"What a fantastic novel The Secrets We Kept is. Thrilling, seductive and thoroughly compelling - Lara has created something really special. And it?s made me want to re-read Doctor Zhivago! I absolutely loved it!" (Sarah Winman, author of TIN MAN)"How does Lara Prescott manage to do so much in one book? The Secrets We Kept is stylish, thrilling, smart, vivid, at once intimate and sweeping, dreamlike and true-to-life, with an unforgettable cast and story. This is a riveting novel about a riveting novel, a love story to love stories." (ELIZABETH MCCRACKEN)"As lively and vivid a novel as even the most demanding reader could wish for: epic in scope, deliciously meaty with its wide array of characters and milieux, and utterly convincing in its treatment of Cold War espionage and intrigue. This marvelous novel reads like the work of a mid-career master; what a wonderful surprise, then, to realize it's the opening salvo from a supremely gifted debut novelist. Lara Prescott is the real deal, and the evidence is right here on every page." (BEN FOUNTAIN)"Well-researched and cleverly constructed... An intriguing and little-known chapter of literary history is brought to life with brio." (Kirkus (starred review))"I was riveted by Lara Prescott?s new novel. I barely stirred from my chair for two days. How does one even begin to talk about this book? It?s all here?the KGB versus the CIA, the sexual office politics of Mad Men, a horrifying new look at the gulag, the tragic love affair between Boris Pasternak and his mistress, a brilliantly-drawn portrait of a time when a single book had the power to change history. I predict that The Secrets We Kept will be one of the most important books of 2020." (JAMES MAGNUSON)Two female spies. A banned masterpiece. A book that changed history.________________A BANNED MASTERPIECE1956. A celebrated Russian author is writing a book, Doctor Zhivago, which could spark dissent in the Soviet Union. The Soviets, afraid of its subversive power, ban it.But in the rest of the world it?s fast becoming a sensation. TWO FEMALE SPIESThe CIA plans to use the book to tip the Cold War in its favour.Their agents are not the usual spies, however. Two typists ? the charming, experienced Sally and the talented novice Irina ? are charged with the mission of a lifetime: to smuggle Doctor Zhivago back into Russia by any means necessary.A BOOK THAT CHANGED HISTORYIt will not be easy. There are people willing to die for this book ? and agents willing to kill for it. But they cannot fail - as this book has the power to change history._______________Sold in twenty-five countries and poised to become a global literary sensation, Lara Prescott's dazzling first novel about the women in the CIA's typing pool and the fate of Boris Pasternak's banned masterpiece is a sweeping page turner and the most hotly anticipated debut of the year._______________'What a fantastic novel The Secrets We Kept is. Thrilling, seductive and thoroughly compelling - Lara has created something really special. And it?s made me want to re-read Doctor Zhivago! I absolutely loved it!' SARAH WINMAN, author of TIN MAN'Triumphant ... This debut shines as spy story, publication thriller and historical romance with a twist.' PUBLISHERS WEEKLY