Excellent premise and well researched. I enjoyed this one but felt it was a little slow to get into.
The story takes place mainly in the 1950s while the main character, Rina, is married with two young children. From the outside she appears to have the perfect life, but it is far from it.
A good story overall!

I loved the historical perspective of A Woman of Intelligence.  It's New York City in the 1950's when we meet protagonist, Katharina Edgeworth.  As we meet her, she's married to surgeon, Tom Edgeworth, and mother to two toddlers.  But before she evolved into this persona, Katharina was a highly intelligent, independent woman who worked as a translator at the new United Nations.  By day she worked with diplomats from around the world, and by night she was a happy single girl spending her nights out on the town.  Katharina loves her family, but the transition from her previous life into the life of a stay-at-home mom (at her husband's insistence) is stultifying.  Like a lot of men I've met over the years, Tom proclaims to love strong women, but what he really loves is the 'idea' of strong women.  In reality he wants someone beautiful to take to his work events but who is otherwise at home by herself taking care of his kids.  Prepare to hate him!

One day Katharina is approached by a man named Lee Coldwell.  Lee is an FBI agent, and he has a proposition for Katharina.  It's the Cold War era, and Lee is pursuing an intelligence operative for the Soviet Union.  His name is Jacob Gornev, and he and Katharina went to Columbia together and were quite close.  Coldwell would like Katharina to become reacquainted with Gornev and get intel on a new project Gornev is working on and to identify traitors working for the US government to help him.  Katharina is reluctant at first, but with tensions rising in her home life, she ultimately agrees to work with Coldwell.

A Woman of Intelligence is a fast-paced spy thriller with the added benefit of historical fiction.  Karen Tanabe is a talented writer, who excels at character development, and I loved Katharina.  I would definitely be interested if Ms. Tanabe were to continue this into a series.  

My thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for providing me an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.  A Woman of Intelligence is expected to be published on July 20, 2021..

I found this book very readable.  I have previously read and enjoyed Tanabe; I like how she focused so much on women's lives.  This book focuses on a new mother, Katharina, that is dealing with the battles of losing herself as a person after becoming a mother. This part of the story is fascinating to me and very relatable.  The other aspect of the book is she becomes a spy for the FBI, this is less relatable but still intriguing.  I really am enjoying books that highlight the troubles of motherhood and womanhood lately, especially when it shows we have been fighting the same issues for centuries.

Thank you NetGalley for this early copy of a Woman of Intelligence. This is 3.5 stars read. I found this book interesting for the time and place it was staged at. I also felt there was a lot of words, and descriptions and yet somehow not a lot of detail. Maybe I wanted this book to be more about other things than it was. 
This is a story about a woman who is losing her identity after becoming a mother. It is a story of a time when a woman being a mother was the pinnacle of achievement. This is a story of woman who becomes a spy. And yet it is a flat story of all of this. I think mostly it is a story of a woman who lost herself and had to struggle back to reclaim who she wants to be. But who she was on one hand was a party girl with a lot of freedom who worked at the UN. I am not sure how long that could have continued until it became old as the work/job she did there itself was never told in anything less than a very broad stroke while the cheap meals and drinking was more in-depth as were the girlfriends she would party with. (whom supposedly being so close were so one dimensional that her being married and a mother did not allow any type of friendship to continue. yes, yes life and what you are able to do after having a family alters but how deep was that friendship if they can not find an iota of common ground afterwards)
I think the thing that for me was most out of character was her husbands demand that she take care of two babies without any outside help. And second that her loving close family did not come to help at all. That her loving family basically had one phone call with her during this period of the book. To me that is not the definition of loving or close. Third, that this independent woman was able to allow herself to be so cowed down with her husband. That whatever he thought was best for her she went along with knowing that it was not working for her, her kids, or her husband. There were excuses all around as to why this was happening but it just seemed a 180 turn as to whom she was before. A woman with so many languages at her disposal, having worked in a place where negotiations and peace were brokered all the time, could not find the words to talk to her husband about what she was experiencing was sad. 
I did like the book, I just thought it could have been more interesting with a deeper look into the myriad of topics it touched on; postpartum, red scare, race relations, woman's role changing in the 50s, mental health. 
Anyhoo, I am glad I read it - was an interesting story.

A Woman of Intelligence A Novel by Karin Tanabe. 

The beginning of this story is a layout of the main character and her lifestyle through the years, which kept me thinking “I thought this book was about working for the FBI.”  It actually is a story about a woman who is unhappy, has a most horrendous day and then is approached and asked to work for the FBI. Working for the FBI turns out to be a salvation for Katharina Edgeworth, giving her a sense of accomplishment & success. 

The storyline seems a little unbelievable, but that doesn’t mean it’s a bad book. Have New Yorkers ever been approached on the street & asked for assistance from the FBI? It’s a fun idea. I very much appreciate Katharina’s desire to work outside the home and what it adds to her life. Don’t forget this novel takes place in an era when “a woman’s place is in the home” was, in some circles, the only accepted lifestyle. 

Readers who enjoy descriptive detailing of New York society in the 1940s are really going to appreciate this book. From the parties, to the United Nations, museums, clubs, parks, downtown & subway travel there’s plenty to delightfully absorb! Paints a wonderful depiction of 1940’s Manhattan. 

Thank you to #Netgalley, St Martin’s Press, and Karin Tanabe for the ARC and the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC! I have to say, it was difficult to get into this book in the beginning chapters...but keep reading! It got really good later on, and I finished the other 75% of it in a couple days.

Notable lines:

“It didn’t sound so bad, but the mirror told me that it wasn’t just the weight, it was the alterations made by motherhood. The two bundles of joy had wreaked havoc on my frame . . . I was a piece of art.”

“The point is, feeling sorry for yourself will do nothing but make the world a worse place.”

“Even when the world was growing dark in your mind, New York refused to agree. She always kept a light on for you.”

“ . . . thank you for overlapping your world with mine for a little while. Whatever this story was, it added life to my life. And I loved it . . .”

I had quite high hopes for this book, and in the end I thought it was just... fine. The plot didn't draw me in as much as I'd hoped, although the writer is obviously skilled. All the elements were there, but for some reason it didn't come together to make a story that swept me away. I'm glad to see from the other reviews that this wasn't the case for most people, so I will still be recommending the book to those who enjoy historical fiction and women's fiction.

Can women have it all? It’s a question that has been asked for decades. On the outside, Katharina does seem to have it all — a glitzy Fifth avenue apartment, a successful husband, and two adorable kids, but she can’t help but feel like she’s not living up to her potential. When she is approached by the FBI to spy on communists, Katharine jumps at the chance. Will Katharina finally take charge of her life?

As a historical fiction lover, this book was on my radar for 2021 — that cover! It was a solid historical fiction — albeit a slow start. However; some of the characters — especially Tom — were so insufferable and that made the story lag a little bit. Regardless, it was an enjoyable read and I look forward to sharing this book with our audience. 3.5/5 stars.

 Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an advanced copy of A Woman of Intelligence in exchange for an honest review!

Katharina fights the battle still going on....can women have it all? And if a tour-de-force like Katharina can't have it all then who can?
Katharina trades her life as part of the United Nations for the upper crust society life. But not all women were ok trading their WWII life in for the post-war domestic boom of the early '50s. Being a member of society is just as hard as her work life. And supporting the star member of her family, her husband, starts to wear at her. 
Great pacing on part of the author gets us to her new phase in life, undercover agent. But secrets have deadly consequences.
I just loved this novel.  I must admit I am  little burnt out on WWII historical fiction. So this novel is perfect for those of us loving historical novels and wanting something new.  The oxymoron of New Historical is made possible and this novel proves it. I will find more of Karin Tanabe to read.

Katharina seems to have it all.  In 1950's New York she lives in a beautiful apartment with her rich pediatric surgeon husband and two healthy toddler boys.  She stays home and takes care of them all day while her husband is at the hospital all hours.  Underneath the surface Katharina is very unhappy.  She used to live a life where she, after earning a degree from Columbia, she worked as a translator for the United Nations and went out drinking and dancing with the girls and spending time with different men.  Now she spend her days tending to children and staring out the window at the world passing her by.  Until a man from the FBI approaches her about a college friend that they know works for the KGB and is a communist.  They want her to spy on him and get more intel.  Rina jumps at the chance, and starts to feel alive again, but at what cost?
This book takes a close look at what it means to be an intelligent woman unable to use it.  Women who are surrounded by little kids all day will connect with Rina's life.  Other women may connect with the drive to do something more with their lives than they are already doing.  The books starts out strong, but gets a little slow in the middle before it picks back up.  While I enjoyed the book, Rina's lack of gumption within her home life got a little tedious.  That honestly could just be a bi-product of my living in a modern world where women have more say.  
Overall this was an interesting read that I believe most women will enjoy.  It definitely makes you pause and think about what you want out of your life and how to go and get it.

A Woman of Intelligence pulled me in from the very beginning. At first glance,  Katharina seems to be a typical mother of young children struggling with the day-to-day tedium that this can bring.  But, oh, she is so much more!  Tanabe does an excellent job of meshing tales about Katharina's pre-baby life with her current situation.  Katharina is a strong female protagonist who is willing to sacrifice her comfortable life for excitement, adventure and for her country.I sat up at night reading to find out what would happen next in Katharina's secret life.  I recommend this book to anyone who loves a mix of mystery, intrigue, and historical fiction.

This book had all the ingredients for a great read—a woman not living up to her potential, spies, red scare, love story, marital relations, etc. And while the author and the main character, Rina, attempted to put it all together and tie it up into a neat package, it just didn’t work for me. The concepts and circumstances are intriguing and some sections of the book were equally intriguing. But there were way too many coincidences, the characters and their actions didn’t ring true and the ending was a bit contrived. Parts of it were very engaging and if it dug a bit deeper into the characters and their motivations, it could have been a very good read. Thanks to NetGalley for providing me a complimentary copy of "A Woman of Intelligence" by Karin Tanabe in exchange for my honest review.

This interesting work of historical fiction combines several elements to create a fascinating novel.  Rina suffers from the difficulties of being sole caregiver to young boys, while her husband is involved in his career, ignoring her. She is bored and miserable. The novel captures the unfulfilling life of a housewife, GRR. it also folds this in to the social and political issues of the 1950s. 

So, Rina a woman of rare intelligence and ambition, becomes an FBI recruit, dealing with a very different kind of intelligence. Her reawakening is fascinating, as the author elevates this to a political novel.  I have enjoyed Tanabe’s prior novels but this one is so rich in material that highly recommend it to book clubs. 

Thank you Netgalley for this very fine novel that combines so many elements.

Thank you, NetGalley, for this Arc. All thoughts and opinions are my own. I enjoyed this book; the main character was easy to relate to, and I loved watching her journey. The book did slow down in certain areas, but I felt that it didn't last too long and quickly pick up again—all in all, a delightful book that I would recommend to others.

DNF. I read about 1/3 of the book and started to lose interest. To be honest, I felt the beginning of the book with the mom and her two young sons a little unbelievable. Her interactions with her husband didn’t ring true for me.
Sorry to say I just was not compelled to finish. I will not post to Goodreads since I didn’t finish the book.

I love historical fiction and A Woman of Intelligence was just what I needed to get my historical fiction fix. I really enjoyed reading about how this powerful woman adjusted to life and remained a bad ass even after becoming a mother, when the world expected her to be something else. This is an amazingly well done look into the way women were (and sometimes still are) treated in the male-dominated work forces. 


Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the digital ARC in exchange for my honest review!

When Katherina Edgeworth marries her handsome pediatric surgeon, she gives up an independent lifestyle to become a 1950’s housewife.

Before her marriage, Katherina works as an interpreter at the newly formed United Nations Building in New York. She loves the challenge of her job, her friends, and an exuberant nightlife, but then she meets Tom Edgeworth and falls in love.

Though more chaotic, what with the commitments required by Manhattan’s upper class and her daily commute, Katherina makes it work until she becomes pregnant and is forced to give up her career.

Trapped by a life she doesn’t want, Katherina accepts the opportunity to escape the bonds of motherhood- if only for a few precious hours- to become an undercover spy for the FBI. A man she once knew intimately in college is a high-ranking official in the Soviet Union and Katherina is tasked with gaining his trust as a courier delivering ‘stolen‘ US documents to the KGB.

Danger lurks around every corner, but Katherina has never felt more alive. With tensions rising at home, an illicit attraction tempts her to make a decision that will change her life forever.

This story highlights the expectations of housewives in the 1950’s, but more than that, it puts a spotlight on post war strain, the fear of communism, and racial tension.

Altogether an absorbing read!

“I voluntarily read an ARC of this book which was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.”

I really enjoyed this book. It was interesting and intriguing. I do feel there are some loose ends that could have been better tied up but a very fun read.

Let me start off by saying this, if you love the subject of history, this may be the book for you. Me, not my thing. I do enjoy a good historical fiction novel when I do not feel like I'm back in 9th grade history class. This one just wasn't quite the one for me. When I read the book summary, I was extremely excited for this book. Going into it I was expecting a kick butt "finding herself as a FBI spy" and I feel like I received tiny little sparks of that at little random times. For the most part, however, I felt like I was so bored with so much fluff of who is doing what, when, where, at this time, and all these random side characters that it just fried my nerves. Don't get me wrong, Katharina was a kick ass protagonist but after that I just didn't get into it.

'A Woman of Intelligence' combines New York City post-war storylines, and no shortage of strong women who don't back down from a challenge. The double meaning of 'intelligence" in the title is perfect - highlighting Katharina Edgeworth's considerable education as well as her foray into helping 1950s government agents. She has what would seem a charmed life on the surface, but the author doesn't sugar coat her struggles. It's a great read, and I'm betting one that will be on many airplane/beach lists this summer.