The Diamond Eye: A Novel

Written by Kate Quinn

Narrated by Saskia Maarleveld

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

In the snowbound city of Kiev, wry and bookish history student Mila Pavlichenko organizes her life around her library job and her young son—but Hitler’s invasion of 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.

Supplemental enhancement PDF accompanies the audiobook.

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperAudio
• Release date: Mar 29, 2022
• ISBN: 9780062943538

Kate Quinn

Kate Quinn is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of historical fiction. A native of Southern California, she attended Boston University, where she earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in classical voice. A lifelong history buff, she has written four novels in the Empress of Rome Saga and two books set in the Italian Renaissance before turning to the 20th century with The Alice Network, The Huntress, The Rose Code, and The Diamond Eye. All have been translated into multiple languages. She and her husband now live in California with three black rescue dogs.

Reviews for The Diamond Eye

[Rose Calton · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Once again the author and narrator held me spellbound! Five stars!

[Rosemary O'Hagan · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Kate Quinn does such an amazing job researching her subject and giving us a piece of history

[Patrícia Alves Marques · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This book totally redefined the concept of “unputdownable” for meeee, loved it!

[Karen Fisher · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I really enjoyed the last half of the book. It felt like the first half of the book could have been summed up in one chapter. The first half was incredibly slow and I almost stopped listening. I'm glad I didn't because it definitely got interesting.

[Eric Malone · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

One weekend. I couldn't stop listening. Worth the investment in time.

[Kathleen Thornley · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Based on a true story it was captivating. A real page turner as they say. Historical fiction at its best. The narrator Saskia Maarleveld was brilliant by keeping you engaged throughout the story. Highly recommended.

[Irida · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Maybe my favourite book. And I've read a lot of books in my life.

[Zoe Leyh · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Amazing book. So far I’ve loved every book written by this author, and the narrator is amazing. Highly recommend

[Denny Colangelo · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Outstanding as are all of Kate Q's novels. Couldn't put this one down

[watfa · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Not as good as Alice network of the rose code… but a great story.
Made a bit to long

[Joanna Moore · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

What an utterly amazing woman! I love true stories of female heroes - wartime heroes. Highly recommend.

[Jo Anne Forman · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Excellent story, mostly true, based on a Russian sniper in WWII fighting to protect her country from the Germans. The plight of women was not vastly different then today! And her views on America when she visited were insightful. The audio was really good and I enjoyed hearing the Ukrainian accent.
I totally enjoyed this audiobook.

[Puppylish · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

What an incredible story! Another amazing novel from this great author. I now have no choice but to read another one of her works because I can’t get enough of her writing

[Ginger Newingham · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This was a timely read as it highlights an invasion on Ukraine (and Russia) by Nazi Germany. Main character, Mila, is a librarian/historian who takes up arms to prove herself to her son, becoming a Nazi hunter known as Lady Death.

Mila’s story is based on a true one — following her from battlefields to hospitals to the White House. I really enjoyed the factual parts of the story brought to life by Kate Quinn. Her creative liberties were still honoring to Mila and her life.

War is always a difficult read, but The Diamond Eye captures the heart and struggles of the woman behind the snipper’s sight.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

——
“When you planned to assassinate a president, you timed it when a Russian sniper was in town to take the fall for you.”

[Alex Larsh · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I was surprised how much I enjoyed this book as I’ve read my fair share of WW2 novels and have started to pass over many of them, but it was recommended after I finished The Rose Code by the same author. Thoroughly researched and grippingly narrated, this novel animated an area of history I did not know much about—the Red Army. The story is intriguing and I was desperately rooting for our heroine by the third chapter!

[Betty Bennett · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Brilliant writing. This book kept me reading far into the night. Good character development, crisp dialogue, strong storyline. This is one of my authors.

[Yvette Bonett · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Another remarkable story by Kate Quinn! Written with passion & detail about a true live soviet female sniper during the Nazi regime in WW2. With details taken from Lyudmila Pavlichenko's own memoirs, which include courage, loss, grief, passion, humour, friendship & love. As always Saskia Maarleveld does a wonderful job of narrating the story! She always manages to make me cry in emotional scenes! The way her voice chokes up in grief, you are actually living the scene! Well done to both author and narrator!

[Moush Rao · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I am an emotional reader. A good story will have me choking on words or in recent times, rewinding and listening to a particular story to sink in the many precious words that leave an indelible mark in my heart. Isn't that the success of a book? The story that moves one's emotions and makes you want to go back in time and be in the company of these beautiful characters.

Kate Quinn's The Diamond Eye is mostly a true story. It has been inspired from Lyudmila (Mila) Pavlichenko's memoir.
She was a young student aiming to become a historian. She was befriended by an older man - a doctor - at 15 and abandoned her emotionally and mentally after the birth of her son. She was the young girl who could talk of ballet and also practice at the shooting range for fun. She enlisted to join the Red Army as a woman sniper, unheard of in those days. She went on to become a celebrated officer of the Russian Army, having 300+ (or more) kills to her name. She was also sent to the US as a part of a delegation that would convince Roosevelt and the nation of sending more help to the front. She goes on to forge a friendship with Roosevelt's wife, which lasted much beyond her job as a sniper. This is the story of a Soviet war heroine.

I don't know if I would have read the book - 38 chapters long, but the audio version was quite excellent. Russian names are difficult to pronounce and Saskia Maarleveld could not have gotten it any better. What fantastic narration! Sharp details of how one trains in the army, how one faces death or how one kills without much emotion makes you draw a deep breath.

What ensues is a beautiful story, the one that may have been lost otherwise in the pages of history. I loved the softness that Kate Quinn added to the otherwise killer, who killed without batting an eyelid. One quote will stay with me for a long time - the one that says about Mila creating a small journal for her son about the various leaves and trees amidst crouching behind bunkers and aiming to kill. And she says, she had to do both jobs equally well to be recognized as "successful".

The Author's Note at the end of the book is a brilliant insert as the story is summarized and you suddenly remember all the details that you had listened to for many hours.

Kate Quinn is a fantastic writer and her research is par excellence. As I listened to the Author's note, I kept imagining how she may have sat down and created or more rightly put, brought to life the characters one by one and then woven them all in a rivetting story.

This one, like every story of Quinn's, is worth reading or listening to.

[Melissa Fallo · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This was such an engrossing g story that I couldn’t stop listening! Based on real events, it is the perfect combination of history and accomplished storytelling.

[Maura Hanley · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

One of my favorite books so far this year - the story is deeply moving and the pace is just right. Loved every minute of Lady Midnight’s story.

[Silverio Suárez McAuliffe · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

WOW this is one of the ten best thrillers that I have read in the last 70 tears of my entire life and I am a quite conspicuos and constant reader. I loved this intriguing story of Kate Quinn so well told profoundly human of a remarkable woman that due to the circumstances of a quite crude bloody bestial WWII the most devastating and dehumanizing of them all. Where we humans are the worst criminal creatures of history crawl into the mud of villainy. And surges a heroine a remarkable human being a sniper a fine woman a mother a lover of her country and society, the world, that becomes another Elektra that after devastation flies from the ashes of death. Wonderful narration

[Markus Liljeström · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Great book. Perhaps it was at times a bit long winded on the romance for my taste, but I still enjoyed those parts.

[suzywells · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Fabulous book! Totally engrossing story! Absolutely hated for the book to end!

[Nicole · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This book captured my attention from page 1. I have read other books by the same author and will continue to do so. Thanks for a great one!

[Janet · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I loved this book and the narrator did a fabulous job.

[Gloriana · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

There is so much raw passion in this main character. Her determination, her drive, her loyalty, her outrage, her love, her sense of honor & duty make her tough. She is so relatable.

DON’T MISS - is her personal motto.

And it says so much, so succinctly.

[Matthew Wentworth · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Pretty much on par with Quinn's other pieces of historical fiction.

The story is maybe more of a 4-star narrative, but knowing that it's mostly true adds another star.

I'm a little dubious of the fact that Mila seemingly derives so much of her identity from the men who she is dating/"married to", but that isn't that big of a deal, in the grade scheme of things.

[Sasha · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Amazing amazing, and did I said amazing!?! Read the huntress first then this one, just wonderful and the lady who does the vocal story is perfect!

[Angie · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Another excellent novel by Kate Quinn! And the narration is perfect! I love learning about historical female heroines.

[Kelly Lautenbach · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Such an excellent story with so many facts woven expertly with artistic license. I enjoyed every moment of this one.