Young Lena Bentheim is forced to flee Nazi Germany for Chicago in 1935, leaving her family and boyfriend behind. After learning English, she eventually finds a new life as a secretary in the Physics Department of the University of Chicago. She meets and marries another German refugee scientist and has a child. Then tragedy strikes, and Lena is forced to spy on the nuclear fission experiments at the U of Chicago. A novella set in the early years of the Manhattan Project, The Incidental Spy is another fascinating historical thriller by Libby Fischer Hellmann, author of the highly acclaimed stand-alone thrillers Set the Night on Fire, A Bitter Veil, and Havana Lost.

"Hellmann writes a captivating story of spies and espionage that will keep you guessing until the very end." Amazon Customer

"Libby Fischer Hellmann is an author to put on your "do not begin reading at night" list unless you don't have to get up early the next morning." Teri B.

:An entertaining and a thought-provoking read…The author’s passion for the topic also shines throughout the book". Brian Johnson, Public Libraries Online

© 2021 The Red Herrings Press (Audiobook): 9781938733550

Release date

Audiobook: 11 May 2021