Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

Let me start by saying I really wanted to like this book, because the story of Washington's spy network is so compelling. But I read history, rather than historical novels, and this book reads like a novel. For example: "The taper on the wax candle atop Knowlton's desk a little as tiny flecks of ash fell onto the wood; otherwise, the room was silent." (page 22) Or: "Washington had smiled a little, in spite of himself, as he closed the letter with greetings sent to his sister-in-law and her children." How could Kilmeade know such details? He couldn't, so he made them up. Worse, he repeats the grade-school story of drunk Hessians at Trenton, which has been thoroughly debunked by true historians. I didn't read past chapter three, choosing instead to read an actual history of the subject.