Family of Spies has claimed the top spot on my 2025 reading list, and for good reason. Christine Kuehn delivers an extraordinary true story that explores how family secrets can reverberate across generations, leaving lasting scars that reshape entire family dynamics.
From the first page, this book proved impossible to put down. Kuehn's masterful storytelling had me finishing it in record time, and I'm already planning to reread it—something I rarely do. The moment this hits the shelves, I'll be buying copies as gifts because this is a story that deserves to be shared.

What makes this book truly compelling is how Kuehn invites readers to step into her shoes and experience her complex relationship with her father. The love she holds for him, coupled with the growing sympathy you feel as his story unfolds, creates an emotionally devastating reading experience. Her father's journey through World War II—particularly his time living in Pearl Harbor and the aftermath of that tragedy—reveals how historical events can tear families apart in ways that echo for decades.

The scope of the family's espionage activities is staggering. Kuehn reveals that her father's parents, older brother, and sister were all involved in spy networks. The older brother remained in Germany, working directly for the Nazis under Goebbels, while his sister Ruth became entangled in a dangerous affair with Goebbels himself. It was Ruth's relationship—and a dark secret she harbored within the Nazi world that Goebbels desperately wanted to keep hidden—that ultimately led to the family being dispatched to Hawaii as operatives.


The most heartbreaking aspect centers on the two young brothers, including the author's father, who were left to carry the crushing weight of their family's involvement in espionage activities for both the Japanese and Germans. These innocent children were unknowingly living in the center of a treacherous operation, carrying the crushing psychological weight of secrets they didn't even know existed. The revelation of their family's true activities would come later, forcing them to reconcile their childhood memories with a devastating reality. Kuehn captures the psychological toll of these secrets with remarkable sensitivity, making you feel the impossible burden these children faced and the ways it shaped their entire lives.

Family of Spies is more than just a family memoir—it's a profound examination of loyalty, betrayal, and the prices we pay for the choices of those who came before us. This is essential reading for anyone interested in World War II history, family dynamics, or simply exceptional storytelling.