WW2- historical fiction. This was an interesting read. A little slow at times but I really enjoyed the characters.

An entertaining read, but a slog at times. I enjoyed both storylines but perhaps they’d have been better as two different stories. The ending was tied up way too neatly with too many coincidences which I normally wouldn’t mind so much but seemed out of place in historical fiction. I’d have liked to have learned more about the code breakers and how they contributed to the war efforts; the details there were sparse. Overall a good, not great, historical mystery.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I devoured this book - it was amazing!! The characters were so well-developed and full of depth and the setting of Hawaii was so descriptive - it made me want to get on a plane and fly there right away! I enjoyed the dual timelines (which I typically don't) and loved how they eventually connected. This was a fantastic read that left me with a feeling of resilience and hope. I would recommend this book to everyone that enjoys historical fiction - one of my favourites in this category for sure!

ARC provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Isabel Cooper is devastated after the loss of her pilot brother Walt in the Pearl Harbor attack, so she jumps at a chance to be stationed with a codebreaking unit in Hawaii. She's very grateful to connect with her brother's best friend and he and Isabel re-live Walt's Hawaiian experiences in between their strenuous war time jobs.
The Codebreaker's Secret connects Isabel's story to 1965 and the grand opening of the Mauna Kea Beach Hotel. Young reporter Luana Freitas is shocked when fellow guest and famous musician Joni Diaz goes missing. She enlists the help of photojournalist Matteo Russi in the search. Their shocking find reveals secrets hidden since 1942 so that healing and resolution can take place.

Entertaining WWII historical fiction.

*Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing an e-galley in exchange for an honest review

This dual timeline book is set in Hawaii during WWII and the mid-1960s. During the wartime plot, Pearl Harbor was attacked and Walt was killed. We meet Izzy a code breaker who has joined the war to avenge the death of her brother, Walt. She also tries to spend all of her free time doing the Hawaiian things her brother loved so much.

In the 1960s timeline, we meet Lu who has been sent to photograph a fancy hotel opening. She spends her time with the hotel owner and a local photographer. When they discover a body in a cave, it brings back the photographer's past and ties the two timelines together.

I very much enjoyed how the two timelines intertwined throughout the book and the way they gelled near the end of the book was great! This may be my favorite book by Ms. Ackerman.

I cannot stop thinking about this book I was so grateful to have received this book early for my book club!
This book takes place during two time periods, the first part takes in 1943 and then in 1965.
It’s 1943 and we meet Isabel Cooper she lost her older brother whom she loved very much in the attack on Pearl Harbor. She’s now working as a code breaker, she’s helping solve Japanese Naval codes. Woman are not given the credit as their mail counter parts, but she knows if she solves the codes it will save many lives. When Isabel is offered a chance to go to Hawaii and help solve codes there, she knows this is the chance to track down her brothers friend he was close too, and also see the life he lived before he died. While in Hawaii Isabel stumbles into a mystery that will stick with her for many years and her life changes overnight.
In 1965 Lu Freitas is aspiring to become a journalist that’s taken seriously, when she’s given the chance to prover herself she grabs it. Now she’s headed to the Mauna Kea Beach Hotel for its grand opening. While heading to the hotel she meets a famous woman and befriends her. Lu is shocked when her new friend disappears, determined to uncover what happened Lu begins to investigate and soon uncover a missing link to the past.
This book was unbelievable I was so immersed in the characters and their story I couldn’t put it down! Five stars!

Review posted via. Goodreads.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4685771553
Feminist Historical Mystery.
These are two different stories in time about two different women. In 1943 Isabel Cooper is a talented codebreaker, working to solve a Japanese Naval code that could cause many lives to be saved. Isabel's brother served in the war and died while flying a plane over the ocean in Hawaii. Jumping at the chance Isabel moves to Hawaii to help solve top-secret codes and in her spare time, tracks down her brother's best friend.
1965. aspiring Journalist Lu Freitas has traveled to the Mauna Kea Beach Hotel for the glamorous grand opening. Along the way, she meets a wealthy woman staying at the hotel. While working on the article, a guest from the hotel goes missing, and a mystery arises. Lu quickly is on the case and began the search for the intriguing missing guest.


I struggled to get into this novel. I really enjoyed Isabel's story but never really caught on to the Lu's. I had some difficulty remembering all the characters and their roles. regardless, this is a beautiful story of two women in different times on a mission. I would possibly recommend this to friends and family. Thank you for the opportunity to read this novel.

Emotional and compelling dual timeline stories make The Codebreaker’s Secret a stay-up all-night-to-finish book. Isabel Cooper is a very smart code analyst for the US Navy in Washington, DC at the start of WWII. Izzy desperately want to help defeat Japan because her best friend and brother Walt was shot down and killed on the first day of the war in the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941. Because she’s so good at her job and despite being a young woman, Izzy is reassigned to the top code breaking operation in Hawaii in 1943. She wants the reassignment so that she can learn more about her brother’s death and meet some of his surviving friends. Matteo Russi is also a pilot and was close to Walt.
Lu Freitas is a young journalist from Hawaii but left for college and a job as a magazine writer on the mainland. Lu is assigned to cover the opening weekend of a new Laurence Rockefeller hotel on the Big Island in 1965. Rockefeller invites a group of high profile guests for the grand opening and all does not go as planned. One of the guests is murdered and Lu is at the center of the action.
The Codebreaker’s Secret show the power of love through time, the intelligence and strength of women and the scars war leaves on those involved.
Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC of this book.

This book has a really good storyline. Set in WWII, there are high level secret jobs, suspicion, and grieving. Be prepared for lots of local Hawaiian lingo and names.
Skipping ahead twenty years does not keep the past from catching up. The silence from the war years is widespread. So much of PTSD was not understood or successfully treated.
My biggest disappointment was the bad language. It really negatively reflects on a great story.

I received an e-arc of this book through Netgalley.
This book started a little slow as it bounces back and forth between two plotlines and two groups of people, but then I found the second half of the book really hard to put down as the stories converge. I liked reading more about female codebreakers in the war effort and then being a journalist.
It's between a romance and a mystery with some beautiful sights thrown into the mix. I did like hearing that the hotel had no televisions because they want guests to look at Hawai'i. I would read more by this author.

Oh I liked this VERY MUCH. This kept me on my toes, and I couldn't stop reading until I finished. I just had to find out what would happen next! I have been a fan of Sara Ackerman's since her very first book, and I have to say each book she writes feels fresh and it is always a joy to learn of a new one that will be released! You can tell she really puts the effort into making her books historically accurate, but this doesn't sacrifice the humanity of the characters. I know that I will enjoy whatever she writes, and this was no different. I really, really enjoyed the premise, loved the main characters, believed in the romance (which is important!) and overall spent a very happy day immersing myself into the story. This is an excellent book and comes highly recommended!

Set in both the 1960's and WW II our author does a fantastic job. The descriptions of Hawaii are beautifully done and the characters and plot are just so incredibly believable I felt I was walking with them.
I read this book nonstop and look forward to the authors next release.

Highly recommended this book for all historical fiction fans.
Thank you to NetGalley, Sara Ackerman, abd Harlequin for the ARC in return for my honest opinion.

I immensely enjoyed this vivid portrait of two women in Hawaii, one a codebreaker in 1943, and one a journalist in 1965. Their two timelines converge with the journalist looking into a mystery with ties to secret from the war. Both women are strong characters, the plot is interesting (it's nice to have a WWII setting that isn't in Europe), and the mystery is intriguing.

I get really excited when Sara Ackerman pens a new novel and this was no different! The Codebreaker's Secret is amazing and seamlessly transitions back and forth between WWII and 1960's Hawaii. Isabel Cooper and her colleagues work at Pearl Harbor to decipher codes from the airwaves. The story also jumps ahead to focus on journalist Lu Freitas, who comes home to Hawaii to cover the opening of a grand hotel. Lu teams up with a veteran photographer and uncovers a mystery with many secrets that, if exposed, put many people at stake. The characters are richly developed and the story pulls you in - I read this book in about a day!

I didn’t think a book could be so heartbreaking yet so heartwarming at the same time but that’s exactly what this book is! The story is so beautifully written and the dual timeline is flawlessly woven. It was the perfect amount of romance, history and mystery and the plot line keeps the reader captivated. Many of the WWII books I’ve read are set in Europe so this book being set in Hawaii was a nice change in perspective of the war.

Both the main characters Isabel and Lu are such strong women which is always a plus in books. I found them both very relatable and endearing. I always love reading about a female perspective of WWII, especially powerhouse women!

If this book intrigues you check it out in August! Thank you Harlequin Trade Publishing/MIRA for the advanced copy! Sara Ackerman you deserve all the praise for this dazzling book!

Writing: 4/5 Plot: 3.5/5 Characters: 4/5

Very engaging story about Isabel Cooper — a crack codebreaker serving in Hawaii during WWII. While the plot is a little clunky, the writing draws you in, the characters are wonderful, and the descriptions of Hawaii, code breakers, and smart women playing chess were lots of fun. I thought the author did a decent job of portraying intelligent, working women at the time: no heavy handed agenda — just women getting along as well as they could (and that was pretty well!) given their situation. Decent male characters as well. Enjoyable.

I liked the individual stories but I felt like the dual timelines should have been separate books. It felt forced to make them come together at the end.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the sneak peak.

4 STARS for THE CODEBREAKER’S SECRET, out wherever books are sold August 2nd, 2022.

What I love about this author, Sara Ackerman, is she creates fresh stories in a very saturated genre — WW2. Her novels are always beautifully described and create such rich imagery. They always make me want to visit Hawaii. This dual timeline WW2 packs a punch — it has romance, suspense, and history. While RADAR GIRLS is still my favorite novel of Ackerman’s, this one was a strong title. I can’t wait to see what Ackerman has up her sleeve next.

I look forward to sharing this forthcoming title with our community and will keep it as a contender for our monthly book club pick.

Thank you to MIRA Books and NetGalley for an advanced copy of THE CODEBREAKER’S SECRET in exchange for an honest review.

Loved this one . This author has a way of bringing history to life and I love learning about this time period and brave women . A good read .
Thanks for letting me review this book to Netgalley and the publisher