Agent Sonya | Ben Macintyre

If you think real life can’t be as exciting as fiction, think again. In Agent Sonya, Ben Macintyre tells the astonishing true story of Ursula Kuczynski — a German communist, mother, and one of the most effective spies in history.

Born in Berlin to a wealthy Jewish family with fiercely left-wing ideals, Ursula and her family turn to Communism as their answer to the rise of Fascism. They idealise Lenin and even Stalin, choosing to overlook the darker side of the movement’s brutality in pursuit of a new world order.

When the Nazis seize power, the family flees to England, but Ursula’s story doesn’t stop there. After relocating to China with her husband Rudi, she becomes drawn into Soviet-sponsored Communist circles - and from there, her transformation into a top-tier spy begins.

What follows could rival any John le Carré plot: hidden transmitters, secret codes, and double lives stretching across China, Russia, Switzerland, Iran, Britain, America, and Spain. Yet every twist is grounded in truth. Macintyre blends meticulous research with the pace of a thriller, making Ursula’s extraordinary life feel both cinematic and heartbreakingly human.

I was completely hooked from the first chapter. The book not only captures the tension of espionage but also explores the moral contradictions of those who believe they're building a better world. I came away with a deeper understanding of the vast spy networks operating during WWII and the Cold War — and a renewed fascination with the hidden machinery of history.

Most fascinating of all is Ursula’s link to Klaus Fuchs, the Manhattan Project physicist who leaked nuclear secrets to the Soviets. Their alliance changed the balance of global power forever.

Agent Sonya is riveting, intelligent, and impossible to put down. I haven’t stopped talking about it since finishing it — and honestly, I don’t plan to.