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+

A Map to Paradise by Susan Meissner
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Three ladies who live and work on Paradise Circle form a friendship that will go on to span years.
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Melanie Cole is a young actress who’s only mistake was seen dating the wrong guy. Now she is blacklisted in Hollywood as a supposed “Communist Sympathizer”. She is living next door to a screenwriter and his sister-in-law, June. June just spent the wee hours of the morning digging up the rose bushes in the back yard, but why?
And then there is Eva who has been hired to clean house for Melanie. Eva is Polish…or is she?
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I loved all the secrets and trying to figure out these characters. What were they hiding, and why? Slowly reading their back stories had me drawing closer to each of them. These women each had hearts of gold and were really there for each other through the test of fires (in this book literally 🔥).
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4⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ What an interesting story. I loved that this was a time and subject that I haven’t seen a lot of books write about.

A Map to Paradise follows Melanie Cole, a budding Hollywood actress, who is blacklisted from the studios for being accused of having communist ties. As a result, she is living in hiding in a rented house in Malibu. While there she gets to know her neighbor who is a reclusive screenwriter.

This book has an interesting premise and one that is not my normal reading material. It was a slow start for me and I thought some parts of the story dragged while others at the end were rushed. I think this would make an interesting book club read with its themes of friendship, found family, and of course the communism threat.

This book was so slow paced, and boring. It could just be that life has me in a slump, but this book and its dull, flat characters and zero intrigue depressed me even further. DNF at 48%.

Susan Meissner has done it again--she has written a historical fiction novel that links fascinating characters and well-known history to little-known historical events in her own unique way.

I will admit that at first I was frustrated a bit with our main character, Melanie. She seemed trapped in that spoiled-little-girl persona, only doing what the men in her life told her to do. Thankfully, she figures some things out and helps her friends, June and Eva.

I don't want to spoil the story, because the journey really is worth it--even if it did take me a bit longer to get invested in the story. Garden digging? I've watched enough mysteries to know what that means. It's Ava's backstory that is the most fascinating piece in the puzzle.

I will say that Susan Meissner has some sort of sixth sense with plot devices. She wrote about the 1918 Spanish flu epidemic in her novel "As Bright as Heaven" that was published two years before the COVID-19 pandemic. For those who live in Southern California, be aware that there is mention of wildfires; nothing new, of course, but oddly timely considering the ones in January.

Overall, another great novel. Highly recommend.

Susan Meissner is an auto-buy author for me as they never disappoint. This one, A Map to Paradise, was a strong story about the power of women's friendships no matter how different the woman are. Different ages, ethnicities and backgrounds made for a well told story. Much about the Santa Ana winds and unpredictability of CA forest fires were a strong theme in the book and it seemed eerily timely after what just happened in LA. Great story!

Absolutely amazing!

Three women, all in different stages of life, are intertwined in this Historical Fiction novel that takes place in the 1950's McCarthy era. Eva, a German-Russian maid, with lots of secrets of her own works for blacklisted actress Melanie. Melanie is convinced something is amiss at her neighbor's home when he hasn't been seen in weeks. June, her neighbors sister in law, continuously makes excuses for her reclusive brother in law, but Melanie isnt convinced.

These women, all with their own secrets, must work together to help each other in this tumultous time that isn't particulary friendly to women.

“Living in truth, even if it is difficult, had to be better than living in fear.”

This is my first Susan Meissner book and it was quite enjoyable. The author's writing style plays out like a movie and the three women - Melanie, Eva, and June - were unique and memorable. I didn't know much about the fire of 1956 that swept through southern California and The Cold War era in Hollywood so it was interesting to be immersed in this time period. I didn't love Melanie; she was too self-absorbed until about halfway through the book. She did a lot of growing up and maturing from that point on and proved herself to be loyal and steadfast. Eva had a lot of hurt and grief which came out in bits and pieces throughout the book; her history was a bit dark and complex, which was a given for a displaced person during WWII. June had some surprising twists and turns in her part of the tale and I enjoyed the friendship that she and Eva formed relatively quickly. One after another, their secrets were revealed but these tragic secrets ended up bringing the women together. All three women had to face their fears and overcome them to move forward, past the things that held them stagnant at a standstill. It is a general fiction book without any faith thread and did contain a tiny bit of swearing.

I received a complimentary copy courtesy of Berkley Publishing via NetGalley and was under no obligation to post a positive comment. All opinions are my own.

What I liked:
Women supporting women
Unique period in time I haven’t read much about
The ending was sweet, but….

I what I didn’t like:
I expect a more riveting plot and compelling characters from Meissner
The Nature of Fragile Things set the bar high for me with her books and this one did not live up
While I liked each of the ladies, I felt like there was too much backstory pushed into each which took away from the plot depth and pace in the present
While the ending was satisfying, it felt a little too perfect

A Map to Paradise is truly a story of female resilience.

Susan Meissner has brought us three women who are all strong in their own way but in very different circumstances. This is a story of friendship, grief, and a little bit of mystery. It's funny sometimes how life brings you exactly the people you need and this is exactly what happens in A Map to Paradise. Melanie, Eva, and June played perfectly off of each other and I loved the way they all grew.

California during the Red Scare was also a very interesting time period for the story to take place. It's not often explored in historical fiction and I only wish that there was a few more details of the issues at the time. Our characters, being in Malibu, seemed a little displaced from the action.