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.

In 1945, after the war, Rina has a future at the United Nations. Speaking five languages, She enjoys her job and the adrenaline that run in her veins during her intense working days as well as the freedom that comes with her independence. When she marries the dashing, polished, upper class, smart Doctor Tom Edgeworth, her life takes a different turn. Tom becomes Chief of pediatric surgery at Lenox Hill in New York while she gets to stay home and be the charming wife and mother of their two adorable but impossible young sons. Quickly Rina feels trapped and although she loves her husband and children she had a hard time raising them while Tom gets frustrated by her failure to create the picture perfect family he needs to show to his major hospital donors, parents and peers. Rina's wish to escape her regimented life is granted when she is approached by the FBI to infiltrate the knot of KGB spies who are sending crucial information to Moscow. Deep in the Cold War, Rina's language abilities, intelligence and eagerness for excitement make her the ultimate spy candidate especially because she knows Jacob Cornev the cornerstone of the KGB in Washington, whom she met in college and had an affair with. Rina's takes big risks, she lies to Tom and sneaks out as much as she can but does not succeed in balancing her life as a mother, a wife and a spy. Independence and purpose come at a cost in this exciting, thrilling and very interesting novel.

Another great historical fiction read from Karin Tanabe. This novel is rich in detail about 1950's post war New York City, the 20 something party scene and contrasting elite Manhattan gilded society, the paranoia about Communism, and the struggles for feminism rearing up in a decidedly male-dominated business world. Would the FBI have really recruited Katherine Edgeworth, a New Yorker, daughter of immigrants, UN multi-lingual career woman who marries into upper crust New York society elite to infiltrate her former lover who is a known Soviet spy? That may be a little beyond reach for some readers. Yet the story works in every way. We are transported to 1940's post war New York where Katherine comes into her own in her career as a U.N. translator, and then faces some of the same struggles that women do today - weighing the balance and making choices between career and motherhood for her to retain her sense of self. For Katherine, this choice is particularly glaring given that her husband and his family have incredible financial means to make her work financially inconsequential. A Woman of Intelligence is a fast read, but one that will stay with you long after - making you think about the reality that for women in particular, how much has changed in the last 50 years, and yet how far we still have to go.
Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I really wanted to like this book more than I did. I will not go into the plot of the book in too much detail, but I will say that there were many aspects of the story that led me to give this only 3 stars.

Rina Edgeworth, a mother of two little boys and wife to superstar surgeon Tom, lives a presumably enviable life. She lives with her family in a posh apartment in New York City. However, she is feeling unfulfilled, especially since she is well-educated, speaks multiple languages, and worked at the United Nations before becoming a mother. At a time when she is especially vulnerable, she is approached by a member of the FBI. He wants her to reconnect with a former lover, who is a communist, and gather evidence that will contribute to the extermination of the communist party in America.

The main components of the plot did not seem realistic. While it is plausible that a mother of young children could escape her dull life and pull off weekly train trips to Washington, DC to transport classified information, I didn't buy it. Wouldn't a chatty toddler, who is left with a babysitter for 12 hours a day, say something to his father? I also found some of the more detailed narrative concerning the political climate of the day to be tedious.

Most of the characters I found to be utterly unlikable, even Rina's babies! I never thought I'd find myself writing about how despicable a fictional toddler could be. Tom also was irritating. There were only a handful of secondary characters I could warm up to, and I would have liked to see them more.

Although the concept of the novel was intriguing and unique, I did not feel that it was a page-turner. I just didn't care enough.

Thank you to Net Galley, Karen Tanabe and St. Martin's for providing me with my ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.

A well written story of Rina’s life as a Fifth Avenue wife of a upper class doctor, raising two pre-school boys. Sounds perfect but she is bored and feels her intelligence Shrinking. Rina was born and raised in New York to Swiss parents; her father is an art history professor. She attends public schools and then Columbia for 2 degrees in languages. Following WWII, Rina becomes a translator at the United Nations; she enjoys life as a. Single woman in NYC. Then she meets Tom, a doctor from an wealthy NY family. Against Tom’s mother’s wishes, Tom and Rina marry.

Rina. Is immediately pressured to have children, since she is over 30, and to quit her job. Giving birth to two sons within 15 months, staying home, is causing her to feel lost and bored. Then she is approached by the FBI to inform on a former lover from Columbia who heads a Communist cell. Rina loves the thrill of working with the FBI even as it causes drama, tension, and stress in her marriage.

An entertaining read.

"A Woman of Intelligence" is not the John le Carré/John Lawton spy thriller I thought it was going to be—and that's more than fine. Instead the espionage goings-on are a cover for a story of a vibrant woman bridling against the 1950s' expectations/limitations placed on women. And because the woman, Rina, is intelligent, quick-witted, and sophisticated, her narration is a joy even as it accurately captures how wearing and wearying it is for a proverbial square peg to try to fit into a round hole. The fizzy pleasures of post-WWII Manhattan and the grind of being a stay-at-home mother (especially when that was not something the mother necessarily aspired to) are both depicted perfectly. If you enjoy intelligent women's fiction, you'll love this. Ditto if you are into fiction set during Red Scare or appreciate odes to New York.

Thank you, NetGalley and St. Martin's Press, for providing me with an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

It's hard to believe now, but women in the 1950s and beyond were expected to give up their working lives to stay home with the children and tend to their husband's "much more important" lives. I really enjoyed the arc of this book's story line, very believable. Though I do wonder how many society women really were chosen by the FBI to infiltrate communist cells. Good read in one day.

A WOMAN OF INTELLIGENCE is a must-read for fans of historical fiction.

Tanabe is an expert at world building, immediately plunging the reader into the life of the New York elite in the post-war years. The sensory detail is incredible.

Katharina is a sympathetic and realistic main character, struggling to find happiness as a mother and wife. But she feels sidelined, and with good reason. When she begins working with the FBI, the plot thickens. While some readers have had a difficult time getting into the story, and found the first part slow, I really admire the pacing. In my opinion, we need to be introduced to Katharina's current stilted life before things turn sideways. Like many women, she embraces life and adjusts her desires and motivations as the world shifts around her. It's great fun to travel along this journey with her.

Likewise, while some readers were bothered by Katharina's ambition, I disagree. I found her to be strong and admirable --and very realistic as she juggled the demands of her job and motherhood. Katharina is not perfect, and nor should she be. If she were perfect, she would come across as a cardboard character.

This is a supremely entertaining and transportive read. I look forward to digging into Tanabe's backlist titles.

This is a fantastic work of historical fiction about a woman who is trapped by a male-dominated society. Before her marriage, Katharina was a successful career woman, working for the UN. Now she is relegated to the role of wife and mother and expected to be satisfied and compliant. When the opportunity arises for her to become a spy for the FBI, Katharina jumps at the chance to do meaningful work, work that doesn't put her in a box marked "female". There were several times while reading this book that I became furious at the level of sexism Katharina had to endure. A Woman of Intelligence is well written, thought-provoking, and a nail-biter. If you enjoy feminist historical fiction, give this one a go.

ARC Kindle Copy for Review from NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press.

I received a free, advance copy of this book and this is my unbiased and voluntary review.
It’s about a woman’s journey in post war living in New York. She leads a tranquil life as a mother and wife, to becoming a spy for the FBI when an old friend is a noted KG spy.

Things will collide when her courier role threatens to expose her lifestyle as she carries stolen documents threatening her safety. A spy thriller that will keep you on your toes.

This woman’s fiction concerns a woman who is lost in her role as mother to a young toddler and a baby. Katharina is an educated woman who is fluent in several languages and worked at the UN as a translator prior to her first pregnancy. Due to her relationship with a former lover when she was a student at Columbia she is recruited to infiltrate a communist cell in New York.. Jacob is considered to be a top official for the Communist Party during the McCarthy era. She must be devious with her family in order to infiltrate the party but it gives her a sense of accomplishment. She eventually falls in love with her Negro handler and is caught by her downstairs neighbor who threatens to tell her husband. How far will her romance go? As her marriage disintegrates she must decide what she will do in the future. There are several side characters who influence her experiences and are interesting. The novel is not a great spy story but was interesting in character development.

Katharina Edgeworth is bored. She used to work for the United Nations, translating for diplomats by day and painting New York City red by night. Now, with two young children and a demanding doctor husband, she's lost herself and her purpose. Enter the FBI, who sign Katharina up as an informant on her KGB-affiliated ex-lover. As Katharina begins to take risks in her job, she pulls further away from her current life but closer to her true self.

There's no question Tanabe is great at world-building - Katharina's gilded cage of upper-class New York City was beautifully depicted here. I also really connected to Katharina's character as she tried to break free from the expectations of society and her husband. Tanabe writes her as a fiercely intelligent and independent woman, and I enjoyed getting to know her. To me, this book is more character-driven fiction rather than a spy thriller - although we do get some twists and turns in the FBI plot, the book is fundamentally about a woman finding her own path through life. I appreciated the chance to spend a few hours in this world with such a dynamic protagonist.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press for providing an ARC on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I have an on-again/off-again love affair with spy/intelligence novels. I felt that the book was too dry in the first half and was just starting to build up in the second half. I found it disappointing because I wanted Rina to be more pro-active in covert operations than she actually was. After all, that's what builds up the excitement!

Rina's husband strikes me as an over-ambitious man who is very absorbed in his own work that he fails to see the silent cries for help from his wife. She had two kids in very quick succession and I think she felt overwhelmed. I'm no doctor, but I feel fairly confident that she had post-partum depression or the baby blues. In this particular era, I know that women were expected to be "perfect wives" and "darling mothers." To have depression or "a mental problem" is taboo in this era. You were basically expected to "suck it up, Buttercup." I wonder if this complete disregard for women's health may be one of the major underlying reasons why divorce became more prevalent.

I love her desire to help her country in a time of great pressure. The interaction between Rina and her society friends is wonderful. I could visualize the galas, dinners, and drinking occasions very clearly. The interaction with her fellow covert operatives was also executed well.

Overall, I think the story is good, but I feel that we could have seen more spy action and a little less home drama.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press & Wednesday Books for reaching out to me about this book.

Outside appearances can both reveal and deceive. No one truly knows what goes on behind closed doors as Katharina knows well. Before marrying Tom, a doctor from a wealthy family, she was fiercely independent and worked at the UN as a translator. But now she is an unfulfilled mother of two young energetic sons, bending to others' whims, losing her self. In 1950 New York City women are expected to stay at home with their children without complaint.

When the opportunity comes to secretly work with the FBI, Katharina briefly hesitates before plunging in. Consequently, lie after lie, cover up after cover up become part of life. Deceit, sorrow, romance, betrayal and gratitude flood this interesting book, contributing to twists all over the place.

Historical Fiction book lovers will get caught up in the plots. I liked the spying premise and time period's wonderful descriptions. The characters were maddening but it's not necessary to like them to enjoy the book.

My sincere thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this enthralling read in exchange for an honest review. Much appreciated.

Check your blood pressure before you start reading. Don’t attempt to read if it’s elevated because Karin Tanabe’s, “A Woman of Intelligence” to be published July 20, 2021, will cause it to skyrocket!

If you were raised to be a strong independent woman as I was, you’ll love to hate Tom Edgeworth. He may be wealthy, good looking and charming, but his 1950s outlook will have you gritting your teeth and pounding your chair. How did women survive in this era? When he first meets Katharina (Rina) he claims that she is “nothing like Daisy and Rose and Violet and all the other women [his] mom has tried to set [him] up with who were named after flowers yet have no roots, just petals that will wilt fast.” You get a sense that he loves her for her intelligence and because she is different from the average 1940s woman. Falling in love with Tom, she trades titles, Miss West for Mrs. Edgeworth, and acquires a Fifth Avenue address, parties at the Plaza, two healthy sons and a hard-working pediatric surgeon. What looks like a perfect life becomes Katharina’s nightmare.

Katharina’s boss at the U.N. asks her to resign because of her pregnancy; her “appearance is distracting” and he can’t figure out why she is still working. Embarrassed, her husband urges her to stop working, causing Katharina to angrily retort “the only professional goal you want me to attain is the permanent shedding of my ambitions.” The ivy-league-educated New Yorker who can speak four languages is “mourning that life” that she once had. Rina tells a friend that her “mind no longer fizzed with intellectual rigour; it bubbled with boredom.” She can’t understand how women around her are fulfilled with motherhood. Having spent her days as a translator at the newly-formed United Nations, she finds it difficult to fit into the post-war societal constraints. It's obvious Rina loves her boys; she's a good mother. She just needs to spread her wings and access some academic stimulation. Anxious to escape for a night out with friends, Rina loses it when her husband tells her what time to return and that he doesn’t want her drinking.

When she’s approached by the FBI to become an informant and infiltrate the social circle of a high-level Soviet spy, Katherina jumps at the opportunity to regain control of her life and find a purpose outside of motherhood. Organizing babysitters for the boys and stealthily slipping into another world, Katharina assumes the name Hanna Graf. How ironic that she needs to shed a surname such as Edgeworth to secretly live on the edge and feel a sense of worth!

You’ll love this fast-paced spy-thriller expertly woven with the female experience of post-war II New York City. Tanabe expertly shares the stifling female experience and equips readers with a better understanding of the societal shift as women’s roles were being redefined. You’ll love watching the protagonist blossom as she determines not to let her circumstances extinguish the real Katharina Edgeworth.

Thank you Karin Tanabe, St. Martin's Press and Netgalley for this advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

A Woman of Intelligence by Karin Tanabe is a fascinating historical fiction novel that takes place in the early 1950s in NYC. In a post-war city, the new threat of communism has surfaced.

One of my favorite modern time-periods to research and read about falls along the 1950s decade. All of the change, the society balancing precariously between trying to return to how things were pre-WWII, and how things are inevitably shifting to a new society and new roles for women and men. Things are not the same, but everyone is just starting to realize this. (Also, I beyond love the fashion, but that is a whole different conversation.)

This book ties both of these concepts together in the story of wife/mother/shell of her former self, Katharina and the undercover espionage role she is hired to do by the FBI in trying to find and discover if certain watched individuals are secretly communist and trading information with Russia.

The struggle between what is expected of Katharina by society, her husband, and her children and what she feels she needs to do to validate her training, education, and self-worth is what unfolds within this book.

Katharina is imperfect, reflecting her inner turmoil outwards. She tries to balance both lives, keeping each hidden and separate from the other. Sometimes she puts herself first. Sometimes she detests where life has led her. Sometimes she feels bitter, smothered, and helpless. By taking this hidden job, she tries to find her purpose, a higher need, some aspect of control in otherwise a powerless, she feels, daily routine.
Is she right in her feelings? Does she not fall short in expectations and her roles? That is for the reader to decide. If she was a saint, flawless, and above reproach, I would find her one-dimensional and boring. Her imperfections make her interesting, make her who she is. Her quest to find that herself is what I like most about this book.

5/5 stars

Thank you NetGalley and St Martin’s Press for this great ARC and in return I am submitting my unbiased and voluntary review and opinion.

I am posting this review to my GR and Bookbub accounts immediately and will post it to my Amazon, Instagram, and B&N accounts upon publication on 7/20/21.

A WOMAN OF INTELLIGENCE
BY KARIN TANABE

This was a historical novel that takes place in New York City in the early 1950's. Rina Edgeworth is married to her rich husband Tom who is also married to his job as a pediatric surgeon. He comes from old money and he thinks his wife should be doing a better job as a mother of two young children, Gerrit and Peter. While Rina is in the park one day with both boys Gerrit runs off and falls down and cuts his knee on some broken glass. Rina freezes and Tom thinks that Rina is not doing a good job at being a mother. He thinks that she drinks too much and I could feel the oppression of women's expected roles in the early fifties.

Rina is approached to be an informant from a man in the FBI supplying information about a former boyfriend of hers who the agent suspects that he is working for the Soviet Union. Rina is a woman who used to work for the United Nations with a graduate degree and speaks several languages.

I could feel the need in Rina to want to be more than just a wife and mother as she yearns to serve her country. She was leading a double life from her job as an informant by not telling her husband. I thought that the author did a fantastic job at creating an atmosphere of what life was like to be stifled in the era that this historical novel takes place.

Personally, this wasn't a compelling read for me as I found it dry in places while reading. I did appreciate the authenticity of the era. I could appreciate the setting but I didn't find this novel to be complicated and though I appreciate that communism was a threat and that there were American's working in high ranking jobs trading secrets with Russia, this was made evident in the plot. I wanted to like this more but honestly it just wasn't for me. Other's may really love this more than I did so I am recommending it to women who enjoy historical fiction with an interest in communism. Also I think the novel was ambitious in its scope and the narrative took on many themes. I like Rina's character as a strong woman but I found the things that she did hard to relate to. I am reflecting how important raising my children were to me and I couldn't relate to her as a mother. I do appreciate that her husband was never home and that she needed to fill that void by becoming an informant to the FBI. As a mother I was satisfied raising my children so I couldn't connect to her always leaving her two young children to leading a double life and always sneaking out to work undercover. This was an ambitious novel that I am sure will appeal to many women.

Publication Date: July 20, 2021

Thank you to Net Galley, Karen Tanabe and St. Martin's for providing me with my ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.

#AWomanofIntelligence #KarenTanabe #StMartin's #NetGalley

This was my first book by Karin Tanabe and I thought it was an engrossing read. I was particularly impressed with the amount of accurate historical detail that was provided. The build up to the most exciting part of the story was well done, and while there wasn’t always a lot going on in the initial part of the book, it was never a slow read. I thought the characters were multidimensional with some fantastic characteristics but also some petty, self centered moments. All believable given the 1950s setting, particularly regarding Katharina’s character.

Full review to come on my blog closer to publication date.