As a character study of this woman, this is an excellent book. I didn't particularly like her, but I did have empathy for her situation and her role. She was a product of the times. I love how she needed to be her own independent woman. I know she loved her children, but at times I felt like she thought of them more of a nuisance - which actually I found fascinating. She wasn't perfect, which made this more realistic. I may not have agreed with all of her thoughts and choices, but I understood them.

As a spy novel, this fell flat. Where was her training? It just seemed odd that she was thrown in,. And the spycraft wasn't as interesting as I have read in other books.

I want to thank the author, the publisher and #netgalley for the advance copy. It did not impact my review of #awomanofintelligence.

Living in Manhattan and working as a translator at the United Nations, Katharina Edgeworth had the world at her fingertips. Yet, when she marries a wealthy, ambitious, and conservative pediatric surgeon, the consequences of her life as a traditional stay-at-mother crush her spirit. Yearning for the life and promise she once had, Katharina finds escape from domesticity in an unlikely endeavor. She becomes an informant for the FBI as it investigates her former college lover turned high-ranking Soviet operative.

Typically, the espionage carries the burden of intrigue, but with A Woman of Intelligence, I was more enthralled by hot-mess Katharina than super-spy-seductress-newBFF Katharina. I kept hoping to get through the KGB/FBI/Civil Rights Activist storylines to return to the family drama. I was more invested in Katharina finding herself than playing a pivotal role in staving off Communist threats.

A Woman of Intelligence is a good, quick, and exciting four out of five-star read. Readers who enjoy historical spy fiction where New York City takes center stage as a Tony-worthy supporting character, will enjoy this book.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s press for an advance copy of A Women of Intelligence in exchange for an honest review.

There was just too much I couldn't believe in this title. The historical setting of post- WWII New York was well drawn, but the behaviour of the main character seemed more placed in the 1960s. The ease and lack of training with which the FBI accepted an unknown female and let her work undercover was simply not plausible. The character development was thin and predictable. I finished it, but really thought about just putting it down.

I have mixed emotions about A Woman of Intelligence. As a historical fiction novel it doesn't really go anywhere, despite being what I'm guessing is very historically accurate. Rina West is a fun-loving woman from a middle class background that because of her skill set eventually lands at the UN, where along with her friend Marianne she precedes to live life to the fullest. During this time she meets Tom Edgeworth, a moneyed physician, and falls in love. And while everything started off grand, she's forced to quit her job when she's pregnant, then expected to fall into the utterly boring and stifling responsibilities of being the perfect wife and mother when Tom's expectations change as his career advances. Not surprisingly, Rina hates having nothing to live for except raising Tom's sons for him (because he sure as heck isn't around to do it). Various events reminding her of what her life has been reduced to and an opportunity to be more leads Rina to agree to do work for the FBI, investigating a college boyfriend that's a full-blown Communist when it was a very bad time to be a Communist in America. The spy work isn't particularly intriguing, or suspenseful and it doesn't really seem to go much of anywhere - which is why for me this story works so much better as a character study of a smart, ambitious woman in a time period where respectful women put aside their intelligence and ambition to raise the future generations of their smart, ambitious (or maybe just rich) husbands. While being bored with Rina's life and clandestine activities, I couldn't help but feel irritated with her children, infuriated with her husband and exhausted by the misogynistic tendencies of 1950s America.

A spy thriller. Katharina is a mother of two boys, married to a rich husband. She isn't always satisfied with her life. Raising two boys is hard work. Her husband expects perfection. Her in laws are bugeuious and think of nothing but themselves.
When she is approached to act as a spy she is at first not sure. Then the excitement draws her in and she is more than ready to do what needs to be done.
Exciting thriller!!

Great book for a quick escape. I totally loved Rina - her authenticity, intelligence, her craving for wanting more, her battle with motherhood etc...

My only complaint - great premise but her disappearances I just couldn’t buy into. There is no way Rina could have pulled off her hustle in the least. She had way too much going on, not to mention being under the thumb of Tom. No way could she have pulled off all the magic tricks she did. However, rolling along with the story, it made it a quick getaway from the grind of life and I found it entertaining.

Rina made the book pleasing - she had it all but felt like she had nothing and was disillusioned by her life and expectations. Her genuineness was enjoyable.

Thank you to NetGalley for the advance reader copy. I was not compensated for this review. All opinions are my own.

A Woman of Intelligence captured my attention with its intriguing concept. I was somewhat surprised that the author spent so much time depicting how normal Rina's life was as I waited for the action to occur. But that strategy actually enhanced my realization that there are limits at which point each of us could begin to feel insignificant. I enjoyed the relationships Rina had with those outside her family... just as she, too, found herself come alive again with their influence. This was one of those books in which I found myself wondering what the characters were doing when I wasn't reading.

I received this as an ARC eBook and had the page numbers hidden on my screen, so I was a little caught off guard to come to the end so quickly. No huge finish, but it definitely still has me thinking of what Rina may have decided to do next.

This book starts off strong and initially pulled me in. Then by 23% I started to find it a bit tedious. I enjoyed it as a time piece and was intrigued by her early work at the U.N. I struggled a bit to finish the book

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an early release in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I enjoyed this unusual story set in post-war New York City. Tanabe describes the life of a highly-educated and intelligent housewife, married to a surgeon and the mother of two very small boys. Rina Edgeworth had a career before marriage and she is the epitome of a frustrated housewife. She tries to deal with her unsatisfying life by taking the usual paths a frustrated young mother might take and then goes on to find a more secret life. Some of the twists and turns defy imagination. Many readers will identify with Rina but some may be put off by some of her decisions. This would be a good choice for a book club and one hopes for a sequel to see how Rina lives the rest of her life.

I received a free ARC from Netgalley.
Back in a time when women were expected to give up their jobs as soon as they got married or pregnant, Katharina isn't fulfilled staying home with her two young sons even if she lives in an expensive apartment with a handsome doctor. She misses working as a translator at the United Nations and doesn't recognize who she has become. Then she is asked to infiltrate the Communist Party to help her government. She is intrigued and starts to feel useful again.

Take a young female college grad who works first at city hall in New York and then as a translator at the newly formed UN. Her life is exciting and filled with colleagues/friends that love living life. Rina is a strong, intelligent young women with an incredible sense of humour. After marrying the perfect man and having two children in succession our heroin finds herself lost. Her husband wants her to be the children’s only caregiver and not work outside the home. As “Rina” adapts to this role she finds herself alienated and lost with no sense of her former self. Along come the FBI with a proposition for her.
I really enjoyed the book. It did take awhile for me to really sink my teeth into but when it did there was no stopping the reading of it. This book deals with relationships and control, postpartum depression, ...along with spies and espionage.

An exciting espionage story set in the opulent post-war New York society will fascinate even the most discerning readers! The courageous and intelligent heroine is really the focal point of this fascinating novel and is sure to stay with the reader later.

A Woman of Intelligence
I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
In one sentence I would describe the book as bored housewife of a rich pediatric surgeon dabbles in espionage.
As unrealistic as that concept is, I found the book just as far fetched and unbelievable. Rina is bored with her married life, she is frustrated raising two small children and her husband is never home. When she is approached by the FBI to conduct some spy work on suspected communist activity she is happy to oblige.
I found her disappearance to take trips to Washington DC from New York and her other secret activities without her husband’s knowledge totally unrealistic. As a mother of three children, I could understand Rina’s frustration with two children under three, but I couldn’t identify with her drinking binges and her lack of loving her children, except when they were asleep.
Without giving away too much, two characters in the book turn up dead and both of those deaths are glossed over and never explained.
Overall, I am generous giving this novel three stars.
Thanks NetGalley, the publisher and the author for the advanced copy.





She develops a crush on one of the agents during her assignments

This was a new to me author and I can promise you she does not disappoint. Karin Tanabe did a beautiful job of telling how difficult it was for women in the 1940’s and 50’s after WWII. She also did an amazing job explaining how being a mom is wonderful and overwhelming at the same time. The main character Rina is brilliant and the journey that she goes on to be able to feel fulfilled as both a mother and a woman is a must read story. This is a can not put down page-turner from the beginning. Thank you so much to the publisher and NetGalley for my requested copy of the ARC. All opinions are my very own.

Katharina Edgeworth Mother Of two young boys in the socialite rich area. Is supposed to stay at home and take care of them on her own. She is constantly judged, by her husband the Much beloved pediatrican. They can afford a nanny but its believed you can get closer just two wild little boys and a mom. This books takes place during the Commusim Scare in New york. 1952,

She is approached by a FBI agent Coldwell to go on a mission for the good of America to fight the communist and information about someone she knew is pretty high up working with the Soviet Union. So she should go undercover as a communist party member. Mother of two, trying to find time, nosy husband and neighbors. Little nuts. How will she manage it?

Life also shows how Men are the Boss attitude when women have to stay home all day and take care of children. NO help. While the guys can go off and work and have some fun.

It is an amazing book strongly written to never forgot all the famous women civilians who worked for the FBI and still do.

I was given This E-ARc by Netgalley and Wednesday Books for free in exchange for an honest review. I could also see this as an series.

I had high hopes for this book based on the description but did not pan out. Let me at least say it wasn’t terrible. The writing was actually quite enjoyable but the entire book was anti-climactic. I thought there would be more action or more thrills but it was more thoughts and feelings. Which is fine!... if that’s what you were expecting.

Wh,t a wonderful book!! The 1950's, the years of "Leave It To Beaver," "Father Knows Best," and a host of other sitcoms that had women in households always wearing pearls, a dress and an apron. How refreshing to read a story that shows a woman of intelligence using her brains instead of washing the dishes. How refreshing to read about a woman who actually contributed something of value, other than making macaroni and cheese! While I am not putting down the American housewife, I am definitely and absolutely in awe of those who made it out of the kitchen. What a journey. My thanks to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.,

Rina is a smart woman who the world attempts to keep in her place as a mother in the 1950s, but her skills make her a valuable asset in the fight against communism. A Woman of Intelligence is a great historical spy novel in a new time period for me to read about. Rina is a compelling character and you can feel her yearning to be more through the pages of the novel. I thought her character was well fleshed out and enjoyable and you could relate to her historical struggles even in today's society.

Katharina Edgeworth, Rina, is a woman on the verge of a breakdown in the 1950's. After having 2 children with a man that is overly ambitious with his career and completely oblivious to his wife and her struggles, Rina has lost herself and the woman she used to be. After spending much of her 20's and 30's being a translator for the UN, a woman on the town after WWII and an educated, independent woman, she has lost herself. She struggles with being by herself all day and night with her unruly children. She never sees her husband, the man she gave herself up for, due to his demanding job as a doctor and has lost all of her friends. She spends her sleepless nights staring out he windows of her Park Avenue windows, envying all those with freedom.

Then, one day, her life changes. She has the opportunity to be more than just a housewife and mother. She can help the US Government take down Communism. After being approached by an FBI agent, she decides to immerse herself into parts of the old Rina. She reconnects with an old flame, accused of Communism, she finds her eyes wandering to one of her out of reach co workers and she discovers that she can be an intelligent woman that is more than a mother and wife.

I really enjoyed this story. There were times when my heart physically hurt for Rina. After reading about the husband's point of view as far as women were concerned in the 50's and seeing just how much of herself she gave up to live the "American Dream." Some of the descriptions made me stop and put the book down because I was actually sad for her. The only reason I didn't give it 5 stars was that I wished there was a little more in the story about the "spying" aspect. Even though the description made it seem like that was the main storyline, it was almost like an after thought to Rina's story, and while I did enjoy the story, I do wish there was a little more of it in the main story.

Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for my review and honest opinion

This book is great! Would definitely recommend. Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.