Carolina Montague's Reviews > Expect Trouble

At the start of American involvement in World War II, Navy lieutenant Livvy Delacourt is reassigned from her position in cryptology to Commander Barrington “Trey” Drew’s Intelligence unit. Livvy is both excited to be a part of a top secret joint Allied Intelligence Operation and aghast at this assignment, as she had quite the crush on Commander Drew when they were in high school together. Even worse, when Livvy’s father lost his wealth in the crash of 1929, her family was forced to live on her wealthy cousin Gwen’s estate, and Trey was Gwen’s boyfriend. Livvy hopes that Trey does not recognize her and that she can control the wrenching effects of the psychic visions she has suffered since childhood. In her experience, there is no place in the war effort for anything akin to crystal balls or mediums.

Barrington Drew III comes from established wealth and assured social position. When he is assigned to head Operation Delphi, a unit to find Nazi spies on American soil, he assumes he will be commanding intelligence operatives. However, he discovers that his actual position is scientific director of a group of psychics. His training as an engineer and his skeptical nature strictly rule out any belief in such “claptrap.” He is certain his father secured this assignment to keep him out of harm’s way. But he discovers that both Allied intelligence and the White House have rumors that the Nazis have their own psychics, and his job is to locate a group of American psychics and use their unique skills to thwart Nazi spies.

As Trey fights his own trepidation, Livvy loses her struggle to keep her abilities as a psychic under wraps, and he enlists her aid in assembling the psychic team. While Trey holds a jaundiced view of his group of psychics, “like cats, they were both fiercely independent and didn’t respond to herding,” the German spy ring takes his unit quite seriously. After his team uncovers sabotage at the naval shipyard, Trey can no longer dismiss their skills, but now the spy ring closes in and the “Fatherland wants them destroyed.”

Ainsworth sets the tale firmly in the 1940s with a wealth of details from the era, for example, a Dictaphone machine with vinyl dictation belt and Remington Rand typewriters. The author also accurately conveys the reality of psychic talents, which often lack specificity, defy any measurement using the scientific method, and literally have Trey pulling his hair out. The gang of psychics include: a medium, a man who sees ghosts, a crystal ball reader and Livvy herself. Ainsworth’s brisk pace and engaging characters make Expect Trouble a thoroughly enjoyable read.