Three women, all with secrets to keep and stories to tell find their lives intersecting in Malibu jay before Christmas 1956. Melanie is a blacklisted actress holed up out of sight dreaming of a comeback. Eva, her maid, is a WWII refugee whose true identity could get her sent back to Europe - and force her to face her actions during the war. June lives next door, caring for her housebound brother in law. One night will bring them together, forging friendship that can get them through anything.

I enjoyed this intriguing story of friendship and resilience set in Hollywood during the 1950s blacklist. With great female friendships, dual timelines, multiple POVs and a bit of a mystery, I was sucked in from the start. It's more of a character driven story but the twists are good and the ending nicely wrapped everything up.

Thanks to PRH Audio and Berkley for the copy to review.

Melanie is basically under house arrest without the actual ankle bracelet after being blacklisted by Hollywood. Her only acquaintance if her housekeeper Ava, and her neighbor Elwood who is agoraphobic. When she and Ava see June, Elwood’s sister in law digging in his rose garden, they question why Elwood is no longer answering.

I did this book on audio and really enjoyed it! I was really suspicious of June from the start when Elwood was suddenly not answering the phone or coming to talk to Melanie at all, something just did not seem right. I ended up becoming very fond all three of our main ladies, Melanie, Ava, and June. Everyone in this book was hiding something and I loved following along to find out what those secrets were. I loved the mystery, the backstory of all the characters, and the scenery throughout this story!

Thank you to @berkleypub for my gifted copy of this book!

I went into this expecting to love it so much. I wish the storylines dived deeper and gave me more substance but still enjoyed reading this historical fiction and would recommend it to all readers.

I really don’t like this writing style. The story is set in the 1950s in Malibu. Three women become friends and discover secrets about each other. I found this storyline to be flimsy and repetitive, with a whole bunch of backstory dumping. Not much in the way of narrative drive.

Fabulous story of three women, all adrift and missing out on life. Eva works as a maid after she comes to California in the post WWII time. She had been living at a displace person's camp and was finally granted a sponsor to go to the USA. Melanie is an actress on the blacklist which was common in the 1950s. June is a widow and pines for a man who doesn't share her longing. In Malibu the women's lives intersect.
This is a creative story which shows the lengths one will go to for love and true friendship.

Formal review to come - I enjoyed this book! I enjoyed the added suspense of the body in the bushes!

Many thanks to my friends at @berkleypub @prhaudio and @uplitreads for the free #gifted copies of this book. #partner #berkleypartner

As the Cold War loomed, Hollywood’s golden age—full of glitz and glamour—became the target of McCarthy’s anticommunist blacklists. Thus sets the stage for Meissner’s latest venture into historical fiction.

I can always count on her books to immerse me into a timeframe that isn’t oft written. And with the current political scene, I was very curious about the Red Scare era. The rush to judgment. Neighbor telling on neighbor. The lists. The bribery. And here, Meissner painted a picture of that scene that kept me interested and made me want to know more.

The first two-thirds of the novel unfolded slowly and methodically as each character was introduced and backstories were revealed. Secrets abounded and each woman longed for connection and acceptance.

The pace picked up for the last third of the novel, and I enjoyed watching these three women—so different from one another—forge a bond and find comradery.

While I appreciated the look into a period in history that’s not often depicted in HF, I found it to be less emotionally resonant and engaging that Meissner’s previous titles. Still, I enjoyed this novel and will continue to eagerly read each book Meissner releases.

🎧 Award winning narrator, Lisa Flanagan, readily immersed me into this time period and breathed life into each of the characters. With distinct accents and tone, Flanagan’s portrayal of each woman was individualized and well executed.

Not particularly sympathetic MC but somewhat redeemed. However, the other characters are interesting and nuanced, which is endearing. Overall the book encompasses Love, grief, friendship + red scare in a very interesting way.

Advanced reader copy provided by Berkley and NetGalley but all opinions are my own.

𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬𝘴 𝘴𝘰 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘉𝘦𝘳𝘬𝘭𝘦𝘺 𝘗𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘎𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘱 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘦𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘴!

This historical fiction really drew me in from its very first page! I was really interested in the mystery, which was quickly introduced and how this would intertwine the three women! I loved the writing style of this novel and how fast-paced it was! I definitely plan on reading more by Susan Meissner in the near future!

There’s nothing like a Hollywood story to reel me in. Our main character, Melanie, has been blacklisted. With her life at the top of the hill, she has nowhere to go but down, and she lands hard. She becomes friends with her neighbor, Elwood, until he goes missing. Eva is her housekeeper hiding secrets. June is the neighbor’s sister-in-law. We get a glimpse into all three of the women’s backstories, all as different as can be. We come to realize the thing they have in common is heartache, a thread that binds their budding friendship. When a fire threatens Malibu, (yes it’s a Deja Vu moment - but the book was written before the recent fires), the secrets are threatening to be revealed. The ending is a brilliant resolve for each of the characters.

The story of three women whose lives intersect during the McCarthy era in Malibu, California. The book slowly twists through their stories and struggles ... and secrets. While it wasn't a page turner, the characters and the story were really well done and it had such a satisfying conclusion.

3.75⭐ rounded up

So much about this book, I really enjoyed. The time period and McCarthyism is fascinating to begin and the locale of Malibu when it was more of a beach colony than it is today. And the three main characters all with interesting back stories and secrets. Lastly, the plot itself had plenty of twists to keep the readers interested. The main thing for me is I couldn't really connect with the characters on an emotional level. More than likely, that's just a me problem. Thanks to netgalley for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

Meissner is an auto read author for me. I love the stories she tells about women and history. I really liked the time period of this in th 1950's, Malibu area. The inside lives of rich and famous that are really just normal people.

We follow 3 POV's and what has brought them to their current circumstances. The care and concern Melanie has for her neighbor, Elwood, leads the storyline. I really wish that I enjoyed this but I found the story slow and not all that intriguing. I had to push myself to finish it.

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley for the gifted e-arc of this book.

In the mid-1950s, the lives of three very different women become interwoven in unexpected ways on quiet cul-de-sac in Malibu, CA. Melanie is a rising starlet who gets caught in the crossfire of McCarthy’s Hollywood blacklist. Eva, her housekeeper, is in America as a refugee displaced from Europe after World War II. Next door to Melanie on Paradise Circle is June and her brother-in-law Elwood, a reclusive screenwriter and Melanie’s only confidant. After Melanie realizes she hasn’t seen Elwood in a while and she sends Eva next door to investigate, the women’s lives become entangled, and it will only take a spark to ignite all of their secrets.

This character-driven historical fiction novel is beautifully written and compelling. While the pace is gentle, I was fully immersed the entire time. As always, the author does an exceptional job of researching and highlighting an impactful time in history through richly drawn characters. The women are each so strong and resilient, and I loved the bonds of found family that formed between them. Audiobook narrator Lisa Flanagan does an excellent job of bringing all three women to life, giving them each a distinct inflection and voice.

There isn't a lot of historical fiction devoted to the 1950's and I find that time period fascinating so requesting this ARC with the showstopping cover was automatic for me. Character driven stories with survival of any sort at the center have something extra when they are done right and WOW! Meissner outdid herself here. I loved getting lost in these pages. It is a divine feeling to experience.

🕶️👙🍸
Melanie Cole was an up-and-coming Hollywood starlet whose name gets thrown out there as being a communist to save someone else's skin during McCarthy's 'Red Scare' resulting in her being blacklisted. She's whisked away from the prying eyes of journalists and paparazzi who smell blood in the water. Her new temporary address is in Paradise Circle in Malibu. I doubt poor Melanie even knew what a communist was.

📚🪟🚪

Melanie's neighbor is the eccentric screenwriter Elwood who is cared for by his sister-in-law the widowed June. Their conversations take place through open windows or doors because Elwood suffers from agoraphobia. From the outside it would be easy to say that June enabled Elwood's illness to run both of their lives, but being in situation like hers would be difficult during that time period.
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Eva worked as Melanie's housekeeper, and she kept many secrets. Her life was wrought with difficulties stemming from the war and her being an immigrant. Her heartbreaking backstory sucked me in. I'm sure I didn't cook the evening I was reading those chapters. Cereal for everyone!! I admired her quiet strong spirit and work ethic. She kept going forward and that's remarkable under the circumstances.

The brief moments when we see these characters glimpse beauty in the mundane spoke to me because it is in those moments, we truly live.

As the threat of a wildfire draws nearer these women will have to lean on each other in ways they never imagined. These characters show their humanity through their fears, flaws, and courage.

I soaked up everything about this story: characters, pacing, plotting, every last bit. It was in a word incredible. The growth and connections each of these three unique ladies made was inspiring making me glad I grabbed <i>A Map to Paradise</i> and set off this journey!

*Now Available*

Huge thank you to NetGalley and Berkley for a complimentary copy! All opinions are my own.

I love all of Susan’s books and I was thrilled to be chosen for this campaign. I love the 50s era of the book and the beginning of the Cold War. People are concerned with communists in their own neighborhoods. Melanie is a fledgling starlet in Hollywood when she gets messed up in the wrong crowd and gets blacklisted from the industry. She goes into hiding and only speaks to her housekeeper Eva, and Elwood, a screenwriter who lives next door. Elwood has his own issues, he’s become a shut in after a traumatic car accident.

One day, she can’t seem to reach Elwood by calling his or calling on the phone. Each day that goes by without her any contact from Elwood has her suspicious. He lives with his sister in law, who is his caretaker and when June gets hurt, Melanie sends over Eva to help, but also snoop around.

This book is a very slow burn that builds up towards the end. I liked how they all were in the film industry in their own way. The wildfires towards the end are eerie timing with the wildfires that just occurred in California. I loved how the women become a found family, relying on each other for emotional and physical support.

I requested this book solely because Susan Meissner wrote it, and I was not disappointed. I haven't read much of anything taking place during this time and it was interesting to see how the Hollywood blacklist in the 1950s affected celebrities of the time. But what was even more compelling to me was the next door neighbor, Elwood, and why he seemed to have disappeared. As the three FMCs interact and connect more and more, each of their own secrets come to light, and it makes for an interestingly complicated situation. Their characters were all fully developed and had depth and intrigue. Despite having a slower pace, this book still held my attention. Read this if you enjoy historical fiction and more character driven stories!

Thank you to the publisher for the gifted copy.

A Map to Paradise follows three women in 1956 California. Melanie is an actress that's black listed by Hollywood due to her supposed ties to a Communist. Eva is Melanie's housekeeper with some secrets in her past. June is her next door neighbor with some secrets of her own - she's been living with and caring for her reclusive brother in law, Elwood. Elwood hasn't been seen in a while, and Melanie starts asking questions. Turns out that there's a lot more to the story than she expects.

I really enjoyed reading a book set in the 1950s. I didn't realize that the fear of Communism spread to Hollywood (just never knew much about it, I guess), and reading about how people were blacklisted and also questioned by authorities for their ties to anyone suspected of Communist ties was very interesting.

I do think you need to suspend reality a bit at the end, as it all wraps up very neatly and it's a bit far fetched. The second half of the book moved faster than the first for me, and it reads a bit differently than this author's previous books. I didn't get quite as sucked in, but it was still an enjoyable book.

Susan Meissner’s new novel is a historical mystery set during the McCarthy era and the Red Scare. It revolves around three women who form an unlikely alliance. Each has been exiled in different ways, but all long for home. Their bond evolves into a found family, and the female friendship at the heart of the story is undoubtedly its biggest highlight.

Lisa Flanagan is one of my favorite narrators, and her narration brings the story to life beautifully. I love how she distinguishes each woman, giving them unique voices that make it easy to follow and connect with their individual journeys.