Susan Meissner has long been a talented author of historical fiction that includes strong resilient women, and this book is no exception. I found this book to be very intriguing because it uniquely takes place in the 1950s in Hollywood during the McCarthy era, the Red Scare, and the investigations of the House Un-American Activities Committee. This story took me down a nonfiction research rabbit hole, which I enjoy.

The main characters are three remarkable women who become improbable friends. Each of them harbors dangerous information and they are thrown together by a peculiar situation. As the shells around their past secrets are cracked open, they decide to help each other and by doing so they bond over love and loss and end up helping themselves.

I didn't love this book as much as I loved Meissner's book "Only the Beautiful", but it was still an interesting and worthwhile read. I would recommend this book to fans of historical fiction and women's fiction.

Malibu, 1956, Hollywood and the McCarthy Era.

A Map to Paradise takes us to the neighborhood, Paradise Circle, with an actress blacklisted, a reclusive playwright's caretaker and a housemaid. Together, these characters lives intersect to form a lasting bond full of secrets and deceit. Their life experiences are vastly different, but they need each other to overcome their individual predicaments.

The tension is riveting as we learn ALL the secrets the women hold close to the chest. Each has had to be strong navigating their hardships. This is truly a historically, character driven story.

Enjoyed the timeframe and the plot.

Thank you, Berkley Publishing Group | Berkley

In 1950s Malibu, something feels off on Paradise Circle. Actress Melanie Cole, blacklisted in Hollywood due to her associations with her co-star and beau Carson, finds solace in brief conversations with her reclusive neighbor, Elwood. Alongside her housekeeper, Eva, she leads a secluded life until they witness Elwood’s caretaker, June, mysteriously digging in his rose garden. When Elwood vanishes, Melanie and Eva search for answers, uncovering shocking truths about themselves and each other. As they form an uneasy alliance to protect their fragile worlds, tensions rise against the glamorous backdrop of old Hollywood.

Pub Date: March 18, 2025

4.5 stars!
(rounded to 5 on NetGalley and Goodreads)

Pure entertainment! This book could be a movie. The three women highlighted - Melanie, Eva and June - each have such interesting backstories and their current day lives are woven together so meticulously. Melanie is lonesome and alienated after being wrongly accused of communist ties; Eva is seemingly an everyday house maid who has a dark and shocking past; and June cares for her brother-in-law as he copes with the aftermath of a terrible car accident. The three women are bonded together through their need for companionship, support and truth, even when the truth is difficult to bear.

I loved that I never knew which direction the story was going. I didn't know who to trust, who to question, or what would be around the next turn, which kept the pacing of the story moving. This was my first Susan Meissner book and I will absolutely be looking into her other hits, such as Secrets of a Charmed Life, The Nature of Fragile Things, and Only the Beautiful, which all have a Goodreads score over 4.2!

Thank you so much to Susan, UpLit Reads and Berkley for the gifted early copy of this novel!

3 women come together through unfortunate circumstances. Eva an immigrant housekeeper working for Hollywood star Melanie. Melanie needs to hide out and stay out of the spotlight. She meets a screenwriter. Elwood who has severe agoraphobia. They befriend each other but when Melanie hasn’t seen him for a while she starts to question his whereabouts. June, Elwood’s sister in law, takes care of Elwood but when June hurts her back, Melanie offers her housekeeper Eva. Stories of each others past and current situations put these 3 women in a bit of a conundrum. Set in 1959 Malibu offers a beautiful backdrop and the story takes you there. I really enjoyed A Map to Paradise.

Thank you @BerkleyPub for my free book and thank you @prhaudio for the #gifted listening copy of A Map to Paradise! #BerkleyBookstagram #BerkleyIG #berkley #PRHAudioPartner #PRHAInfluencer #berkleypub #AMapToParadise #SusanMeissner

𝐓𝐢𝐭𝐥𝐞: 𝐀 𝐌𝐚𝐩 𝐭𝐨 𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐞
𝐀𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫: 𝐒𝐮𝐬𝐚𝐧 𝐌𝐞𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐧𝐞𝐫
𝐍𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐫: 𝐋𝐢𝐬𝐚 𝐅𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐧
𝐏𝐮𝐛 𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐞: 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡 𝟏𝟖, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟓

A Map to Paradise is the latest historical fiction novel by author Susan Meissner. Set in 1956 in Malibu, it involves three women, all three very different from one another, who form an unlikely friendship under unusual circumstances.

Melanie - A Hollywood actress who finds her name on the blacklist after being accused of keeping company with communist. Now her life is on hold from acting and she’s isolated in her house with only her housekeeper and her next door neighbor, Elwood. Elwood, a screenwriter, suffers from agoraphobia and they chat through open windows.

Eva - Melanie’s housekeeper who is an immigrant from Europe and has quite a few secrets that she has been hiding from Melanie.

June - Melanie’s next-door-neighbor and Elwood’s sister-in-law and caretaker. One morning Melanie see’s her digging in Elwood’s beloved rose garden and has seen Elwood around in a long time. Melanie thinks she must be hiding something, but what could it be?

Eventually, secrets by all three women are revealed and these unlikely women form an alliance.

This book was unlike the other books I’ve read by this author, but I really enjoyed it once I got a feel for each of the characters. I also loved how the book ended and thought it was done perfectly. While I loved learning about each of the women and their stories, I was really drawn to June and her story the most. I love a story with strong women, and this one really hit the mark.

🎧I listened to the audiobook, which was narrated by Lisa Flanagan, I thought she did an excellent job narrating this one. I thought she was engaging and I loved how she brought the stories of all three women to life.

Posted on Goodreads on March 14, 2025: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/144922955?ref=nav_profile_l
**Posted on Instagram - Full Review- on or around March 14, 2025: http://www.instagram.com/nobookmark_noproblem
**Posted on Amazon on March 18, 2025
**-will post on designated date

Susan Meissner books continue to bring light to dark moments in history. In A Map to Paradise, three women find a common thread of grief in having suffered a loss. One for love, one for work, and one for family. Each backstory is endearing with each character being extremely likable! I loved the added suspense to this historical fiction novel and learning about life during the McCarthyism era. Another fabulous story about amazing women.

This book was incredible! I went in blind and was captivated by the story that unfolded about three very different women dealing with their own sense of displacement and belonging.

I loved the mystery at the heart of this that connects these women and bonded them. Each had very intriguing stories that were layered with historical facts of the time. I appreciated every piece of this story and know I’ll be thinking of these three brave women long after I finish this book. The conclusion was very satisfying and I truly can’t recommend this book enough!

Thank you so much to Berkley pub and NetGalley for my ARC!

1956, Malibu, Paradise Circle

Secrets, connections, longing, love, loss, labels, friendships, and survival are all themes that come into play during this character driven gripping book. It is a little on the slow side and while I struggle with slow moving books, I did not mind the pacing in this book. I enjoyed this book which delt with connections, alliances, and bonds.

Melanie Cole is an up-and-coming actress who finds herself blacklisted and labeled as a communist. Eva is her maid and an immigrant from war-torn Europe who fears that she will be deported. Their next-door neighbor is Elwood, a famous screenwriter who became an agoraphobic after a horrible accident. June is Elwood's sister-in-law who was once married to his twin brother. They all orbit each other in the small area of Malibu in which they live.

I enjoy Susan Meissner's writing and how she builds her plots. The characters in this book are all unique and interesting. As more is divulged about their pasts, each character grew on me even more. Each has something in their past that evokes feelings and explains some of their motivations and thoughts. I enjoyed how each character was fleshed out and how the characters eventually became interconnected and how their bonds were formed.

I enjoyed the characters, their resilience, their strength, their humanness, and their plight. Malibu is the perfect setting and with the fire raving the area toward the end of the book, becomes a character as well. I also enjoyed the mystery in this book and the twists and revelations which occur as a result.

Wonderfully written, well thought out, and hard to put down!

I went into this book knowing it was set in 1950s Malibu. And pretty much that’s all you need to know. This story is very character-driven, featuring three women from various walks of life who’ve found themselves as neighbors. Melanie is a blacklisted starlet who had just gotten her big break in Hollywood before her co-star was accused of communist ties and Melanie had to get out of the public eye. Jane is Melanie’s neighbor, living with her agoraphobic brother-in-law. And Eva is Melanie’s maid, hired more to keep Melanie company than anything.
As the three women begin to interact more and more regularly, it becomes clear that they all have secrets they want to keep hidden. And as those secrets are slowly revealed, the suspense continues to mount. The first 60% or so was a little slow for me, but the second half was packed with action, tension, and twists that had me flying through the pages.
I’d recommend this to anyone who loves historical fiction. This is a time period I don’t see a ton of fiction focusing on, and it was a fascinating read!
Thanks to Berkley for the free book in exchange for an honest review!

I was assigned this book so I could moderate a book club discussion at BookBrowse.com. I consequently didn't write up an in-depth review on it.

I felt Meissner did a good job of bringing the time period to life. I thought her exploration of the impacts of Blacklisting was the strongest part of the book, with the Russian/German woman's tale also very well done. I was less a fan of the plot dealing with the elderly woman who was in love with her husband's brother; her actions didn't make a lot of sense to me, and I'm not even sure they were physcially possible in some cases.

I didn't dislike the book, but didn't love it either.

I was thrilled to receive this book from Berkley, my first ever! I've read two books by this author and loved them. This one was different, focusing on secrets, love, grief, letting go, and friendship. It follows three women, each with their own unique life journey. I really enjoyed it and was hooked, eager to see what would happen next with these characters.

Thanks to Netgalley, Berkley Publishing Group | Berkley for my advanced e copy in exchange for my honest review

Publish date: March 18, 2025

I wasn’t quite sure what to expect going into this book, but I can say that I got so much more than I was anticipating.

From the synopsis, I was expecting maybe some thriller/mystery vibes from this book, but honestly this was much more literary and historical fiction than anything else, which I wasn’t mad at!

This book follows the POV of three different women who are all connected, and boy did I learn to love each of them in their own ways. I had certain ideas about them based off of their first impressions, but as the story unfolds, we get layered, real, messy, and honest depictions of each of their lives. They’ve all had to be strong in different ways and dealt with hardship, and how they come to support one another was lovely to see (albeit maybe a bit strange in circumstance).

If you are into more character-driven stories with three very interesting and different characters set in Malibu, definitely pick this one up.

You can always count on Susan Meissner to write gripping character based historical fiction. A MAP TO PARADISE takes place during a dark time in United States history. Post WWII saw the rise of McCarthyism where suspected Communist sympathizers were investigated and blacklisted, often without substantiation.

Meissner’s latest introduces us to three women whose lives intertwine. Melanie is a Midwestern girl whose rise in Hollywood is stalled due to her association with a suspected communist. She’s been blacklisted and is maintaining a low profile hiding out in Malibu. Eva is a recent immigrant; a displaced person working as a housekeeper. She is hiding big secrets and constantly looking over her shoulder. June lives next door to Melanie and is a caretaker to her brother-in-law, a famous Hollywood screenwriter suffering from agoraphobia.

The story takes us to the California coast where these very different women form a tenuous alliance to outrun their pasts and secure their futures. The book contains elements of mystery. The pacing of the book is slow with much of the story taking place in the past. As it transitions to the present, the tension increases and so does the pace.

Fans of historical fiction and strong characterization will find this to be an immersive adventure during a period not often written about in fiction. The parallels and correlation to current events are chilling. As always, Meissner’s writing is stunning.

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing for the gifted book. All opinions are my own.

3.5 stars

Susan Meissner is an auto read author for me and I was excited to get a advanced copy of A Map to Paradise which releases next week. Even though it has a trope that I am not really a fan of, being the Hollywood scene, I couldn’t not read one of her books.

Taking place in the 1950s it is more than just a story of Hollywood but of actress Melanie Cole, who was recently blacklisted because of ties to a possible Soviet sympathizer. While in seclusion she is with her maid Eva and the next-door neighbour June. Each of these women comes with assorted pasts, which includes some secrets that if got out in the open could have grave repercussions.

A Map to Paradise is the story of an unlikely friendship taking place during a time in history that had people looking over their shoulders. It was a well written story that had many layers with a few twists. For me it was a bit on the quiet side that wasn’t as addicting as her previous novels have been. But still it was entertaining. I did love the time period, it seems to be trending lately with it strong female characters and historical setting.

My thanks to Berkley for a digital arc in exchange for honest review.

This novel is absolutely captivating! It weaves together Hollywood, sisterhood, and intrigue. Set in the 1950s during the McCarthy era, when there was intense scrutiny for communists among the elite, especially those connected to Hollywood, the story follows Melanie Cole. Unfortunately, Melanie gets entangled in this search due to her involvement in a fake relationship. She’s living a comfortable life, with all expenses paid, in a luxurious home and a maid named Eve, things couldn’t be easier, right? But then, enter June, the sister-in-law of Melanie’s neighbor, and the dynamics start to shift. June lives next door with her brother-in-law, Elwood. He suffers from agoraphobia so when he goes missing, they know something is definitely amiss.

Each character holds their own secrets, and those secrets eventually collide, creating tension and chaos in their lives. Will they turn against each other, or will they come together to help one another?

This is one of my favorite books by this author, and it would be an excellent recommendation for any book club. I am giving it 4.5 stars but rounding it up to 5.

Many thanks to NetGalley & Berkley Publishing Group for letting me read this ARC for an honest review.

I love all of Susan Meissner's novels and this one was no exception. It was such an engaging almost suspenseful story, set in a time period that fascinates me. I love how her novels are like onions - peeling away the layers of one story reveals other. stories underneath. Her writing is superb and I always know her books will have interesting and mutli-faceted characters.
Highly recommended!

I just think women are…
I’m not sure what I was expecting from A MAP TO PARADISE but it wasn’t the intense tale of female friendship and bonds of found family that I got. It wasn’t a story of three women, who truly couldn’t have been more different, coming together around a strange tragedy to discover that while their individual challenges made them strong, sharing those difficulties and being empathetic to one another’s suffering could make them stronger still. That what is terrible can grow something beautiful and that while time may not heal all wounds, it will give you small gifts to compensate for them if you are willing to accept.
I don’t read a ton of lit fic but I’m terribly glad A Map to Paradise fell into my lap and I gave it a chance. It’s nice to be surprised by books every so often and to discover an author who you wouldn’t normally pick up has the power to get you thinking and adding their back catalog to your TBR. As a genre fiction girlie, I’m delighted.

Susan Meissner can weave a tale! This historical fiction novel covers a period in time where perception could change a career quickly. The three womenin the novel are well developed and I enjoyed how their lives blended together. A very unique story and revelent today!

This slower paced, character-driven work follows three women who all have secrets and whose lives become intertwined. I was intrigued at the beginning, drawn in to the mystery and learning more about the characters, but somewhere along the line it lost my interest some. I think this was partially due to the fact that much of the book is utilized telling the backstory of the three women rather than focusing on real action or forward movement. I think this work would have been stronger if the author had chosen to use multiple timelines rather than flashbacks.

I think part of the issue was that although the stories of the women, especially Eva, were supposed to be pretty emotional, I felt like I was missing some sort of emotional connection to the characters and their tales. This might also be related to how heavily the book focused on backstory.

This was still a decent historical fiction overall, and worth checking out if you don't mind slower reads focusing on the Red Scare in the U.S. during the 1950s. My thanks to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing for allowing me to read this work. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Thank you Berkley for access to this arc.

In 1950s Malibu, three women meet, and slowly discover each other’s past and secrets and forge a found family. I’m afraid if I say too much more then I’ll be spilling spoilers all over the place but readers who enjoy old 1950s melodrama movies might like this. I’ll say that at one point or another, I was appalled or stunned by the actions of most of the characters in this book. When the story ends, I felt better about most of them but a few were still assholes.

The worldbuilding and 1950s details were a little light on the ground but honestly I’d almost rather that than the current fade of over describing every single little teeny tiny detail. The backgrounds of the three main characters are sketched out at first with finer details slowly added over the course of the book.

After events bring the three of them together, their lives become intertwined and, as the blurb says, they have to stick together or the repercussions will ruin them all. The secrets and issues they need to keep under wraps are major – with one being the linchpin of them all.

I think most people will put two and two together and get the correct answer about the fate of one person. The character driven story shows how events can sweep a person up and regardless of how good, innocent, or worthy they are, spin them into situations where they will have to make the best choices possible in terrible circumstances. When the truth is known to all three, their initial reactions seem logical. Watching them come together to work out a plan to salvage things is hopeful if, at times, it makes me a bit squeamish.

The end has some answers I needed but is missing a few – such as what was the deal with Melanie’s useless brother. June called him correctly. And what about Algernon? I assume June got him but don’t introduce an animal and then leave its fate in the air. I’m glad I stuck with this past some Moments to the end but honestly I doubt I’ll revisit it. B-/C+