I loved The Chilbury Ladies Choir, so I was looking forward to reading Ryan's new novel, The Spies of Shilling Lane (released June 4, 2019). Unfortunately, The Spies of Shilling Lane is a real disappointment. Whereas her first novel had a lot of charm, this one just feels forced and unlikely. It's definitely readable, but the plot is completely improbable and feels as though it is a Disneyland version of some old gangster movie (or maybe even Bugsy Malone). The characters come across as caricatures, and I pictured them in my head as cartoons rather than real people. There was also a thread of sentimentalism woven throughout that felt misplaced. Is it a spy novel or a feel good novel about loving your family and community? The two don't work well together. Overall, this new effort was not nearly as enjoyable as Ryan's last novel.
I received an ARC of this novel through NetGalley, but my views are my own.
Has anyone else read this yet? What did you think?
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