The Diamond Eye

• Author: Kate Quinn
• Genre: Historical Fiction
• Publication Date: March 29, 2022
• Publisher: HarperAudio

The New York Times bestselling author of The Rose Code returns with an unforgettable World War II tale of a quiet bookworm who becomes history’s deadliest female sniper. Based on a true story.

In 1937 in the snowbound city of Kyiv, wry and bookish history student Mila Pavlichenko organizes her life around her library job and her young son–but Hitler’s invasion of Ukraine and Russia sends her on a different path. Given a rifle and sent to join the fight, Mila must forge herself from studious girl to deadly sniper–a lethal hunter of Nazis known as Lady Death. When news of her three hundredth kill makes her a national heroine, Mila finds herself torn from the bloody battlefields of the eastern front and sent to America on a goodwill tour.

Still reeling from war wounds and devastated by loss, Mila finds herself isolated and lonely in the glittering world of Washington, DC–until an unexpected friendship with First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt and an even more unexpected connection with a silent fellow sniper offer the possibility of happiness. But when an old enemy from Mila’s past joins forces with a deadly new foe lurking in the shadows, Lady Death finds herself battling her own demons and enemy bullets in the deadliest duel of her life.

Based on a true story, The Diamond Eye is a haunting novel of heroism born of desperation, of a mother who became a soldier, of a woman who found her place in the world and changed the course of history forever.

I really do avoid WWII reads unless they are memoirs or nonfiction, and even then only rarely, because of my family’s personal history during this period of time. However, I was intrigued to see an aspect of the war that focuses on a different country and experience than usual. The fact that this is based on a true story just made this especially appealing, because it offered me a chance to peek into a slice of history and have the chance to see it brought alive.

I read the audiobook narrated by Saskia Maarleveld, and she did such a wonderful job with the different accents, voicing each of the characters in a unique way that made it simple to keep track of the cast of characters. She kept me glued to the story late into the night and brought the story to life.

We are introduced to Mila Pavlichenko—a young single mother, history student, super nerd, and a library employee. She’s got a well-rounded life between her studies, her work, caring for her son, and seeing friends, although she has been trying to get divorced from her husband Alexei who she is separated from, but he isn’t cooperative. Alexei is a brilliant surgeon in his 30s who seduced Mila when she was only 15 years old, and then abandoned her and their son. I don’t know what the age of consent is in Russia/Ukraine, but even back then, it is clear that there was a huge imbalance in the power dynamics and it seemed like once Mila matured fully, Alexei lost interest. It’s nearly impossible to have any respect for a man like this, so it was easy to empathize with Mila and despise Alexei.

Mila is determined to be the best mother she can possibly be to Slavka, her young son, and in the years since his birth, she joined a shooting club to feel as though she could both provide for and protect her son in these turbulent times. It isn’t long before her experience with guns comes in handy—when Nazi Germany invades Russia, she enlists in the army as a sharpshooter. She faces a lot of misogyny from the male soldiers, and constantly has to prove herself as a capable soldier. Her single-minded determination to take out as many Nazi soldiers as she can plus her skill with various firearms quickly leads to a high confirmed kill count, and she is nicknamed ‘Lady Death.’

I was fascinated by this book, and couldn’t put it down. Early on, I was empathetic towards Mila and wanted to see her succeed, but it isn’t difficult to love someone who makes a career out of killing Nazis. It was a big change to see her switch from sweet bookworm and caring single mother to a vicious killing machine—I read this shortly after reading another book focusing on war, and while All Quiet on the Western Front was fantastic, this was equally fantastic but in a different way. In this book, the war is accomplished at more of a distance, with the killing occurring through the sights of a rifle instead of hand-to-hand combat. It was such a jarring change to see her personality before the war and during the war, from sweet to a fierce mama bear. Despite this being a war novel, there really isn’t any graphic violence or gory scenes.

The story is told beautifully. There are interspersed chapters from her goodwill tour to America and her interactions with First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt. I loved seeing this crossover between Soviet Russia and America, and how different things were in the two countries. It was surprising to see this visit during the early years of the Cold War, and the goodwill between the opposing countries. The friendship that occurs between Mila and Eleanor was really a heartwarming addition to the story.

Overall, this was a fantastic and intriguing book that I quickly got engrossed in. The story is a powerful one, and I loved how it was based on a real person and her experiences. I loved the idea of females being allowed to enlist in the army back then, and how Mila was treated based on her skills and expertise rather than her gender. She does face plenty of misogyny, as I would expect from a book about a female sniper in WWII, but ultimately her superiors do recognize her accomplishments and reward her for her dedication. Reading this, I learned that snipers in the Soviet Army worked in pairs—one to keep a lookout while the other is picking off targets. The story is well-researched, and I enjoyed seeing both the camaraderie that occurs between Mila and others in her unit, but also how she gains more confidence and independence as she rises through the ranks. Seeing how the confidence she gains plays out in her interactions with others was a clear sign of the growth she experienced over the course of the book, and while this was firmly based in history, I loved that Mila still gets to experience periods of romance, although her heartbreaks made me tear up. Now that I’ve finally read a Kate Quinn book, I can firmly say that I’ll be reading more of her work in the future.

Bottom line: Based on a true story about a Soviet female sniper during WWII, and the experiences she has and changes she goes through during the war. It’s a non-graphic war novel, but includes some elements of romance.

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