A unique spin on World War Two books. Set in New Orleans and the main character is a woman and her story has nothing to do with romance! The story was well written but kind of dragged on for me.

I have just finished listening to the audio-galley of The Physicists' Daughter and I loved it from the start!

I was immediately drawn into Justine's story and found myself listening for clues that Evans might be dropping that would come in handy later in the story. There's a superb cast of characters that all bring something unique and valuable to the storyline. If you enjoy mystery wrapped up with historical fiction (especially WWII), try this on for size. It'll probably have you wanting to write out facts and other tidbits of information from the story and try to put it together like a logic problem. If suspected spy number #1 has X, could he also be potential beau #1? I'll leave it at that because I can't think of a good example that won't be a spoiler!

It's also SO refreshing to read a WWII novel set in North America *sigh* so kudos to Evans for choosing this type of story to tell - ones that are somehow still missing from the genre!

It's a slow-burn style of historical fiction novel with just enough action to keep us on the edge of our seats but knowing full well that the real action is yet to come - and when it comes, oh it doesn't hold back.

Evans leaves us with just a hint of a sequel or further adventures on the horizon for our main characters and of course a very strong indication of which of Justine's potential suitors might just come out in front.

This was an interesting historical mystery! I really enjoyed the main character and her personality. I loved watching her form friendships and navigate relationships that she's never had before. I also found the mystery to be so interesting! I loved it all!

I found there to be too many characters to keep track of. By the end of the book, I was able to follow the plot but for the majority of the book I was not actually sure whose perspective I was reading. Because of the confusion, I was not able to enjoy the story very much.

Justine is a factory worker who is repeatedly called to weld broken machines. When there is no clear reason for so many broken machines, she begins to think something sinister is brewing. Her senses are telling her that there are German spies in the warehouse so Justine stops at nothing to figure it out.

WWII fiction which can often weigh heavily on the heart. I appreciated that this narrative had a unique perspective without being too sad or depressing.  I really loved Justine and her cast of co-workers. I would say that I was much more invested in the characters than I was the story. 

While this was clearly a very well-researched story, with the technical speak and machinery terms, this just wasn't a topic that I found super exciting.

I would recommend this story for readers who like some mystery without gruesome crimes.
 
Thank you to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for this ALC!

I liked this book. I learned alot from it. I feel it was a learning experience regarding the time period and operations.

It was good !

Thank you Netgalley !

The Physicists' Daughter is set in New Orleans at a carbon factory during WW2. Justine is the daughter of two physicists who recently had died in a car accident. Due to the majority of the able-bodied males of the country being sent out to fight in the military, the woman were asked to work in the factories around the country.

Justine is working on the assembly line but she does not know what she is producing. Whip-smart, and taught to think for herself by her well educated parents, Justine starts looking at her surroundings with a critical eye. Why does the assembly line continue to break down for no reason? Justine is asked to weld the machines back to working order and it would happen again. Justine couldn't just let it go. Could there be a saboteur in their midst? Justine continues to uncover what is really going on in this carbon factory. What are they producing that someone would be determined to interrupt?

4 solid stars. The only reason that I didn't rate this 5 stars is that it felt to me that there were so many secondary male characters that at times I struggled to keep them straight while listening. Despite this fact, I still would highly recommend this audiobook. I found myself wanting to listen and found ways to make time.

I received an early copy of this audiobook from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts & opinions are my own.

I was given this ARC as an Audiobook by NetGalley to provide an honest review.

If it’s a World War II historical fiction, I will read it. It is my first WWII book set in the US. I thought this book would give a nice change of pace and provide another perspective. To be honest, I greatly struggled with this book. It could have been the audio format or that it was set in New Orleans. As you know, some books are just better in book form rather than listening to it. However, the reader had a very pleasant voice and was easy to listen to.. I did like that the author wrote about strong women and the role they played. All and all, give it a chance. I really think the setting of the book really just played into my view of this book.

Anticipated pub: 7 June

I read historical fiction far less than other genres and I'm not sure why. I really enjoyed this story. I did a hybrid of audio book and ebook and was fully immersed in Justine's mission of discovery. I loved Justine and Georgette's relationship; that two women from such different backgrounds can connect, learn so much from each other and form a friendship. I think this was one of my favorite aspects of the book. I liked the other characters as well. We get alternating view points from two we know are "spies" but we don't know which character they are in the broad story. I found this well-written, quick paced, descriptive and all around a great read. There is an air of mystery which kept me turning pages in a rush.

The narrator was great in my opinion. It was set to an incredibly slow pace (NG said something like 10.5 hours but the book is less than 300 pages 🥴) but I cranked up the speed and it came across great. I loved the narrator giving different voice to each character; they really came alive in my head because of the narrator.

Thank you to Dreamscape and NetGalley for the early copy to listen and review.

This book was an interesting read. I sort of expected more of a back story for the start- a bit more detail on the parents and her childhood. It kept my interest although I figured out rather early where it was headed strory wise. The narrator was excellent.

If you love historical fiction, you’ll love this one! It’s very unique that a WWII historical fiction book is set in the US, particularly in New Orleans. This book kept me on my toes. It was interesting and the narrator was fantastic. I highly recommend it, especially as an audiobook.

The Physicists' Daughter by Mary Anna Evans
Narrated by Kimberly M. Wetherell

I enjoy reading historical fiction about the women finally getting to do jobs that were closed to them until WWII took the men to the front lines. Justine Byrne is the daughter of physicists and her late parents had raised her to know that she is capable of doing anything she wants to do. She learned physics at their side, German so that she could speak with German scientists, welding because it was a skill her dad enjoyed, math so that she could work things out herself, she was surrounded by brilliant men and women. Her father made sure that her mother got credit for work she did with him.

But Justine's parents are dead now and she's living in a boarding room, working in a factory doing things below her skill level. She's hoping to move up in ranks so she can do more challenging work. A piece of machinery keeps breaking and several times she is asked to use her welding skills to fix it. After there is a fatal accident at the factory and because Justine can tell the parts she is asked to fix have been sabotaged, she begins to suspect one or more people at the factory are trying to hamper the war effort. She doesn't know who she can trust anymore. Several of the men who work at the factory attract her suspicions, especially since they seem to have developed an interest in her. But many of the women at the factory have the ability to sabotage the plant, too. And Justine has never trusted her creepy boss.

At first I thought the narration overdid the accents of some of the characters and it was distracting to me. But once the story gets going and we get to know the players in this game of potential spies, I forgot about the accents and enjoyed the mystery. By the time the story was over I was enjoying the narration very much. Justine and her co-workers are in danger and knowing she is probably working with a war time spy or two has her digging deep into her knowledge of physics and just what some of the mysterious parts her factory makes could do to help the Allies in the war. The noose is tightening around Justine, someone suspects she's on their trail, and Justine wants to stop the enemy before more damage is done.

Thank you to Dreamscape Media and NetGalley for this ARC.

A really interesting story! Loved the book, but I likely would’ve enjoyed more reading than on audio- took a while to get to the story.

I want to start by saying, is the twenty-third historical fiction I’ve read this year and because of this I have higher than normal expectations.

What I liked:
1. A strong & intelligent women as the focus
2. A unique WWII setting
3. The mystery of the unknown operatives
4. Fantastic narration

What didn’t work for me:
1. The dialogue felt a bit juvenile and I found myself feeling irrationally annoyed at how things were discussed.

Overall, there were some good things about this book but it just didn’t fit well with my expectations. I have no doubt many people will love it thanks to the very strong women and the engineering details!

Thank you Netgalley and Dreamscape Media for the alc in exchange for an honest review!

An insightful And intriguing look at the women working behind the scenes in WW2. Justine is the type of quiet character who exudes intelligence, strength, and unknown talents/skills. I love the many scientific references and the way all the details provided along the way culminate at the end. The intrigue angle with an unknown spy kept me guessing! The triangle was perfectly balanced and I couldn’t quite pin down who was on what side. I enjoyed seeing Justine flourish under the power of friendship with women like Georgette and Mavis. The Physicist’s Daughter by Mary Anna Evans checked all the boxes for me and I highly recommended it to all who love WW2 stories with intelligent characters, mystery, math and science, and a slight romantic angle.
I had the privilege of listening to an arc audiobook version narrated by Kimberley M. Wetherell and was pleasantly pleased. The book itself is fantastic, but Kimberley brings the characters to life in a whole new way. Accents are captured perfectly, as are male and female character voices. I had no difficulty distinguishing who was who as the story progressed.
I received a complimentary copy from the publisher via NetGalley and all opinions expressed are solely my own, freely given.

This was a fun variation on what has become an overdone WWII storyline. I enjoyed the setting. Justine and her friends were spunky, smart, and fun. I did think the story would have benefited from a little less inner monologue and a little more story progression. All the monologues made the book longer than it needed to be. The mystery of the saboteur was predictable but enjoyable.

Thank you to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for this ARC.
Expected Publication Date: June 07, 2022

This was a fun read, and the setting was different and a nice change of pace from other historical mystery novels. I enjoyed the protagonist and definitely found myself rooting for her.

I did think the author spent a bit too much time in Justine's mind and I would like to see more showing, less telling.

A fascinating historical fiction! I loved the setting in New Orleans during WWII. A factory full of workers creating top secret parts for airplanes and boats.

Justine is interesting, inquisitive, and always asking questions, which could get her in trouble. She learned welding and mechanical things from her upbringing. Justine believes there is a saboteur at her work and as a coworker is killed and others injured in the Carbon Division, this becomes clear.

The author research was very detailed, which brought this story to life. Trying to find the saboteur has you wondering is it someone close to her! Are they targeting certain people, or trying to make the plant shut down? Riveting, and one you won’t want to miss.

Sabotage

A historical story of woman working in the factories during WWII. The way they were treated by the male co workers and bosses. The comradely that they felt for each other.

Justine works in the highly secret carbon division of the Higgins Industries Factory in New Orleans in 1944. She often wonders what the parts she works on are for in a ship building factory. When she is called upon by her rude and lascivious boss over and over again to weld broken parts she wonders if someone is intentionally breaking them, possibly a German spy.

Then a frame breaks killing one of the workers, and she is convinced that someone is sabotaging the plant. Who could it be? She watches and collects clues, with the help of her aunt.

She can trust no one, not the quiet spoken Charlie that she likes, nor the quick talking Martin or even kind Jerry in his wheelchair. When she starts getting notes and is sure someone is following her it becomes dangerous.

Can she find out who the spy is before someone else is injured or before major damage is done to the factory. Who can she tell if she does?

A girl in a factory in a boring job wanting to be a welder or a machinist but those are jobs for the men. Her mean rude boss will never promote her.

This is an interesting story of women with dreams and ambitions, a story of espionage, and of friends that stand up for each other.

I listened to the audio book, the narrator did a great job. It was easy to understand and pleasant to listen to.

I enjoyed this historical fiction story and I would recommend it.

Thanks to Mary Anna Evans for writing a great story, to KImberly M. Wetherell for a wonderful narration to Dreamscape Media for publishing it and to NetGalley for making it available to me to read and review.

Name of Book: The Physicists’ Daughter
Author: Mary Ann Evans
Audiobook Narrator: Kimberly Wetherell
Genre: Mystery Thriller/ Historical Fiction
Publisher: Dreamscape Media
Pub Date: June 7, 2022
My Rating: 3.5 Stars

Here are a lot of WWII stories out there ~ most are very sad. This one is bases in New Orleans that sounded a bit different.
Justine Byrne is indeed different and had an unusual upbringing. Both of her parents were Physicists. Her father taught her mechanics which included welding and her mother taught her advanced mathematics.
Since the time period is 1944 the war is going on and women were given men’s jobs. Justine got a job doing repair welding. The regular welders did their job but there were times, in fact, many times, Justine was asked to repair weld machine parts. Justine has fears and concerns that the part is being damaged on purpose by German spies that are working in the building.

She is out to find out is there are spies and why might they be targeting this facility.

My husband is a WWII fan. Read tons of books as well as watched tons of History Chanel shows. Additionally he is an electrical engineer and an active member in the Orange County Amateur Ham Radio Club ~ Yep he knows and used Morris Code!
I thought of him while reading this as I know he would love this!!

Narrator, Kimberly Wetherell does a great job performing the characters with their accents.

I always love reading the ‘Author’s Note” author: Mary Ann Evans] has a degree in physics as well as engineering ~ which is no surprise to us readers. A lot going on with those carbon thingies! She also explains more of her research on this subject. Although historical fiction, our protagonist is based on read characters ~ Rosie the Riveter, for one!

More on our author ~ https://maryannaevans.com/

Want to thank NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for this eGalley. This file has been made available to me before publication in an early form for an honest professional review.
Publishing Release Date scheduled for June 7, 2022.