New York City, 1962. Vera Kelly is struggling to make rent and blend into the underground gay scene in Greenwich Village. She’s working night shifts at a radio station when her quick wits, sharp tongue, and technical skills get her noticed by a recruiter for the CIA.
Next thing she knows she’s in Argentina, tasked with wiretapping a congressman and infiltrating a group of student activists in Buenos Aires. As Vera becomes more and more enmeshed with the young radicals, the fragile local government begins to split at the seams.
When a betrayal leaves her stranded in the wake of a coup, Vera learns the Cold War makes for strange and unexpected bedfellows, and she’s forced to take extreme measures to save herself.
An exhilarating coming-of-age story, Who Is Vera Kelly? introduces an original, wry, and whip-smart female spy for the twenty-first century.
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“Narrator Elisabeth Rodgers’…facility with the Spanish phrases and place names brings to life Vera’s experience in Argentina. The result is a captivating listening experience. Winner of the AudioFile Earphones Award.”
— AudioFile
"[A] gripping, subtle, magnificently written new spy novel.”
— New York Times“A slow-burn espionage thriller, a complex treatment of queer identity, and an immersive period piece all rolled into one delectable page-turner.”
— Entertainment Weekly“This is the literary spy novel you need in your life.”
— Bustle magazine“There’s political intrigue, spy craft, solid location work, and all the things you would want from espionage fiction.”
— Crime Reads“Noir and full of ambiguities, doubles, and double-crosses.”
— Literary Hub“A buzzing, smoky, gin-soaked charmer…[with] all the edgy fun of classic noir but in an original voice that’s fresh, brisk, and snappy.”
— Library Journal“By the end of Who is Vera Kelly? the reader is rooting for Vera to claim her much deserved personal freedom as much as succeed as a spy.”
— NPR“The character readers have been waiting for. A riveting, satisfying novel.”
— Kirkus Reviews“A tangled, atmospheric story that gradually builds suspense to a satisfyingly surprising denouement.”
— Booklist“The twisty, literary, woman-driven spy novel you’ve always wanted to read.”
— Amy Stewart, author of Girl Waits with Gun“A truly fresh and original take on the spy novel..[with] a memorable heroine who seems destined to become an icon of the genre.”
— Dan Chaon, author of Ill Will“Sardonic, intelligent, and thrillingly original. I loved this book and I loved Vera.”
— Courtney Maum, author of I Am Having So Much Fun Here without You“Knecht imbues the novel with emotional depth that allows for meditation on human connection and the ties that bind us to life’s worth.”
— Kristin Martin, author of Shadow CrownBe the first to write a review about this audiobook!
Rosalie Knecht is the author of Who is Vera Kelly? and Relief Map, and the translator of César Aira’s The Seamstress and the Wind. She lives in New Jersey.
Elisabeth Rodgers is an actress and AudioFile Earphones Award–winning narrator. After graduating from Princeton University, she completed a two-year program at William Esper Studio, where she studied with Maggie Flanigan. Her audiobook narration training came from Robin Miles, who has also directed her in several productions. She has recorded dozens of books for a multitude of publishers.