Katharina is well educated, multilingual, sophisticated, urbanite of New York. She is also a wife and mother who is expected to revolve her life around her children. Except she is unhappy and restless. So she become a spy, after a fashion. I just couldn’t get into the story. All,the characters appeared wooden and one dimensional. A;most halfway into the book, the plot just fizzled for me, which really disappointed me.

This was interesting at times and tedious at times. I really enjoyed reading about her life and social circles. I enjoyed getting to know who she was. I really struggled with a lot of the portions about her job. It just felt like a bit too much and I wasn't really invested. I do think that there are readers that will really enjoy this one. It just wasn't quite right for me.

A Woman of Intelligence dealt with so many insightful and complicated but brilliant concepts. The 1950s was very much an odd, and for many women, demoralizing or at least diminishing time period for women. With so many women having the opportunity to work outside of the home during WW2 and be involved in things they loved and were actually educated to do, only to have many of those opportunities yanked back after men returned from the war, for many there was a lost sense of purpose and control. Add in the often crude and male-dominant outlook then that a woman’s fulfillment should be solely as a housewife and mother and she should enjoy every second of it, it was not a healthy environment for many. The author did a great job of conveying this and helping you feel the emotions of it.

While motherhood is a wonderful calling, it is not a simple one, and while for some woman they may desire to stay at home full time with their kids, many do not. But men expected that was required back then, as well as a wife should be obedient to her husband - not an equal, as we see often with Tom and Rina in the story.. Certainly infuriating to read about it now. Being a mother is often ridiculously difficult and thankless, as Rina struggles with, let alone without the controlling and subservient way it was often done in the 50’s. Rina’s husband was able to find his fulfillment in his job, but unfortunately had a very simple and idealized view of what his wife should find fulfillment in with absolutely no empathy or involvement. And like happens so often in marriages, but so much more so with that type of lopsided environment, what was once love and care for each other became their own vacuum of experiences and needs, without communicating any of it to each other or finding common ground. Once Rina finds purpose and fulfillment working with the FBI during the communism-focused period of time, she begins to find herself and begins to be honest at the very end with her husband to potentially rebuild their relationship under new rules.

The author did a great job at highlighting much of the common but not always talked about struggle of mothering, how much marriages suffer when either spouse looks after their own ambitions rather than giving and empathizing with each other, and how women need each other and each others’ compassion instead of judgement, while not being afraid to be honest about our struggles.

Thank you to Netgalley for the advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Katharina West is a vibrant and independent woman, living in New York and working as a translator for the United Nations. She loves her challenging career, her friends and the exciting nightlife. Then she meets pediatric surgeon Tom Edgeworth, and falls in love.

Suddenly her colorful life is turned upside as she struggles to adjust to the lifestyle of a 1950's housewife with two young children. It seems like she's on the verge of a breakdown until one day she's approached by a stranger in the park asking her to help the FBI get information on a former lover that has ties to the KGB, and she agrees.

This book was phenomenal. Tanabe has places us in a time where housewives have a high expectation of being perfect mothers, there is a true fear of communism and racial tensions run high. It was so refreshing to a read about a woman in the 1950's who wasn't acting like marriage and motherhood was the end goal. The writing was beautiful, and I was so immersed in Rina's life that I could not put this book down! Hat's off to Karin Tanabe, I cannot wait to read more from her.

From the author on the writing of this book: "The only subject I can write about right now with any authenticity is motherhood. But not the good parts. I want to write about PPD, the loss of identity, the utter rage that I'm feeling."
The setting is post WWII NYC, 5th ave address and life style. It is also the time of the communist scare. The start is a bit slow as it lays the groudwork for what comes after Katharina's(Rina) life working for the UN, single and very much loving life, The bulk of the story is her marriage, life with 2 children, and the slow unraveling of her stifling marriage. Great writing and backstory, especially her undercover work with the FBI. It accurately depicts the attitudes of the fifties where the man is the boss and his wife stays home with the kids, even though she has degrees from both Vassar and Columbia and speaks 4 languages. This is the major conflict, Rina's struggles, hurts and determination to find her old self.
Thanks to Net Galley, the publisher #St.MartinsPress and the author for the Arc copy. I will definitely be looking for more of her work.
4*

Katharina Edgeworth has a life that most women of her time would kill for, a surgeon husband, two healthy children, and a beautiful apartment in the heart of Manhattan but feels that she could be so much more.

Katharina discovers that she is being scouted by the FBI to help stop the spread of Communism in New York due to a previous relationship with a member of the KGB, unbeknownst to her. The FBI uses her history with this man to get her close to him and gather important information.

She begins living a double life, doting mother and wife by day and FBI spy by night. Her lives begin to collide when her husband realizes she has been employing a babysitter and spending hours upon hours away from their children. Katharina has to decide where her life is leading and how to balance her two selves.

While the idea of the story is an interesting story, the story itself is lacking. The novel starts slow and never really gathers enough steam to make it interesting. There were moments when I thought the story would pick up the pace but was then let down when nothing extraordinary happened. I am hoping this scenario is a one-off for the author but I would love to read something else by her that may grab me more.

I was really drawn to the historical elements of this novel, in particular the early roots of the UN after WWII. I’m not sure that ‘Rina is a protagonist that every reader will align themselves with. I got frustrated with her choices and at times couldn’t quite reconcile her character. There weren’t many likable characters. Main topics that this novel explored include gender roles in the 1950s, communism, race and alcoholism. I gave two stars because I think that there was just too many issues that the author was glaringly trying to tackle. It just didn’t click for me.

Katharina Edgeworth went from a single life in the 1950s working at the UN to the life of a NYC housewife and mother. She's struggling until a new opportunity enters her life.

This book was definitely not un-put-downable. I put it down a lot to read other things, explaining why it took my so long to read the ARC I received (thanks, NetGalley & the publisher...all thoughts on this book are my own.).

There were just a lot of things that didn't make sense. Katharina seemed incredibly unstable and so a huge risk for the work she was being asked to take on. And then the focus of the book wasn't even that work (which could have been interesting) but more manufactured drama. The timeline was jumpy, which was just more evidence the book could use a good edit. Also, the character relationships on all levels were awkward. Especially an attempted romantic interest that was supremely awkward and never very clear.

Really, giving this book two stars that it was okay is probably stretching it a bit.

2.5 stars, rounded up.
I think this was a case of expectation vs reality, and just didn’t love this one.
From the description, I thought this would be a fast-paced spy novel, but it was very slow and there was very little intrigue. I had sympathy for the main character in some ways, but had major issues with her decisions.
Overall, this sadly was a big miss for me, but I’ll note a few things I did enjoy:
I appreciated having a main character dealing with how hard motherhood is and missing the life and identity had before having children—and having that character not cope well with it.
I enjoyed the 1950s historical aspects and couldn’t help but think about how this time period mirrors much of what is happening today.
I also liked that this is a historical fiction book that in many ways felt like contemporary fiction.
Finally, it was compelling enough that I did want to finish the book and find out what happens in the end.
Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for this e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

I was prepared to enjoy “A Woman of Intelligence” based solely on the clever word-play of the title. I guess I was expecting a bit more of the “housewife-moonlighting-as-FBI-informant” and less of the the unfulfilled, yet highly-educated, housewife side of things. The third story line, and the least developed was the relationship between Rina and Turner; a relationship that wold have been considered risqué in that era. The 1950s were an interesting time with the Red Scare, and it was completely believable that the FBI would have reached out to someone like Katharina to help them with their cause. I was less interested in the half of the story dealing with Rina’s difficulties adjusting to motherhood and the changes to her marriage. I did note a mistake in the book where the author referred to Bombay as Mumbai; this change was not in effect in the 1950s.

I can't recommend this book. The voice felt too contemporary for the period from the beginning but I couldn't put my finger on why, and then bubble wrap was used in a description, when this book purportedly takes place in 1946. It jerked my right out of my suspension of disbelief.

I just never got fully involved in this book. It starts out interesting - Rina, wife of pediatric surgeon Tom, is a mother of 2 young boys. She had worked previously for the United Nations as a language translator and had a fun lifestyle. However, she was forced to resign when she became pregnant. The storyline about those years was interesting to follow. After she left employment, the story gets tired. I just couldn't get into her story - the author led her into a bunch of confusing situations and it just wasn't enjoyable to me. I didn't like Tom's character at all - very unsupportive and crass.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and author for a temporary digital ARC in return for my review.

the first 30% of this book was really enjoyable in an odd way. Almost seemed like it was going into "The Undoing" territory but then it switched gears and I gave up.

I enjoyed this book. It was a bit slow to take off for me. Protagonist Katharina (Rina) is an interpreter at the UN. She is living the life of a single working woman in NYC during the late 1940’s having great fun post wartime. She meets, falls for and marries a very wealthy Dr. Tom Edgeworth.

Living the high society life in NYC, mother of two boys and no longer working. Rina is bored and misses her old life. One afternoon at the park with her boys Rina is approached by an FBI agent with an interesting proposal.

Rina becomes an under cover agent for the FBI. This is where the story took off for me. Rina is involved as an interpreter and spy. The story is a women’s historical thriller based during the Cold War of the early 1950’s.

Thank you #Netgalley, #St.Martin’sPress and #KarinTanabe for the advance readers copy of “A Woman of Intelligence” for my honest opinion

I loved this book and following the story of Katharina Edgeworth in post-war New York City. A wealthy housewife and mother of two young boys, who used to be an interpreter at the UN. She was tapped to secretly be an FBI informant and gather intelligence on a former college flame Communist.
The themes in this book of motherhood, friendship, working moms, family, class, and a hint of politics were so engaging to me and I greatly enjoyed it.

Oh, I loved this latest book by Karin Tanabe! A Woman of Intelligence brings the reader on a trip filled with intriguing backdrops (like the FBI), glitz and glamour (hello, upper class New York in the 40s/50s), and intrigue (KGB, anyone?) in a way that manages to both read like a thriller and maintain a sense of realism. Worth a read!

This started off strong and intriguing. Tina Edgeworth is an intelligent woman living in g gilded cage in postwar NYC. On the surface she has it all, but she needs more than the day-to-day care of her two young sons. She is approached by the FBI to utilize her skills during the Army-McCarthy hearings. Raina is a likable protagonist, her family and friends are less than compelling.

I will happily read any book by Karin Tanabe and her latest lyrical historical thriller, “A Woman of Intelligence” is another excellent, must-read book. This book features an interesting time period and well-drawn, fascinating characters.

It’s the late 1940’s and early 1950’s in America; known for the “Red Scare”, it’s an era that we may not think about much today. We see the world through the eyes of the main character, Katharina “Rina” Edgeworth. Rina represents many young women of her day. Born in New York City of immigrant parents, she learned multiple languages and was Ivy League educated.

New York is an exuberant place to be after World War II. Hope and delight abound, and Rina drinks it all in. She works for the newly created United nations as an interpreter, and in the evening, she plays in the “playgrounds” of Manhattan.

But Rina is not just a party girl. She is committed to helping the world come together after the War and she takes pride in her work at the U.N. Marriage does not call to her until she meets and falls in love with a dedicated doctor from a wealthy upper-crust family, Tom Edgeworth. Rina happily marries him, and marriage leads to children, and children lead to a major change in her life.

Is she in a gilded cage? Yes, if she lets herself be. A chance opportunity leads her to work covertly for the FBI. The FBI is investigating Communist groups and Soviet infiltrators. She thrives in her new secret life. Will she leave her privileged captivity? Is her husband Tom more a captive than she is?

Although Rina, with her spirit, intelligence, passion is a wonderfully complex and fascinating character, New York City also shines in a lead role. I enjoyed this book because of the fascinating characters, the exciting story line and the reflections on a woman’s life. Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an advance review copy. This is my honest review

It would seem that the author was imposing her current life into the life of her story which was set in 1954. There were a number of glaring discrepancies in the time period - panty hose for one. Perhaps these things would not be so distracting to a modern miss, but I had a hard time following the plot when the time period was one that I experienced and which the author, apparently, did not. Consequently, I did not finish the book.

I received this ARC from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Oh this book will take you by surprise. In all honesty it started a bit slow for me however it quickly picked up the pace and really kept it up.