This week, we have two tantalizing works of suspense and intrigue to share with you.

Our First Impressions pick is Mrs. March by Virginia Feito, a haunting psychological thriller about a woman who believes her husband has written her into his new novel. Elisabeth Moss has snapped up film rights for her new production company and plans to take the titular role herself.

In Editor's Choice, we cover Rebecca Starford's An Unlikely Spy, a work of historical fiction based on the activities of Joan Miller, who worked as an MI5 spy during World War II.

We also have books for members to request, copies of Josh Mitchell's The Debt Trap to give away and a new Wordplay!

Very best,

Davina

Each month we give away books to BookBrowse members who live in the U.S. to read and review. Members who choose to participate receive a free book about every 3-4 months. Here are their opinions on one recently released title.

In addition to the recommended book below, you can see upcoming First Impressions features and browse member reviews here.

"Mrs. March is the wife of a successful author. She starts seeing herself in the main character of her husband's new bestselling novel and begins performing as that character in real life and losing herself at the same time. Mrs. March not only finds herself between the pages of the book, but discovering secrets of her past, as well as tracking down a killer. Feito's writing is brilliant and her characters are so complex and well developed." - Cindy R. (North Miami Beach, FL)

"Usually, 'psychological thriller' is not my genre of choice. Often plots are too contrived for this reader to suspend disbelief, or the author seems more manipulator than novelist. Virginia Feito is guilty of neither in Mrs. March. From the opening chapter with vivid descriptions of the fur-coated, mint green kidskin-gloved Mrs. March and the question that will haunt her through the book — did her husband George base the main character in his latest bestselling book on her? — I was drawn in... This book will, I believe, be a hit with fans of thrillers and with book clubs." - Carole C. (Willow Street, PA)

"Full disclosure, I am drawn to very dark story lines, and I found this quite satisfying. I did hear this is slated to be made into a movie starring none other than Elisabeth Moss. I look forward to the movie as well as future books by Ms. Feito." - Sheila B. (Danvers, MA)

Members! This month's First Impressions and Book Club books are available now. Request at bookbrowse.com/arc before end of Saturday, August 14.

If you're not currently a member and wish to become one, join and request a book before end of Saturday and you will receive it. If you are a past member, you can renew here.

Books are provided to members free of charge with the understanding that they'll do their best to either write a short review or take part in an online discussion forum, depending on whether the book is assigned for First Impressions or the Book Club.

Due to publisher restrictions, books are only available to U.S. residents. Members who take part fairly regularly generally receive a book about every 3-4 months.

An Unlikely Spy is not an action-packed spy thriller. Instead, it's a long-game, character-based work of espionage. Rebecca Starford's debut novel is a near-masterpiece, combining impeccable historical detail with John le Carré-esque tension and intrigue.

The story, mostly set in London during 1939 and 1940, closely follows the actual life of an inadvertent female MI5 spy. The protagonist is working-class Evelyn Varley. Evelyn secures a job at the War Office at the outbreak of WWII, and having studied German at Oxford, is quickly recruited into MI5 — Britain's domestic counter-intelligence and security agency. She is tasked with infiltrating a network of British citizens that secretly support the Nazis and wish to see a fascist takeover of Britain...

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Beyond the Book:

Sometimes truth is stranger than fiction, and in the case of An Unlikely Spy, fiction mirrors reality with a protagonist whose escapades parallel those of a real MI5 spy, Joan Miller.

Joan Miller was born in 1918 and joined MI5 — Britain's domestic counter-intelligence and security agency — just before World War II. She began working in the transportation division doing menial bureaucratic tasks before being recruited into B5b — the division responsible for finding political subversives. Her mission: infiltrate the Right Club, a secret organization of Britons attempting to unify the right-wing...

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The above "beyond the book" article falls into People, Eras and Events, one of our nine categories. Browse thousands of other articles by category here.

Review and article by Ian Muehlenhaus

From acclaimed Wall Street Journal reporter Josh Mitchell, the dramatic, untold story of student debt in America.

"The book is sure to garner attention, as well as make readers take a close look at the cost of higher education. Parents, students, and educators will find it enthralling and possibly be moved to push for industry reforms." - Booklist (starred review)

"The $1.6 trillion Americans owe in student loans is greater than the size of the Canadian economy, notes Wall Street Journal reporter Mitchell in this meticulous, eye-opening history of the student debt crisis...Mitchell masterfully explains how America got itself into this debacle...this is an immersive and illuminating introduction to a hot-button issue." - Publishers Weekly

"This urgent report makes a convincing case for reforming the loan program to allow students 'a fair shot at college, at a reasonable price.' An alarming study of an economic crisis long in the making—and entirely avoidable." - Kirkus

Read More / Enter Giveaway

Solve our Wordplay puzzle to reveal a well-known expression, and be entered to win a 6-month membership to BookBrowse.

The answer to the last Wordplay: N Say N

Meaning: Nothing is impossible

Gregory Titelman's America's Popular Proverbs and Sayings says that the earliest reference to "never say never" is in Charles Dickens' first novel, The Pickwick Papers (1837). Many online sources corroborate this fact - or perhaps rather they are simply repeating it because, thanks to the wonders of online texts, we have searched The Pickwick Papers from top to bottom, and back again, without finding any reference to "never say never." ...