Hard to follow at times and some of the over loaded details caused me to drift off at times. Interesting story and at times I could not put it down. Overall good discussion st our book club but I would not recommend it for a casual read.

The Last Goodnight, Howard Blum, author, Tristan Morris, narrator
Between two wars, history and biography merge into what seems to be Betty Pack’s playpen. Born into wealth, Elizabeth Thorpe, was also the daughter of an Admiral. She was a square peg in a round hole, born out of step with her time. She defied current mores with abandon and did not pursue the life her parents wanted for her. Rather she, an independent female who wrote a novel at age 11, became a force in the world of espionage. She was precocious from childhood and was rarely satisfied with what life offered her and always sought more. She wanted excitement, diverse experience, and she wanted sexual relationships. She was skilled at manipulating people to do her bidding which made her very successful as a spy. She found it easy to encourage men to follow her down a path that was often dangerous and treasonous for them. Although men seemed drawn to her, her own personal relationship with marriage, motherhood and family life failed. She had little desire to be either faithful or maternal. Although she was born in America, she felt more loyal to Great Britain where she lived a good deal of her life.
While living in Spain during their Civil War, with her diplomat husband, Arthur Pack, she did secret work for the British, but also helped Franco. She supported the fascists while she spied for the British on the other side. She often supported which ever cause she was drawn to by her emotions. At that time, it was very unusual for a woman to even be involved in espionage, but she gained her reputation during those years when she helped the Crown. She was willing to take risks to satisfy their demands and to use her body in ways other women might justifiably have refused.
As World War II raged, Betty’s help was enlisted once again. She was ready and willing to jump right into the fray. A true jezebel, code named Cynthia, she was unafraid to use her body and her wiles to attract assets and inspire them to betray their country to help her; she used her femininity to create a network of spies to obtain vital secrets about Hitler’s and Mussolini’s plans which she passed on to the British. It often helped them to turn the tide of war. She was an unsung hero and remains largely one today.
Betty abandoned house, husband, family, morals and all aspects of a normal life in order to be involved in the world of espionage. She loved the excitement and the idea of hopping from one bed to another in various romantic liaisons to gain secret information. She hobnobbed with the rich and famous, with influential people in America and in Europe, and no one was off limits to her feminine talents and powers of persuasion.
When we meet her in the book, she is reunited with a man she has not seen for three decades. He, down and out, wishes to write a book about her past life. She is only too eager to do so. She is still attractive and desirable. As she relates her life to him, the reader learns that she secured the release of prisoners, obtained hard to get medical supplies, secured secret codes which helped the allies anticipate the movements of the enemies, and exhibited bravery in the face of danger. She rarely turned down an assignment.
Still the book seems to be mostly about her making herself a mattress. It often became tedious as she jumped from bed to bed, but that does not take away from the courage she showed in the face of great danger when she needed to accomplish a task she was given. Today, with social media, I think her behavior would have been outed, as she flagrantly came between husbands and wives, flirted and tempted, taunted and cajoled many men to come to her aid and commit treasonous acts for her sake. She was described as a “honeypot”. She even corrupted the morals of a priest who was willing to give up the cloth for her. For her part, she was not interested in a permanent relationship, she only wanted information that she could pass on. She listened to the men who confided in her with pillow talk. Her excellent memory enabled her to expertly work her tradecraft and pass on their information to her handlers.
While I did not always agree with her ideology, I had to admire her spunk, independence and courage in a time when most women were shrinking violets. Although her life and the history were very interesting, the book seemed largely like a romance novel about a woman who might justifiably be called a nymphomaniac. Sometimes it did not seem like a biography, but rather like chick lit.