The story of A Map To Paradise takes the reader to Malibu, California in 1956.
Melanie Cole is a Hollywood movie star that has been put on a blacklist by the movie studio's, because she is suspected of being a communist, which she never has been. She is not able to do her work as an actress anymore because of this, and has to stay at home at her house that is rented from other people. The only company she has is her housekeeper Eva, a woman who moved to the USA after the war in Europe, and who has a little side story about that in the book.

The house next door belongs to Elwood, a Hollywood scriptwriter, and his sister-in-law and caretaker June lives at the house too. The mysterious word about Elwood that goes around in the neighborhood and in the movie studio where he still writes scripts for, is that he has sephere agrophobia and never leaves his house. Sometimes he is seen by the windows and he is able to talk from his room upstairs.

One day Eva and Melanie spot June digging in his beloved rose garden. After this, Elwood is never seen again. Eva and June start to talk to each other, and Eva starts visiting the house more and more during the story as she and June become friends. Also she never sees Elwood leaving his room, and even never hears him making any sound. There obviously is something mysterious going on around him, but what?? During the story, we learn more about the background of Melanie, Eva and June. And then a huge wildfire breaks out in Malibu, and the mystery evolving Elwood takes a turn for the bad, and is on the brink of being found out..

At first, I didn't know what to think of this story. Certainly the first half of the story took of in a slow pace. But just before the half of the story, the story got more and more pace, and slow pace of the first part was just a take-off to a great and mysterious further development of the story. It got better and better and that lasted untill the final page of the book, and how the story was wrapped up was also very good, and three characters of the story got all new perspectives and goals in live. This is just another brilliant page turner by Susan Meissner. I truly wonder how she knows to create such amazing and gripping story every time and time again. Besided the great storyline, the characters of Melanie, June and Eva where also terrific. Not the most realistic characters, but characters you can imagine in an old movie set in LA or Hollywood. The mystery around Elwood was just the right dose of mysterious-ness, altough I could predict a little what had happened to him as it was quite clear he wasn't alive anymore. When the wildfire breaks out in Malibu, this mystery around him got in a fast paced rollercoaster , but I won't put too much spoilers around that here..

Overall, I truly enjoyed this new and entertaining page turner by Susan Meissner!

I love a good 1950s setting. This book is about something I didn't know much about = the McCarthy era blacklist in Hollywood. The book is about 3 women - Melanie who is hiding out in Malibu, Eva who is Melanie's cleaning woman, and Jane - who is hiding things, literally. I loved the premise of this book but it fell a little flat for me. I love the historical fiction and the characters but just needed more.

As usual, her writing is phenomenal. This one had a story line that felt different from her other Historical Fiction novels. I did enjoy it but it was a little slower. A lot happened at the end which is ok but it just felt like some parts in the middle dragged and weren't as entertaining.

This is a hard book to explain without giving anything away, but I’ll give it my best shot. It’s 1950s Hollywood, and blacklisted starlet Melanie Cole is living in a secluded house in Malibu with her only company her housekeeper Eva, a displaced person due to World War II who is very quiet, and her neighbor Elwood, an elderly screenwriter who is afraid to leave his house. Melanie and Elwood strike up a friendship, and one day, Melanie sees Elwood’s sister in law digging up Elwood’s beloved rose bushes. That’s where we start the book.

This book didn’t go anywhere I expected it to, and I loved it. I’ve read very few books that discuss the Red Scare, especially how Congress called out and intimidated various Hollywood actors, writers, and producers for supposedly furthering communism, and this book wove in that context while making Melanie’s story feel unique. It feels especially poignant and timely when people in America are being detained and deported for their political views, and for me it was a reminder of how important people standing up for what they believe in is. This book also depicts the sexism and double standards that still exist in Hollywood (and the world lol), as well as what happened to people who had no home to return to after World War II.

If I’ve made this book sound very focused on politics and cultural issues, it is and it isn’t - it’s mostly about the unlikely friendship that forms between three women with very different circumstances, making sense of horrible trauma and loss, and rebuilding when things have been burned to the ground. We cycle between the women’s perspectives, and the author does an amazing job of giving each woman depth and difference. It’s also just a really fun, well written book. The narrative arc is unexpected yet makes sense, and I loved every minute of it.

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for an advanced reader’s copy in exchange for an honest review!

This started out strong and I was very excited to receive a digital copy, but about half way through I didn’t care about the characters or the story anymore. It wasn’t the Susan Meissner I have grown to love.

I knew from the cover this be a great historical fiction. It was a fast read that was entertaining, but I also learned from. I love strong friendship tropes and this one really hit that for me. The Malibu setting added a glamorous ambiance as well.

Set in Malibu in 1956, this novel tells the story of three women. Eva is a displaced person who emigrated to the US; Melanie is an actress who has been blacklisted and is shunned by Hollywood; June is a widow caring for her agoraphobic brother-in-law. Eva is working for Melanie as a housekeeper, while June lives next door. The events that will bring these three women together unfold in unexpected ways. Recommended. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

I enjoyed the writing and plot a lot in this historical. It may have started a little slowly but quickly picked up as the reader learns the problems each woman is facing. I found each interesting but June was my favorite to read about. I liked how they slowly got wrapped up in each other’s problems and the way they decided to work through it. They bonded in unexpected ways and were quick to adjust when obstacles were in their way. Secrets and drama always pull me in and I liked the way it ended.

Thank you @suzyapprovedbooktours @susanmeissnerauthor the publisher and netgalley for the gifted copy.

This is a character driven, completely fascinating historical fiction, set in the McCarthy "Red scare" era of the 1950's. Melanie's first film has just been released with great reviews for her per performance! Despite her acclaim for that film, Melanie is now a blacklisted star simply because she is associated with the star of that movie and other actors who have been blacklisted. She cannot find work. Since she and the star have somewhat of a relationship, he invites her to live in his home and pays her expenses, as he is now on Broadway. He also hires Eva, a displaced person of Polish descent from World War II to stay with Melanie, assist her and run errands, so she can avoid publicity. Melanie and Eva's closest neighbor is Elwood, a screenwriter who refuses to leave his home, and his widowed sister-in-law, June, who is his caretaker. All is not as it seems, however, and as the friendship of the three women deepens, the surprising secrets of all of their lives are revealed. Susan Meissner has written a fast-paced historical mystery, full of plot twists, the history of that era, and the power of friendship and love with quite an exciting conclusion! I thoroughly enjoyed it! Thank you to the author, publisher, and Netgalley for my advance copy. The opinions of this review are my own.

🍐Bite-size review: This was an excellent historical fiction with a dash of mystery! The pacing was just right, we got the entire story behind each character’s motivations and it created a full and intriguing plot. I loved the female friendships and the 1950’s Hollywood setting.

More thoughts: When I think of Hollywood, I usually picture the height of cinema in the 1930’s. A Map to Paradise explores the beginning of Hollywood’s decline in the 1950’s. Cold War tensions were high and actors became a target for the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) investigations. I did not know much about this part of Hollywood history and it made for such an interesting backdrop!

Thank you very much Berkley Publishing and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC!

This was my first read by Meissner, but it certainly won't be my last! It was quietly moving, full of intriguing characters and interesting storylines.

Set in 1950s Malibu, the book focuses on three women facing different struggles and the bond that forms between them. Melanie is a blacklisted actress; Eva is her cleaner who has dangerous truths in her background; and June is the neighbor who is hiding a secret of her own.

The stories of each woman drew me in, and I was fully invested in the way the different narratives wove together as they slowly trusted one another. The book has a central theme of loss- loss of a dream, a home, a love, an identity, and it explores each of these in a beautiful and engaging way. It was a compelling read that I'll be highly recommending.

Read if you enjoy:
✨️ Historical fiction
✨️ 1950s setting
✨️ Stories of female friendship

This is my first book by Susan Meissner and I loved it!!¡!!!!!!!!! It is an extraordinary story about love, love lost, finding yourself, finding yourself way in life, and friendships that make life great!!!!!!!!!!!

Set in 1956 Malibu, California during the Red Scare and McCarthy era, we follow three women, all from different walks of life, as they come together in the most unexpected way. Each have their own secrets and a past they may want to forget, but they are all looking for friendship and to have someone to rely on in the most trying of times.

This is a story of friendship, loss and found family. Meissner has done a great job of bringing us three women who are all strong in their own way but in very different circumstances and just proves that life brings you exactly the people you need in the moment. As secrets are revealed, I did enjoy the air of mystery woven throughout the story and while I did find the pacing a little slower than I would have preferred, I found the story overall enjoyable.

California during the Red Scare where actors and actresses were being blacklisted for supposed Communist ties was an interesting part of the story and a part of historical fiction that we don’t read much about.

I haven’t read many of Meissner’s other books but I know so many that love her work and I will definitely be picking up more of her writing!

Susan Meissner is one of my favorite authors, she never disappoints. I always learn something while reading her books, it’s obvious she put in a lot of effort into her research.
In this book, set in the 1950s, Melanie Cole is a minor starlet who finds herself on the Hollywood Blacklist due to a relationship with a man who’s also on the list. She’s unable to work, and spends her time talking with her neighbor Elwood, an agoraphobic script writer.
When his sister in law moves in, Melanie is worried. She sends her housekeeper Eva over to help and do a little snooping. Eva is a war refugee with a horrifying story of her own.
The three women eventually join together to face their individual problems and their changed post WWII society.

This book kept me reading late into the night. I highly recommend it, 5 stars.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley, I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

While I've loved Meissner's two prior books (Only the Beautiful & The Nature of Fragile Things) and have another on my TBR, I have to say this was a bit of a miss for me. Although I liked reading about the HUA Commitee and its targeting of Hollywood writers, producers and actors, there was nothing really new. And although I enjoyed the three female main characters, I struggled to believe in their friendship and the plot seemed a bit over the top. Of the three, I found Eva's story the most compelling.

Set in post WWII Malibu, California, this novel follows 3 women with very different pasts who find themselves entangled in each other’s lives.

Melanie left her small midwestern town to make it big in Hollywood, only to be black listed for her unknowing association with a suspected communist. Trapped in a home with no work prospects, she only has Polish maid, Eva and her reclusive neighbor Elwood as company. But Eva is hiding her own secrets and is terrified that someone will find out her true past, possibly endangering Melanie even more.

And then there is June, Elwood’s sister-in-law and Melanie’s neighbor. When Melanie notices strange behavior from June and Elwood’s absence, she sends her maid, Eva, over to “help” (actually to snoop) and secrets are unearthed about all 3 women. As the Santa Ana winds blow and a fire approaches nearby, these 3 women find themselves rescuing each other in more ways than one.

This was not as historical as her previous novels but more about the lives and the pasts of these 3 women during the era of McCarthyism. Kind of unsettling to read this so soon after a fire destroyed the same area this winter and the recent political climate seems to be reminiscent of the McCarthy era.

Thank you to @netgalley @berkleypub for #gifting with an advanced digital copy of this novel

This book was not quite what I expected. I thought it was going to be more of a story about the communists and how it influenced Hollywood and instead it ended up being more of a mystery.

Melanie has been blacklisted because her costar was named as a communist sympathizer. As a result, no one in Hollywood will hire her. Carson, her costar, has put her up in a house in Malibu since she’s the reason she can’t get work. Her next door neighbor, Elwood, is a reclusive screenwriter. When Melanie doesn’t hear from him or see him for a few days, she starts to get concerned and sends her maid over to the house to work for Elwood’s sister-in-law to see what is really happening.

I liked the first half of the book more than I liked the second half. The first half talked about Eva, the housekeeper, and what she dealt with as someone who was living in Russian during World War 2 and was now living in America claiming she is Polish. It also discussed Melanie dealing with the reality of being an assumed communist and how it took over her life. Once the story started centering more around June, Elwood’s sister-in-law, and how she had been in love with Elwood and taken care of him, I was less invested.

I found June and her story about being in love with Elwood to be irritating. I also found how she dealt with Elwood to be frustrating. Melanie was the only one in this story who spoke any kind of sense. Eva became invested in June so quickly and projected so much of her trauma on June.

While I was curious about the mystery of whether Elwood was still in the house and if not, where was he, the way it played out was not my favorite. I sided with Melanie a lot more with some of the decisions as opposed to June and found it difficult to be cheering for June in any way.

This book straddled a weird genre of mystery and historical fiction. As a result, it didn’t feel like it filled either of them enough. The mystery was predictable and the historical portion wasn’t in depth enough for what I wanted. I enjoyed some of the characters and the time of the story, but overall this one just wasn’t for me. Meissner’s writing was still well done and enjoyable so I look forward to her next novel.

Susan Meissner has a knack of fully transporting her readers into her story. It truly is her superpower. I was fully immersed in the 1950s in the outskirts of Hollywood.

I loved the unexpected friendships from the 3 young women. They were an unlikely trio yet had an uncommon bond that was so powerful.

I also really loved the ending. There was a point towards the end that literally gave me the chills, it was that good.

A blacklisted actress with a nephew she hadn’t known she had, a displaced Russian maid, and a widow who’d buried her brother-in-law in her backyard. The three of them were unlikely companions with hardly anything in common, yet Melanie had felt an alliance between them based on the one thing they did share: their desire to recover that exquisite feeling of knowing you are right where you belong, and that you can rest there because no one is trying to take it from you. There had been a time once when all three of them knew what it was like to own a happy little corner of paradise. They’d each found it before without a map, and she had to believe they could all find it again, the same way. Because there is no map to paradise. There is only the dream that such a place exists, as does the desire to possess it, and the determination to find it again when it’s been lost.

Even the strongest of hopes were still as delicate as paper outside the confines of the heart. Choosing to do something differently if she could crawl inside a time machine still meant she'd have to wait to see if messing with the past had been worth it. And what would happen to the lessons learned from a past she'd erased? Would she get to keep them? Would she be willing to lose them if she couldn't? If she could go back…would she find herself just wishing for another time machine somewhere farther down the road? Would the rest of her life just be one constant stretch of regrets and disastrous attempts at do-overs? What was the good in that? A time machine would be a portal to hell if that's what would happen…the past had to amount to more than just the spent years of that one life each person gets. Something weightier. Maybe the past's allure wasn't that it could be changed if time machines were real but that it begged to be remembered. Maybe it was the ability to hold on to all those years—to remember where she'd been, the choices she'd made, the paths she'd chosen–that made the future something she was capable of stepping into. Maybe it was the only thing that did.

Sometimes you belong only to the moment…that one singular snippet of time owns your fate. You belong only to that moment and to nowhere else. And then sometimes the moment belongs to you. Susan Meissner’s A Map to Paradise is a masterpiece.

4.5 stars rounded up.

Old Hollywood glamour meets gripping suspense in A Map to Paradise by Susan Meissner. Blacklisted actress Melanie Cole finds herself tangled in a chilling mystery when her reclusive neighbor, Elwood, suddenly vanishes—despite never leaving his house—and it’s obvious his sister-in-law, June is hiding something. As Melanie and her housekeeper, Eva, dig for answers, long-buried secrets surface, testing the fragile alliances that may be their only chance at survival.

I was instantly captivated by the stunning cover, but it was the story itself that truly stole my heart. Susan Meissner masterfully intertwines the lives of three women, crafting a tale that is both intimate and suspenseful. Set against the evocative backdrop of 1956 Malibu, the novel brings the era of McCarthyism and the Red Scare to life in a way that is both illuminating and deeply compelling.

Each woman is richly drawn, and I found myself appreciating their individual strengths and struggles. The delicate balance of historical fiction and mystery, paired with the warmth of a found family, made this novel an unforgettable read. This was my first book by Meissner, but it certainly won’t be my last.

Lisa Flanagan’s narration truly brought this story to life, capturing the distinct voices and personalities of each woman with remarkable ease. Her performance made it effortless to differentiate between the characters, adding depth and nuance to their experiences. This was an engaging listen from start to finish, and I highly recommend it!

Thank you to the author, Uplit Reads, Berkley Publishing, and PRH Audio for advanced copies in exchange for my honest review.