A delightful read about the strength and power of women. I loved that Grace truly became fearless and her team of codebreaking women who worked together and supported each other was awesome. Grace & Robert’s relationship was also truly endearing. They went through some very intense things, and continued to love and support each other. Thank you Net Galley & Forever Publishing for this ARC.

Another amazing historical fiction novel! This was well researched and the characters were enjoyable. I love reading about all of the women who helped in wars and would recommend this one. Thank you for the advanced copy!

A wonderful historical novel, although I disagree with the line on the cover. The book starts when Grace gets a job at Riverbank, an odd assemblage of people and animals out in Illinois. Her eccentric boss has hired her to code-break Shakespeare to help one of his current employees, who insists Sir Francis Bacon wrote all of those works.
Grace doesn't agree, but she ends up getting an extraordinary education in codebreaking, as well as meeting the man who will become her husband, and both set the path for the rest of her life.
Subsequent sections of the book have Grace and Robert working together and then separately during World War I, Prohibition, and World War II. Majority of the book is about Grace and her team's contributions to the wars, and Grace's personal work during Prohibition, stopping smugglers and bringing criminals to justice. While the cover calls out Capone, her work focused on others in the network, and there was very little specifically about him, so I found this misleading.
Overall this was a great story, where Grace deals first with her unsupportive family and then with rampant sexism throughout her career, a horrible mother-in-law, balancing work and being a wife and then mother, and her husband's illness. It was really exciting to watch Grace and her team of ladies and all their successes, and Grace's attitude, which I found to be "just get it done and apologize later." She fought her way into rooms she wasn't supposed to go to and courageously delivered emergency messages to make sure she was getting those in charge the info they needed.

This novel is based upon a true story. It has a timespan of 40 years and two World Wars. Outstanding, succinct writing. This novel addresses the issue of the immense pressure upon Codebreakers and the effect on their mental and physical health. Bobby and Grace’s love story was amazing. Poor Grace, who once again was a real Codebreaker was slammed and disrespected often because she was a woman. It was a sign of the times. The discussion questions were helpful and this would make an outstanding book club read. Also, definitely read the author’s notes about the factual parts of the story. I look forward to more by this author. I was blessed with a free advance reader copy, and I am voluntarily leaving this review. Highly recommend.

Grace Smith is in some ways only a shadow of Elizebeth Friedman on whose life this novel is based but this is a book that highlights the life and work of a little known hero. Grace, who has an uneasy start becomes a cryptologist who is critical during WWII and beyond. Her husband Bobby, also a brilliant man, struggles with his mental health but together they are indomitable. This is well researched and written historical fiction. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. A good one for STEM students as well.

This was a terrific story, based on a real-life woman who did not let societal norms determine her life's mission. I absolutely enjoyed this book. Grace was way ahead of her time, forging her skills in codebreaking and breaking rules for the good of the country. I wasn't familiar with the real woman's story, but found this book intriguing and wanting to learn more.

Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book, but my opinions are my own.

Unfortunately this book was a DNF for me. I was hoping for something like Lessons in Chemistry, but felt like I was reading something a lot more serious and factual. It wasn't exactly a bad thing, it just wasn't what I was expecting when I picked up the story. I love codebreaking storylines, this one just didn't live up to the expectations I had.

I’m honestly struggling to write a review for this one, and it’s not because I disliked it. Not even a little bit. In fact, I absolutely devoured it. I opened it, apparently went through some sort of time traveling portal, was living a troublesome yet fascinating, interesting and chaotic life alongside Grace through the early/mid-1900’s, when suddenly the portal spit me back out into the harsh reality of present day. I didn’t even clock my last 100 pages! That’s how deep in the trenches I was. I received this book as an ARC read, and usually I keep notes for myself throughout my ARC reads so that I can remember how I was feeling when certain events happen, or confusing plot points/conversations etc. Not needed with this one. I simply couldn’t put it down, couldn’t read it fast enough, and needed no reminders. So well written, every conversation truly makes you feel like you’re there, listening in. I truly don’t know what else to say, I just absolutely loved it from beginning to end. I will be buying the physical, will be rereading multiple times, and will be making my way through the rest of Alden’s work ASAP. I believe I not only found one of my new favorite books, but also one of my new favorite writers.

This is a beautifully written book with multi-faceted characters regarding a fascinating historical topic. Although I was unable to become personally invested in the main character, I recognize the author’s talent in writing, research, and compositional design. I can’t give enough kudos to the writing, plot development, and nuanced history woven into Lady Codebreaker. I highly recommend this book to fans of historical fiction with strong female leads, to history buffs of the early 20th century, and to those fascinated with cryptoanalysis.

This is a historical fiction based on the true story of Elizabeth Smith Friedman and her husband. The story spans several decades, following Grace along her journey to bring down Prohibition gangsters, WWII Nazis and eventually helped to found what is now the CIA.

This is a great story about how women are so frequently looked over in the workplace, and the rep for bad ass women is great in this book!

I enjoyed the story.
Thank you to Net Galley for this ARC, and this is my unbiased review.

Oh. My. Word. I stayed up late into the night finishing Lade Codebreaker. I tried putting it away for the night, but I couldn't stop thinking about what could be happening. With the various timelines a lot went on.

Watching the characters grow over more than 40 years was wonderful. Grace is an anomaly in 1917. When most women were looking for a husband, she was looking for a job, a life that didn't revolve around being a wife. A series of unique situations finds Grace as a codebreaker, solving the coded messages of the enemies along side Robert Feldman, a man that would end up as her husband.

The story takes the reader through two world wars helping the allies to win the wars one telegram at a time, one radio transmission at a time. The reader experiences the prohibition and the smugglers that kept throats wet.

The work atmosphere created lots of drama. Men looked down on women. Too many women in the same office creates competition and bickering. Some wanted power. Some wanted what others had. There always seems to be someone wanting to be queen bee. Bringing J. Edgar Hoover into the story sent up all kinds of flags.

Grace wants to be in the action. She finagled her self on to a ship to learn about the smuggling during prohibition. She braved planes in the 1930's when the only females flying were stewardesses. She frequently found herself deep in the action. The idea of not knowing what would happen next made for a thrilling read.

All the action and suspense is balanced by romance. Grace may not have wanted to get married but it became necessary. Robert Feldman fell for her when they were both at Riverbank. He is a brilliant man. He is confident. Bobby is a wonderful character. He knows what he wants and he wants Grace. For her, marriage is a solution to her problems. For Bobby, it the first step in convincing Grace that they were made for each other. They end up walking through hot coals together.

There life was packed full of drama and struggles. I didn't expect the ending, but it had me admiring Grace even more. She was a very powerful woman that would do anything to protect her husband.

Grace Smith is struggling to find a way forward. She moved to Chicago in the late 1910's hoping to find an alternative to the only option open to her back home in small-town Indiana (which was to become a wife and mother and serve her husband). But just when she thinks she's burned her last job opportunity, a chance meeting with an eccentric millionaire shoots her into the world of ciphers and codebreaking. It turns out she's good at it--really good! Thus starts a lifelong love for the vocation and for her partner (in profession and in life), Robert Feldman. She will go on to become the mother of cryptoanalysis within the US Government, fight against international smuggling and gunrunning, and take on J. Edgar Hoover and his Red Scare tactics.

I stand in awe of Elizabeth Smith Friedman, the woman on which this book is based, and her husband William. She was a fantastic Renaissance woman whose accomplishments are well-portrayed here, and I'm glad that her story is being told. I was disappointed, however, that a book that was marketed as a historical novel read more like narrative nonfiction. I see the conundrum: Alden explains that she took liberties with the historical record to the extent that one would expect in a novel, but the narrative never really felt like a novel. As such, while I found the writing quality to be excellent and the story to be engaging, it was hard to get past my expectations. I would have preferred either for the story to be more historically accurate or for the narrative to be more like a novel.

Lady Codebreaker is a historical fiction novel laced with a healthy dose of suspense and based on the real life of cryptanalyst Elizebeth Smith Friedman. This book follows Grace (fictionalized Friedman) through four decades of her life as an independent woman making her way in the chauvinistic early 20th century. She finds herself a reluctant pioneer codebreaker in 1917, but soon discovers she has a gift for it.

This book had a rocky start but really picked up for me once we get through WWI and enter the world of 1920s prohibition, followed by Grace’s behind the scenes involvement in WWII code smashing. The flash forward scenes to present day (Washington, DC, 1958) woven throughout was compelling and tugged on the heartstrings for sure.

I definitely recommend that readers be sure not to skip the Fact vs. Fiction and Author’s Note that follow this story. There are quite a few ways the book veers away from the real-life story of Elizebeth Smith Friedman and I plan to read more about this amazing woman!

Thanks to NetGalley and Forever (Hachette) for a free digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This is a well-written and interesting book, but ultimately, it was a DNF for me at about 50%. There’s too much focus on discrimination and not enough on codebreaking. It’s exhausting.

Thanks to NetGalley and Forever (Grand Central Publishing) for an Advanced Reader Copy - pub date 3/12/2024. First off, let's all give a shout for all of the women getting shit done back in the first half of the 20th century, rolling their eyes at male egos, and doing their best to shrug off the soul-tarnishing knowledge that some dude will be getting the credit for the results THEY achieved. Then let's go and read and write more books about them.

This book revolves around Grace Smith Feldman and her husband Bobby and cracking codes and loving each other and fighting for their country and doing it under immense pressure and personal sacrifice. It is about being an unconventional woman and fighting for what you want. It is about mental illness and the endless battles against it. It is about finding your strengths and leaning into them. It is about problem-solving and thinking outside of the box. In fact, it is a historical-fictionalized story of an actual super-code-cracking team, Elizebeth and William Friedman.

The book spans four decades, a hugely long time that includes votes for women, Prohibition, both World Wars as well as everything else in between. Frankly, it is a lot. However, the author handles it well with judicious time jumps and some framing of the past with the "present." The interspersed scenes from the 50's when Grace and Bobby are retired and dealing with his mental health and her stress mean so much more as their shared past is revealed through the book. You start out baffled by how far gone Bobby is and then... Well, you come to understand. Just as you come to understand their deep, respectful, supportive love for each other.

Needless to say, Grace is one hell of a character and pulls the book along by force of will and action. The resistance to falling for Bobby makes sense but it also makes their growing partnership and love all the more sweet and realistic. Her connections with other characters and their respect for her felt natural. She had such integrity and such a rock-solid moral compass.

Many of the side characters were delightful as well and, even if it wasn't true, Grace's eventual Girl Code-Breaker Unit was beyond adorable. My only issue with some of the characters, though, was the hard-lean into the antagonists being, well... Villainous to an almost comical degree. You half expect Bobby's mom to put pins Grace's food to get rid of her. J Edgar Hoover (who we already know was not at all a Nice Guy) might as well have been stroking a white Persian cat and chortling maniacally. Alice... Poor Alice was such a trope of Female Hating Females that I wanted to hug her even as I wanted to slap her.

My only other issue was a weird one that popped up only every so often - sometimes the book seemed to forget it was historical fiction and had segments that read more like a "history of code-breaking" or "how to write a code." Almost text-book-like. Then it would swing back to the brainy, heart-filled regular story. It happened rarely but it was unsettling and made my brain remember the FICTION bit to a jarring degree.

Otherwise, though, this book was a solid read and left me wanting to find out more about the inspiration. After all, who rules the world? Those with knowledge!

Screw Hoover.

I don’t think I ever quite grasped the importance of codebreakers in WW1-WW2 prior to this novel, nor did I know the depths to which women played a major role in that regard. Grace’s story was close to home for me. As a child partially raised in Indiana, I can recall learning about local historic figures such as Elizabeth Friedman, but K.D. Alden’s writing gave a deeper look into what a role like that may have been like for a woman defying societal norms in a time where women were expected to be homemakers and little else.

I truly love the suspenseful aspect that comes with strong willed women led historical fiction. This is definitely a book I will return to again in the future because of the timeless quality in which Grace’s story of resilience was told.

Once I started I reading I realized I know this story. I was listening to a podcast episode on Elizabeth Smith. whom Grace Smith is based on. I was really excited to read this fictional depiction.

We follow Grace and her husband Robert through four decades starting from the tail end of World War 1 to the end of World War 2. It was fascinating to read how Grace challenges and goes against the role women were expected to take at that time but accepts those roles because it was her choice. I liked how Grace had a variety of female friendships and how her sense of fairness does not waver but in fact grows stronger as I continued to read the story.

For Robert, I liked him. Not as much as a liked Grace though. Given the time period, Robert can be considered very modern. But there are times where you can see how he is very much a man of those times and he can be unaware of the privilege he has as a man.

There is a lot of history in this book - the two World Wars, prohibition, the creation of NSA as well as other historical events. Because of this I did find the plot a little flat and it did get muddled towards the end. It felt like there were two main conflicts - if we don't count historical events. One happens in the past and the one in the present. But way the second conflict was handled felt unsatisfactory to me.

If you like historical fiction or American history you'll probably like this.

Lady Codebreaker is a fascinating book based on the life of Elizebeth Smith Freidman who against all odds became a crypto analyst.

She is portrayed by Grace who too defied the odds and became an analyst along with her husband Bobby.

The story spans over 4 decades as we watch Grace become one of the best along with many others .

She faces danger during both World Wars and also Prohibition (never thought of them conversing in code).

K.D. Alden does a remarkable job writing and the tension is palpable.

I simply cant do Lady Codebreaker justice in a review except to say this book will stay with me along time .

I highly recommend you settle in for a fantastic read that you will not want to put down.

Thanks to NetGalley and Forever (Grand Central Publishing) Forever for the privilege of writing and reviewing Lady Codebreaker

This tale truly is a good historical mystery. If you like historical stories, this is for you. I gave it a shot but the style and subject was a little hard for me to get into. It's is beautifully written though.

Lady Codebreaker was unlike any book I had read before. It covers many decades and is told from the point of view of Grace. She is smart, stubborn, and willing to do whatever it takes to be good at what she loves. She conquers so many obstacles, especially in a world that keeps trying to tell her no. She never gives up. This ww1 & ww2 book is a must read. You won't regret picking it up.