel, Goderich & Bourret. (Apr.) - Copyright 2026