I just couldn't finish this book. It was good, and relatable, but it was also overwhelmingly the experience of postpartum depression. I had been expecting a story that would have spy intrigue in the WW2 period, but instead, all I got was the difficult, difficult experience that is postpartum depression and anxiety, which hit a bit too close to home for me. I put it down about halfway through, and just couldn't motivate myself to pick it back up.

A Woman of Intelligence is the perfect description of Rina, the Park Avenue housewife with a wild girl past and a need to be more than mom to tiny humans and wife to a stifling husband. With her many languages and sharp wit she was capable of so much more than pushing a ridiculous stroller round Central Park. Even she questioned where the feisty, funtime girl had gone.

I couldn't give this 5 stars though. To me it lacked suspense, thrills and a good twist. I never felt that Rina was in any danger and the connection with Turner that the author described never felt real. I was also disappointed by the end. I wanted there to be more action and a better twist to the undercover stuff.

In the end it was just about a housewife and mom breaking free of her chains. And I suppose that's OK. Thanks Netgalley for the ARC, this is my honest review.

Karin Tanabe’s book, A Woman of Intelligence is a well written story of a woman who finds herself a wife, a mother and working for the FBI. The main character sees herself disappearing with the demands of motherhood. She comes alive through her undercover work for the FBI and rediscovers her value to make the world a better place. I would recommend this book.

Very clever, engaging and transporting. We get a gorgeous picture of that era, of money and elegance, plus the pulse-pound of spywork. Lots of logic here, which makes this an enjoyable spy adventure, and Tanabe writes some fabulous dialogue.
Thank you to NetGalley and to the publisher for the review copy. Very generous of you.

Thank you net galley for the advance reader copy of this novel. I've read other books by this author so was excited about this one but just couldn't find myself enjoying it. I stopped reading about 1/3 into it as the main character was so unhappy with her life as a mother and then became a spy. Some of the events didn't seem plausible. This one wasn't for me.

A Woman of Intelligence by Karin Tanabe covers an era not often examined in historical fiction, and I am here for it. It examines the period post-WWII, which is a fascinating time in both American history and in terms of the starting of the feminist movement.

Katharina Edgeworth has the life many would aspire to with wealth, an ideal husband, and healthy sons, but she wants to do more with her language skills and intellect. When given the chance to use those skills to infiltrate the life of an old beau to see if he's working for the KGB, she knows it is her chance to escape her gilded cage.

While some may deem this book a bit slow, I enjoyed the society and spy elements of the book.

Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book. All thoughts are my own.

I was excited to read this book but just could not get into the characters or the plot. The main character is a NY Upper East side stay at home mom who is married to a prominent doctor. She is deeply disappointed that she had to leave her job at the UN and be a mother. She complains ALOT about her kids and that just bothered me. I get that she wanted a career and felt oppressed in there marriage.....but.....it was just too much for me.

When she get recruited into the "spy world", she begins sneaking out at 2:00 am to make secretive phone calls (among other outings). I found this highly unbelievable. There are other things that happen that also seem very far fetched.

Just wasn't for me.

#NetGalley *#Awomanofintelligence

2.5 stars

Katherina Edgeworth speaks multiple languages and has worked at City Hall and for the UN. Now that she is married to an entitled, rich doctor and spending all her time taking care of her two young boys, she finds herself missing the stimulating life she once had. When she is almost to her breaking point, she is approached by an FBI agent and asked to spy and report on the key leaders of the Communist party. This develops into babysitters and undercover work kept from her husband, travel, new relationships being built, and even deaths.

A Woman of Intelligence is a well-written depiction of what was and was not expected of women in the early 1950’s. I enjoyed this book immensely. However, I was truly expecting more thrills and surprises along the way after reading the book’s description. The book began with impressive details that made me feel like I was on the streets of NYC with Katharina, but I felt like something was missing and tying up the loose ends of the story was rushed. Overall, I enjoyed this book and would definitely read more of Karin Tanabe’s work.

#Netgalley
#AWomanofIntelligence

I could not get into this book. The story did not move fast enough for me and I gave it several tries before putting the book down for good.

It is so refreshing to have characters that are neither completely enthralled with motherhood nor pretending that motherhood is the end-all of the dreams and goals that make their life complete.

"It’s this motherhood thing that is making you look so cadaverous,” she said, giving me another once-over. I shrugged. “Small children are terrible, Katharina. Everyone knows it, but nobody says it out loud. It makes us look weak and cowardly. Unfeminine.”

It is truly frustrating that society still expects motherhood to make us fulfilled and to never complain about our children, or how exhausting it is mentally and emotionally.

I related with Katharina so much; post-partum depression, missing my career, not having "a village" to raise children on the hard days, a husband always working, and completely clueless on what it takes to survive daily. I'd take this woman for cocktails immediately.

Buy this novel. Seriously. Pour a martini and lock yourself in the bathroom. Make the spouse deal with the kids while you read this.

A first-rate spy thriller! A dodgy ex-boyfriend leads Rina to being an informant to the FBI. Rina had been feeling that she could be more than just a wife and mother and this is her chance.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I could not put this book down! What an incredible main character! I love books about strong females, especially historic novels. A spy thriller with an educated woman at it's center, in New York City, what more can you want?

Katharina, an affluent mother of 2 young children wrestles with her place in life after leaving an exciting career translating for the United Nations post WWII.. Given her language translation skills and international experience, Katharina then finds herself being pursued by the FBI to be a courier of Communist documents in effort to catch a spy. The tension develops as she develops renewed vigor being a working woman in the early 1950s, keeping secrets from her rich and powerful husband, and leaving her children in the care of others.

Phenomenal read as you follow the main character on her journey of transitioning from Upper East Side mom to FBI corespondent. The writing was beautiful and I really felt connected with the character as I watched her go through her downward spiral of alcohol, depression and disruptive marriage. Definitely would be interested in reading more from Karin Tanabe.

Overall I enjoyed the story and I think the author wrote a main character that the reader could really get to know and sympathize with. Bits of it were improbable in somewhat predictable but it was a quick easy read. I can see it is kind of a bitch read wore a book for an airplane ride. Enjoyable and something you don’t need to think too deeply about.

I enjoyed the end of the book far more than the beginning. It has an interesting story about a woman stuck in her position as wife to a prestigious pediatric surgeon, and mother of two young children. It's a story full of her frustration with being forced to give up her own challenging, and fulfilling, career to stay home and play house while her husband pursues his career at the hospital. For the most part the story is interesting, but seems to get just as stuck in her situation as she is. The last part of the book was the portion that kept my interest best as it pulled the pieces of the story together into a conclusion that left me feeling as though I had seen her through a difficult time. I felt happy for her, knowing that she came out on the other side stronger and better able to face the challenge that was her life.

An enjoyable read about a fascinating time in our country's history. I've read a lot of WW1 and WW2 historical fiction, but this particular time period is not one I've read much from, but found it to be a very interesting backdrop for an ageless story about a woman struggling with how marriage and children change her identity. Definitely recommend.

Set in 1950s New York City, Rina Edgeworth, nee West, is stifled in her current life — married to a successful doctor with two young boys, she craves independence, time for herself, and the career she had to give up with her got married. Her life is overwhelming her - the constant round the clock tending to her kids with no help from her husband who spends all his time at work is sending her into a physical, mental, and emotional abyss. The pressures of her husband’s family and their social circle further exacerbates the situation. For someone who is smart and witty, who graduated from Columbia University, speaks four languages fluently, and had a successful career working at City Hall and the United Nation, her life as a wife and mother leaves her no room for the mental challenges, adult conversation, and fun-filled time she enjoyed prior to her current life. When she’s approached by the FBI to connect with a former lover and become an informant, she jumps at the chance to inject some excitement, thrill, and mental agility into her staid and claustrophobic life. This was a good storyline - shining a light on the challenges of a marriage post-honeymoon period and the coming along of children, and the expectations of each involved. This was a good read, the story moved along at a nice clip, and the book captures well the lifestyle of the upper crust and oftentimes shallow societal goings on of the times. I thought the author captured well the drive and longing that Rina had to be her own person, be recognized for her contributions, pursue a career in her own right and not be just the wife of a doctor and the mother of two kids. She couldn’t be whole and happy without her independence, without her own self-worth, and without her own decision making. A solid three-star rating - Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book.

I received this e-ARC from NetGalley for an honest review.

The story takes place mainly in the 1950s while the main character, Rina, is married with two young children. From the outside she appears to have the perfect life, but it is far from it. Her doctor husband is barely around and she is mentally drowning staying at home with the children. She misses, and remembers, the excitement of her life before when she was a translator/interpreter with the fledgling UN. She starts spiraling until one day she is approached with an opportunity to get involved in a spy mission, which she takes. By the end she finds herself again and manages to assert herself in her marriage, finding happiness once more.

It was a good book, but I found at times I was getting bored as she went through her tailspin. I get that we need to see her descent into desperation, but it felt a little long.

As the story begins, it’s about family and socializing. It takes a moment to get to those first bits of who she is and who her husband is. And those straight forward written short pieces are the most interesting pieces of this story.

The style of writing is very descriptive with dialogue which doesn’t move the story forward. We get a short glimpse of how she gets a job for UN as a translator. Then the story is filled again with family life and her social life as a student. And the next moment, she gets approached by an FBI agent in regards to a certain person and they want her to work with them. And then again, it’s filled with a lot but I didn’t find it engaging.

I struggled from the very beginning to connect with this story and with the main character. She went to Ivy League school and speaks four languages, works for UN and FBI but turns out to be a character who lacks depth.

There are plenty of readers who appreciate descriptive writing and will enjoy this story. Thus, I do not want to discourage anyone from reaching for this book.