A Covert Affair

 The cover of A Covert Affair isn't quite accurate. It highlights Julia and Paul Child who are supporting characters to this mid-20th Century espionage case. The main character is Jane Foster, a colleague of theirs in the OSS who was later accused, along with her husband, of spying for the Soviets. Jane, like Julia, was from an affluent California family; unlike the future French Chef she was artistic, confident, and outgoing. Jane comes across as engaging but not particularly reliable while serving in the OSS, and after the war, when her friends learn of her secret marriage to George Zlatovski, she drops all contact with her former colleagues. The Childs eventually reconnect with her while stationed in Paris, and when the Zlatovskis were accused of spying, Paul Child was questioned about his potential involvement.

I found the first half of the book, covering the war years, surprisingly uninvolving and unfocused. The second half, which shows the Childs' romance and marriage and the start of Julia's culinary career in parallel with the investigation of Jane Foster Zlatovski engrossing. Better editing and pacing would have resulted in a better book.