The Diamond Eye: A Novel

This novel is based on the 2018 autobiography, "Lady Death: The Memoirs of Stalin's Sniper", of the remarkable central character, the Ukrainian Lyudmila (Mila) Pavlichenko. That story is fascinating enough; but, as the author admits in a note at the end of her book, she has taken quite a few liberties with it, as well as having added substantial parts of pure invention. I am sorry to say that some of her additions are the weakest part of the book, and occasionally quite ludicrous. But it is, on the whole, a compelling read. Mila, who is the narrator for most of the book, was an extremely successful sniper in the Soviet Army, and had killed at least 309 of the enemy during the Second World War, though she had been hospitalized three times with injuries from German shell fire. In August 1942 the Soviet government sent her to the United States to play a part in the propaganda war: she was to tell her story and to press for more American help to Russia (like opening the Second Front). She was a great success in America and became a close friend of the First Lady, Eleanor Roosevelt. Mila had, at the age of 15, married a surgeon, Alexei Pavlichenko. In the novel they had separated by 1937, and were in the process of being divorced, but Alexei had twice failed to turn up to the meetings that would finalize the divorce. In the book, they never would be formally divorced: Alexei tried to win her back and would not be rebuffed by her. He kept on turning up in her life. In the end, in 1942, he tried to kill her, but she got in first. None of this happened; for, in fact, Alexei had divorced Mila soon after her marriage, and the author’s note says that Mila’s autobiography records her last meeting with him as having been in 1938. So she was free to marry again, and in fact she did marry her commander, Lieutenant Lyonya Kitsenko, shortly before he was killed. In the novel, however, she was unable to do so because she was still married to Alexei. In the book she eventually married Kostia, a fellow sniper who always covered her back. He was a fluent English-speaker and accompanied her to the United States as her interpreter. But Kostia has been created by the author. The author’s most dramatic invention is an unnamed marksman, who had been paid by a handler (also unnamed) to assassinate President Roosevelt. (No such plot existed.) He posed as a journalist and as such had access to conferences arranged by the White House. He did not believe that Mila was a sniper, but, because she had become famous as such, he planned to arrange things in such a way that, although he would kill the President, Mira would be seen as the assassin. He constantly followed her, and sent her several anonymous notes threatening her with death. All the characters in the book – real and invented – are convincingly described – Mi...

A Russian history scholar leaves that life when the Germans invaded her country during WWII. She becomes a high profile person because of her prowess as a sniper. Kate Quinn is so skillful as a researcher with the gritty details of a life as a sniper and I loved her dialogue. This is a book of our time, also, because much of the action takes place in Ukraine. Highly recommended for historical fiction fans with even some romance and interaction with President Franklin and First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt.

I have read several of Kate Quinn’s books and have always enjoyed them immensely, so, of course I pre-ordered this book. I do not know why exactly, but it languished among my “unread” books for months before I actually started reading it. Once I did, I could not stop. It is a fabulous book. I will not rehash the plot as that info is available in other reviews, but I must say that the heroine (who is a real life public figure) is fantastic and unforgettable and the historical details about the role of women in the Russian army during WWII are fascinating. I highly recommend this book!!!

i really loved this book, and it will hold a special place in my bookshelf and heart. What a great heroine - Mila - just an average girl who wanted a normal (if not boring) life being a historian, yet she was flung into war and found a special talent. I enjoyed the addition of the romance, and of course The Marksman kept the pages turning during the American tour, otherwise that part would've been slightly boring. It was brilliantly researched, all the characters were so full of life, and the prose was beautiful. I really felt what it might have been like to be a sniper. Great job! Can't wait to read my next Kate Quinn novel

“I only knew that my dark side awoke when I realized there was no room in my life for mistakes. When I realized I could not miss, not ever. When I heard a rifle sing in my hands as I buried a bullet through the neck of a bottle and sent the base flying into diamond shards… and realized who and how I could be.” What drives a woman to become a sniper in WWII? The Diamond Eye is the fictionalized-true story of Mila Pavlichenko, female sniper in the Russian army. Mila is driven by her love for her son, Slavka. Slavka’s father is absent and disinterested in their life so Mila is determined to be both mother and father to her son. When the call comes for soldiers, she hones her shooting skills and becomes a sniper. She will show her son strength and courage. Though her gender kept her from the military decorations awarded to other soldiers, her official kill count tallied at over 300 and her skill and heroism was never questioned by her fellow soldiers. I still like Quinn’s The Rose Code better than Diamond Eye because of its more suspenseful story line, but I still enjoyed this one. I also wonder if I had a subconscious moral dilemma about how I should feel toward Russian soldiers. But for a stretch of time they were fighting Hitler, so there is honor in that I suppose. As usual, Quinn shows her superb research skills. There was a lot of historical and technical data in this book about battles and guns and politics and such. I did feel like it got a bit long, but I appreciate the effort Quinn takes to understand her subject matter and create a work as close to truth as she can while still adding some spice. I loved how she showed that Mila was both a courageous soldier and a thoughtful mom. In between her ‘sorties’ she was diligent to collect and send back leaves to her son as he was interested in learning about plants. As a mom, I can’t imagine what it took for her to simultaneously be away from her son and facing extreme danger. But her rough circumstances early on in life taught her to take control of her life, to see a path, and walk it in determination. She will do whatever it takes to accomplish her goals. There is much to admire about Mila. I also loved the relationship Mila had with both Kostia (her second husband) and Alexei (her sniper partner). I’m not sure how much of the interactions were elaborated or added but it made for a good story. I liked Kostia’s humor. As is stated in the book, it’s hard for me to picture Russians as having a good sense of humor. They’re always portrayed so serious. It was an interesting mental picture. Plus Quinn did a good job writing the humor naturally. Per Quinn’s MO, this book alternates between the past and the present. The past being Mila’s journey as a sniper. The present being the Russian delegation to America (of which Mi...