A Review of The Ways We Hide
What This Book Is About
If you've read a lot of books about World War II, you might think you know what to expect. But Kristina McMorris’s novel, The Ways We Hide , feels different and really pulls you in. It’s not about soldiers on the battlefield. Instead, it’s about a woman who is a talented magician.
This woman, the real brains behind a famous magic show, gets hired by British intelligence. They want her to use her skills in creating tricks and illusions to help with the war. It's a story that's part historical fiction, part spy thriller, and part romance.
This book really stays with you long after you finish it. It explores big ideas like love, loss, and the damage that trauma can leave behind. The story shows that the personal battles we fight inside ourselves are just as important as the big wars fought in the world.
The Story (Without Spoilers)
The book introduces us to Fenna Vos in 1942. She works as an assistant for a famous escape artist, but she's secretly the one designing all the amazing illusions. She is the true mastermind of the act.
Fenna’s skill with magic comes from a dark place in her past. As a child, she survived a deadly stampede, an event that gave her terrible nightmares. A childhood friend, Arie, gave her a book on magic, and she used it to cope with her fear, eventually becoming obsessed with the art of escape.
Her life changes when a British intelligence officer notices her skills. He doesn't see a performer. He sees an inventor whose talents could help win the war.
Fenna is recruited into MI9, a secret group in British intelligence. Her job is to design clever escape tools for Allied soldiers caught behind enemy lines. She creates things like maps hidden on silk scarves and compasses hidden inside buttons.
But the work gets personal when she has to go on a dangerous mission. The mission forces her to face the past she has tried so hard to run from. For Fenna, escaping her own history is the most difficult mission of all.
A Closer Look at the Story (Spoilers Ahead)
The Main Characters
Fenna Vos
Fenna's story is about turning her past pain into a strength. She goes from being a traumatized child to a master illusionist, and then to a spy for MI9. She learned how to escape things as a way to cope, and now she uses that skill to help others.
Fenna is a character of contrasts. She is a brilliant and careful inventor when it comes to her work. But in her personal life, she can be impulsive and emotional, often running away from her problems.
These two sides of her aren't so different. Her smarts and planning are how she controls her trauma. Her impulse to run away is her uncontrolled trauma response. Her journey is about learning to bring these two parts of herself together.
Arie
Arie is the person who connects Fenna to her past. As her childhood friend, he gave her the Houdini book that first got her into magic. He was the great love of her life, but he was also the person she was most scared of losing.
Fenna chose to run away from Arie because she was afraid her own issues would hurt him. Years later, their story comes to a climax when Arie decides to hide a fatal injury from her during an escape. Both of them use secrets to protect the other person.
Arie’s decision to hide his wound was a painful but logical choice. He knew Fenna would stop their mission to try and save him, which would put others in danger. It's a sad truth that their ways of protecting each other couldn't exist at the same time.
Supporting Cast
The other characters help make Fenna's story feel real. Christopher Clayton Hutton, a real MI9 inventor, recruits her and becomes her mentor. His presence connects Fenna's fictional work to the real history of MI9.
Her old stage partner, Charles Bouchard, pushes her toward her new life. He starts taking credit for her work and becomes unreliable, which makes her ready for a change. She leaves the stage and joins a team of other inventors at MI9, who use their unique skills to help the war effort.
How the Plot Unfolds
The story jumps between Fenna's past and her present in the 1940s. The flashbacks aren't just filler. They show us how she learned the skills she uses during the war.
Some readers have said the book feels like two different stories. The first half is about her life as a stage magician, which is exciting and creative. The second half is more of a traditional spy story.
But this change might be on purpose. The "magic" of the first half has to disappear as it gets turned into a tool for the war. The story shows how the art of illusion is replaced by the serious business of survival, and the reader feels that shift right along with Fenna.
The book's biggest moments are all very personal. Fenna’s main mission is not just a military operation; it is a rescue mission for Arie. The final twist is heartbreaking, showing the ultimate sacrifice made for love.
Big Ideas in the Book
Deception and Illusion
This is the book's main theme, and it shows up in many ways.
- Real Illusions: This includes Fenna's stage magic and the spy gadgets she creates for MI9. These are items made to hide things in plain sight.
- War Tactics: The story also looks at how MI9 used tricks and misdirection to fool the enemy.
- Personal Secrets: This is the most powerful part of the theme. The characters hide their true selves and feelings from each other, often to protect one another. Fenna hides her intelligence on stage, and Arie hides his injury to save her.
Identity and Reinvention
Fenna's life is a story of constantly changing who she is to survive. First, she becomes a survivor of a disaster. Then, she becomes a secret mastermind behind a magic show. Finally, she becomes an inventor for MI9.
Resilience and Ingenuity
At its heart, this is a story about survival and finding courage. Fenna's creativity is how she stays resilient. The book suggests that being clever, whether in a magic trick or a spy gadget, is how people face impossible situations.
Love, Loss, and Atonement
The themes of love, loss, and sacrifice are what drive the story forward. Fenna's mission is a chance for her to make up for past mistakes. It is her chance to finally stop running away from Arie and run toward him instead.
Is This Book a True Story?
The Ways We Hide is historical fiction, which means the main characters are made up. Fenna Vos and Arie Jansen are not real people. However, the world they live in is based on careful research into real events.
MI9
Fenna’s employer, MI9, was a real and very secret part of British intelligence during WWII. Its main job was to help captured Allied soldiers escape. They also helped soldiers who were shot down behind enemy lines avoid being captured.
The head of MI9's gadget department was a real man named Christopher Clayton Hutton. He was a brilliant inventor, like a real-life "Q" from the James Bond movies. He was the mind behind many of the gadgets that Fenna designs in the book.
Real Gadgets
The team of inventors in the book was a real thing. Hutton and his team at MI9 created and sent thousands of escape tools to prisoners of war.
- Compasses: This was one of the most important tools. Tiny compasses were hidden in things like military buttons, fountain pens, and shaving brushes.
- Maps: Maps were printed on silk because it was quiet and waterproof. They were hidden in the lining of jackets, inside the heels of boots, or even tucked into playing cards.
- Game Boards: MI9 famously hid escape tools inside Monopoly game boards. These special games were sent to prison camps with real money, files, and maps hidden inside. A small red dot on the "Free Parking" space was a secret signal to prisoners.
- Other Tools: MI9 also created magnetized razor blades that could act as a compass. They designed Air Force uniforms that could be turned inside-out to look like regular civilian clothes.
This table shows some of the real-life inventions that inspired the story.
| MI9 Gadget | How It Was Hidden | Real-World Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| Button Compass | Made to look like a normal uniform button. | A tiny compass hidden in plain sight so a soldier could find their way. |
| Silk Maps | Printed on silk paper. | Hidden in clothing or other items. Silk was tough, waterproof, and didn't make noise. |
| Monopoly Board | Hidden spaces carved into the game board. | Smuggled into prison camps. These spaces held real money, small tools, and silk maps. |
| Magnetized Razor Blades | The razor blade itself was a magnet. | When floated on water, the blade would point north like a compass. |
| Reversible Uniform | A specially designed Air Force jacket. | The jacket could be turned inside out to look like a normal civilian coat for a disguise. |
| Shaving Brush | A hollowed-out handle. | Used to hide a compass, maps, or other small escape tools. |
| Playing Cards | A silk map was placed between layers of a card. | Prisoners could soak a certain card to peel it apart and find a hidden map. |
Jasper Maskelyne and Stage Magicians in War
The idea of a "war magician" comes from a man named Jasper Maskelyne. He was a British stage magician who claimed to have used his skills to help in WWII. He said he did amazing things like hiding the city of Alexandria from bombers and creating a fake army of dummy tanks.
It's a great story, but it's probably not true. Historians believe Maskelyne made up or exaggerated most of his claims. His real job was likely much smaller, and mostly involved entertaining troops with magic shows.
The author, McMorris, was really smart here. She took the exciting idea of a war magician from Maskelyne's myth. But she gave her character the real job of an MI9 gadget inventor. This gives the book a cool concept while keeping the story grounded in real history.
Houdini's Influence
Fenna’s hero, Harry Houdini, was more than just an escape artist. He also spent years fighting against fake psychics who claimed to talk to the dead. He believed they were frauds who took advantage of grieving people.
This part of Houdini's real life is important for Fenna's character. She doesn't just admire his ability to escape. She also admires his belief in finding the truth behind every illusion.
About the Author, Kristina McMorris
Kristina McMorris is a bestselling author of many historical novels. She has a background in TV and public relations.
She was inspired to start writing after finding love letters her grandfather wrote to her grandmother during WWII. That discovery led to her first novel, Letters from Home .
Some of her other popular books include:
- Sold on a Monday
- The Edge of Lost
- The Pieces We Keep
- Bridge of Scarlet Leaves
- Letters from Home
McMorris is known for her deep research. She finds little-known facts from history and builds powerful, human stories around them. Her books often feature strong female characters.
Common Questions About the Book
What is the book about?
The Ways We Hide is a historical novel set during World War II. It’s about Fenna Vos, a female magician who is haunted by a childhood tragedy. She gets recruited by British spies to design clever escape gadgets for soldiers trapped behind enemy lines.
Is it being made into a movie?
As of now, there has been no official announcement that The Ways We Hide is being made into a movie or TV show.
Readers should not confuse this book with an unrelated 2025 movie called What We Hide . That movie is a modern drama about two sisters who hide their mother's death. It has no connection to Kristina McMorris's novel.
Is the book a true story?
No, the book is a fictional story inspired by real events. The main characters are not real people. But her job and the world she lives in are based on facts.
The spy group she works for, MI9, was real. The escape gadgets she designs are based on real inventions created by MI9's head inventor. The book also uses details from other real events, like the 1913 Italian Hall Disaster and Harry Houdini's life.