Rating: 
Summary: Entertaining as hell!
Review: I wasn't very entusiastic about this book when I bought it, but since it was a World War II spy-thriller I thought I should give it a try. And I enjoyed every minute I was reading it. Great characters, especially Winterbotham and Katarina. If you are looking for a great weekend/holiday read, then you won't be disappointed with this one. I will certainly wait for John Altman's next novel.
Rating: 
Summary: A GATHERING OF SPIES doesn't cut it
Review: Do not open this book unless you are terminally desperate for reading material. Aside from the many factual errors -- likely the result of skimpy research by the author and/or the lack of the publisher's fact-checking -- this title is basically a pot-boiler featuring stereotypical, one-dimensional Nazi bad guys, rather improbable plotting, and a good deal of just plain silly dialogue. While the author seems to have tried his best, one hopes his second novel, now in the works (according to the dust jacket) will prove to be a more mature labor.
Rating:
Summary: Future Best Seller
Review: Get the jump on the Best Seller List; read this book NOW. John Altman's book has something for everyone; history, intrigue, wry wit, and memorable characters. This accomplished young writer really knows how to tell a story.
Rating:
Summary: page turner thriller
Review: From the moment Katarina Heinrich, a German spy, kills Catherine Danielson and assumes her identity, I was caught in a web of thrills that kept me turning pages as Katarina, now Catherine, marries a Princeton professor, and moves to Los Alamos where she discovers AlbertEinstein's 'secret'letter toFranklin DelanoRoosevelt detailing a secret,the development of the A Bomb. Altman takes you through a plot of spy and counterspy which keeps you glued to the page. Will Katarina deliver her secret to the Germans? A subplot involving an English spy whose wife in interred in Dachau provides excitement while the reader learns if a man will do "anything" to get his wife out of a concentration camp. Hitler and his cohorts that run the Nazi machine come to life as real, manipulative and vulnerable. Reading A Gathering of Spies until six thirty in the morning was worth the loss of sleep.
Rating: 
Summary: Great read!
Review: A thriller which I couldn't put down. But a day later I realized there were some unanswered questions - big ones. These relate to the finale of the book and revealing specifics would give too much away - the resolution of these problems would make a thrilling sequel. I wonder if other readers will feel the same way. But these loose ends in no way detract from the content and story line. Let's hope John Altman writes another book quickly! This is a wonderful first!
Rating:
Summary: Very Exciting First Novel
Review: A very exciting first novel. It gleefully embraces the cliches of the genre, bringing to mind the books of Ken Follet and movies such as 'Raiders of the Lost Ark'. I really enjoyed the focus on the superspy's comfort in her drab life and then her complete turnaround once the plot twists kick into gear. Even though the reader knows how WWII ended, it's still great fun to see all of the 'almosts' and machinations behind the scenes as spies scurry around the country fruitlessly trying to change what we all know is inevitable history. The storytelling is very cinematic and the climax left me wanting more. I look forward to his next book.
Rating:
Summary: Laughable.
Review: This book gives a new meaning to the term "page turner" -- I couldn't wait to finish it (mainly because I have an obsessive/compulsive habit of finishing any book I start, even if I have to skim the remaining 90%)! The plot is good, but the writing is sophomoric, and the characters are cartoonish. It reads like a proposed film script. Bubble and Squeak indeed! The book would have benefited from an historical epilogue detailing what eventually happened to Canaris, as well as to the real German spies that were turned by the Brits, such as Garbo. I don't think Le Carre, Micheal Frayn, Charles McCarry, or even Ken Follett or Daniel Silva have much to fear from Mr. Altman.
Rating: 
Summary: Slow Reading -- Boring
Review: The plot and characters were thinly developed; the scenarios were historically inaccurate; and the writing was laborious. I struggeled to get through this one -- hoping that something would happen to make the plot more interesting. Alas, the story ends abruptly and oddly. The only "suspense" (more hoping the book would end) that I saw was a needlessly drawn out third section.
I consistently read books of this genre. This is one that I would definately not purchase again.
Rating:
Summary: Stole the plot from Le Carre
Review: Are you kidding me with this book? In the course of the first few chapters I caught on immediately. The plot and construct of the main character are largely stolen from John LeCarre's "The Spy who came in from the Cold." Same deal: an aging protagonist, inserted into an espionage plot so deeply under cover, with loyalites to his country and the woman he loves so conflicted that we, the readers, are left to wonder which way he will turn. Here's what's very telling. Altman gets glowing reviews on the book jacket form other spy writers. But if you read his bio, Altman's only credentials are that he comes from a family of writers. Thhe bio also promises that Altman is busy on his second book. I can hardly wait.
Rating:
Summary: Wow! A third time!
Review: Like his later books, this debut was a corker! As always, stories and characters are immensely alive, well-plotted, and consistently engaging; John Altman is simply very, very good at what he does, and, selfishly, I'm very grateful....
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