Having enjoyed the author's Maggie Hope series , I was thrilled to see new heroines for another historical fiction novel by this author. Thanks to NetGalley and Bantam for the ARC. Expected publication date is 9/20/22
This was a fascinating story of Veronica Grace and her mother Violet who came to relocate to Los Angeles and became embroiled in a nest of Nazi spies. This is a take on WWII fiction I had not encountered before. The research for the novel was impeccable and each character had a real life equivalent. I liked that the author took care to explain that in great detail.
The story itself was fast paced and intriguing. The writing was well done. The characters were well drawn and the realism did come through.
It was a bit shocking to me to learn the truth of American Nazis during WWII. I was struck by the scary mentality that led them to their beliefs. There is a real lesson for us today with regard to extremism and fascism. I was also struck by the bravery of those fighting for democracy and inclusiveness.
I am so happy to have been able to read this book and learn more about WWII history in the US. This would make a great miniseries!

This book is loosely based on a real life mother/daughter duo who became spies to foil Nazi plans within the United States during WWII. Definitely well researched (the author cites all of her sources in the back), but I found the storyline itself slow and the characters one-dimensional. There were also a few parts where I had to suspend my disbelief at the spy skills of two civilians – would Nazi sympathizers really be so trusting and gullible? I don’t know…just an okay read for me.

Well-woven story about a mother and daughter who defended their country by battling Nazism in America. The reader learns much about fascinating events that have been lost in history. MacNeal does a good job examining the possible reasons why good people can do very bad things and how one person's actions can can have significant impact on the lives of others.

One of the best suspense novels I have read recently. It is based on mostly true events and it is heart pounding to say the least. It is set in 1940’s during the WW2 era. Veronica was an upcoming journalist living in New York and she lives with her Mother Violet (Vi). Veronica’s father had previously been in the service but had passed away. Mademoiselle magazine had offered Veronica a job and she was heading in the direction of her dreams.
Veronica gets tangled up with a very successful married man but when his wife finds out she calls Veronica and tells her she will never work in New York again. Mademoiselle calls Veronica and they no longer need her because of her indiscretions. So Veronica and Vi moved to Los Angeles to be with VI’s uncle. They live in one of VI’s uncle’s house upon his insistence.
Veronica gets a job offer to do some typing so she jumps at the chance and little did she know but they were Nazi’s she was working for and she was really uncomfortable being there. But she gets sought out to become a spy to find out what they were going to do next. Vi got involved by getting into the upper class of women and embroidering clothes for them so she heard what was going on from the woman. They worked together bringing news to the government. The things that Veronica had to do were gut wrenching to say the least. I couldn’t put this book down!
I was surprised by Hitler’s mansion in California and would love to hike to it someday and see the remains.

I received this ARC from Netgalley for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

This is a very interesting and exciting story which is based on real events and real people, although most of the names are changed. It takes place mostly in Los Angeles in 1940 right after Paris was occupied by the Nazis. Although I knew many Americans were interested in staying out of the European war at that time, I did not realize all the Nazi activities going on in the US. This book not only entertains, it is a well researched fictionalized story about the happenings at that time.

Veronica Grace has just graduated from Hunter College where she has won a Prize for student journalism. Her mother Violet Grace, Vi, was the daughter of a Munich butcher. Veronica's father had been in the Navy, and died six years before. Veronica had gotten a job at Mademoiselle Magazine which fell through when the editor has been told that Mrs. Applebaum had complained that Veronica had been having an affair with her husband. Since Mrs. Applebaum's father was Saul Feldman, a titan of New York City publishing, it would be difficult for Veronica to stay local. Her mother's brother, Walter, who had come for her graduation, suggests that Vi and Veronica move to his second home in Santa Monica where they would be near to him, and Veronica could make a new start.

Shortly after their move, Veronica and Vi meet other German Americans, many of them anti-Jew, anti-Black, and ardent Nazis. Veronica has gotten a job doing shorthand and typing with a man who prints a very biased newspaper. Veronica and Vi talk to Walter about their worries. He talks to the police who say they can't do anything about the Nazi's. The police are more worried about the communists! Then Vi and Veronica go to the local FBI station where they are told again they can't do anything unless folks break the law because of First Amendment rights. Then Vi remembers a Navy friend of her husband, Commander Ezra Zabner, who now is in San Diego and tells him about Veronica's boss. Zabner tells Veronica to keep her options open and he will come to see them the next day. Meanwhile, he goes to see his friend Ari Lewis, and suggests that Veronica might be a good spy.

It turns out that both Veronica and Vi become spies. They do a great job with many exciting and/or dangerous activities. As we near the end of the book it is difficult to put down.

I am a big fan of the author's Maggie Hope series so I was thrilled to get to read this standalone novel. This follows Vi and Veronica who are a mother and daughter who end up becoming spies to take down Nazis in America during WWII.

This book felt similar to the Maggie Hope series probably because it's during the same time period and focuses on female protagonists. I did like reading about Vi and Veronica. I felt like it focused a lot on Veronica and would have liked to read more from Vi's point of view. Definitely enjoyed the action towards the end.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the galley.

This book is loosely based on true events and actual people and is set in early 1940s America, just prior to our entry into WWII. It sheds light onto a possibly little known aspect of American history of the period - that of Nazi activity on our soil and the underground activities used to stop it. The heroines here are a mother-daughter team that embeds themselves into a Nazi enclave in Southern California.
I found this book to be especially timely given recent events in America. It is frightening how easy it is for dangerous subversive groups to establish themselves into our society. I also gained a newfound respect for women operatives during the war, and after. These are the unsung heroes of the war.
There is a lot to like here. It is a good solid suspense story for starters, but it is also well researched and well written. Lovers of history or suspense fiction will like this book.

This is a fascinating historical novel about a mother and daughter who infiltrated a group of American Nazis in Los Angeles on the eve of WWII. Almost every character is based on a real figure, and the author outlines the historical facts, complete with a reading list, at the end of the book. I have read all of MacNeal’s novels in the “Maggie Hope” series, and it is easy to see how this book emerges from the last one, “The Hollywood Spy.” Some of the people and places, and the homegrown threat to democracy linger, and MacNeal explains that her research for that book led her in this direction. There are a great many historical novels set during WWII out there, but very few of them have this sharp focus on what was happening in the US. The principal characters are very likable, and it is understandable that they would make excellent spies. Thanks to the publisher and NetGallery for the opportunity to review this engaging and interesting book.

Very interesting book from the author of one of my favorite series - the Maggie Hope series.

Set in the early 1940's, we follow Vi and Veronica Grace, a widowed mother and her daughter, who are second and third generation German's, living in New York. After Veronica fails to get the journalist job that she expected, they move to LA to find work. When Veronica takes a job as a secretary for a small educational company, they realize that they are involved with pro America, anti-Jewish, pro Hitler groups, most of whom are aspiring to help the Nazis gain a larger foothold in America, and ultimately to overthrow Roosevelt's government.

Both women choose to becomes spies, reporting back on meetings, publications, and any other information that they can find out. It is dangerous work, and both struggle with the lies they have to tell, and the people that they have to pretend to be.

The book was based on true events, and the fictional characters all based on real people. The author fills in the details at the end of the novel about those real people and what happened to them. The actual history fascinated me, as there was so much more happening on the west coast right before Japan bombed Pearl Harbor, than I had ever suspected.

A great book.

Historical fiction done really, really well! The novel is based on the real life mother-daughter spies Grace & Sylvia Comfort I the period leading up to World War Two. I was absolutely enthralled by the plot and characters, but particularly by the political upheaval of the time and the parallels with our our own current political climate. Very good- highly recommend!

It's June 1940, and Veronica Grace is walking across the state at Hunter College in New York as valedictorian to give her speech not realizing that in hours her life will take a huge turn. When her job at Mademoiselle magazine is rescinded when it is discovered she had a relationship with a married man, she and her mother, Vi, make a cross-country move to allow her to have the career in journalism she has studied for. When she goes on a job interview she discovers that she has wandered into the hotbed of Nazi activity in California. As she turns to the authorities and realizes they are not going to help her, she and her mother, who has had her own run-in with Nationalists, are recruited as spies to help the government gather as much information as possible about what is being planned. When they help uncover possible violent uprising, they have to decide if they want to remain spies or return to their civilian lives.

I thought the premise for this story was quite unique as I had never seen it done in any historical fiction I had previously read. I was genuinely surprised to know that it was based on an actual mother-daughter spy team and I was fascinated by the way in which their story was used. This was a very different historical fiction as it shows a Nazi threat here in the USA which I had not given much thought to. I had never read anything by Susan Elia MacNeal, and I am curious to see what else her stories offer.

A tale, full of fear and bravery, suspense and cunning, of treachery and loyalty, secrecy and paranoia. A tale from the past and very much a tale for the present. Set in the early years of WWII, before Pearl Harbor, before Roosevelt’s election for a third term as President, a mother and daughter have relocated from NY to LA. They stumble upon a group with Nazi allegiances, anti-Semitic and broadly racist. All non-white, non-Christians must be eliminated, as well as the systems that support them.

Veronica and Vi have difficulty getting the authorities to act. The FBI and police are focused on rooting out communists. Eventually, each woman is able to infiltrate the movement in her own way.

Many works of historical fiction use the past as a context; it remains in the background. This novel is fully immersed into the period and draws heavily from real events, weaving them into narrative. The result is a highly readable story that turns out to be very informative, as well. It is not the first time in US history that groups promoting white Christian conservative values have used extreme means to promote their agenda.

A parting thought for our time is a quote from near the end of the book: “We can’t punish the innocent for the crimes of the guilty in lands from which they came and long since dissociated themselves.”

It was really an interesting story, especially knowing it was based on real events. A lot of it mirrors what's happening now which made it a powerful read. Throughout the book, though, I yearned for some further character development or mystery or suspense. The writing was a little simplistic and lacked the drama that was surely present for real-life spies and all of the danger they faced. I still found it interesting, as you don't often see novels about the American side of nazi-ism during that time period.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for offering this ARC in exchange for my honest review!

The historical facts of this story are fascinating - and timely given the political upheaval of our country today. I am always fascinated to hear about the facts of things that took place in our country which were never talked about in any history class that I took! That being said, the writing was not up to par. Still, a worthy read.

Review of eBook

Violet [Vi] Grace, a fiftyish widow of a Navy commander, watches proudly as her daughter, Veronica, speaks at the Hunter College 1940 graduation. Veronica has worked hard, earned awards, and has a bright future ahead of her working at “Mademoiselle” magazine.

But Veronica’s bright start as a journalist crashes when an unexpected revelation causes Betsy Blackwell, editor of the magazine, to terminate Veronica’s contract. In fact, there will be no journalism position available to her anywhere in New York. As Veronica tries to explain to her mother, and her uncle, Walter, the discussion devolves into an argument between the two women.

However, Walter, Vi’s brother, has a solution. He owns a summer house in Santa Monica; Vi and Veronica can live there.

And so, Veronica and Vi relocate to Los Angeles where Vi finds work embroidering for some women she’d met and Veronica finds work typing for the Educational Services Bureau, a small publishing company owned by Donald Pierce McDonnell. As she begins working, Veronica realizes that McDonnell is part of a pro-Nazi group, publishing an anti-Semitic paper.

Veronica tells Vi and Walter about her first day on the job. She shows them the paper, explains how he’s inciting violence, and expresses her concerns. The two women decide to go to the police. But they find that the police can do nothing, so they meet with FBI Agent Doolin. He’s sympathetic, but can do nothing, either.

So Vi decides to contact a friend of her late husband’s and calls Navy Commander Ezra Zabner. From there, it’s a small step to Ari Lewis . . . and soon both women find themselves working for Ari as spies, determined to keep the Nazis from destroying America from within.

But neither woman is experienced in this sort of subterfuge; will they find a way to help the cause or will the people they’re surreptitiously watching find them out?

What does the future hold for two women spies?

=========

Based on true events and inspired by real people, this absorbing historical tale takes readers into the world of Nazis and Nazi sympathizers in 1940 America who are working for the interests of Adolph Hitler as they promote American isolationism. The evolving narrative reveals the extent of the threat these groups posed as they plotted against the government, against America.

Relatable, believable characters [some very despicable], a strong sense of place, and a complex plot all work together to keep the suspense building; an undercurrent of tension throughout the telling of the tale keeps the pages turning as fast as possible. It’s a story of family that is sure to stay with the reader long after they’ve finished and closed the book; the courage and tenacity of the women on whom the story is based are truly admirable.

This piece of American history may not be familiar to all readers; however, the author’s skillful weaving of the true events into a compelling, intriguing tale creates a story that readers will find impossible to set aside until they’ve turned the final page.

The author provides historical notes, accounts of the real lives that the characters in the story are based upon, and sources for the story. It’s a riveting look at the tense history of past events and a cautionary tale because it happened before and it could very well happen again. This book should be at the top of everyone’s to-be-read pile.

Highly recommended.

I received a free copy of this eBook from Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine, Bantam and NetGalley
#MotherDaughterTraitorSpy #NetGalley

Thanks to Netgalley and Bantam for the opportunity to review this advance reader copy of Mother Daughter Traitor Spy.
A work of fiction, but based on real people, this book is startlingly real. A mother daughter team from New York are forced to move to the West Coast after the daughter is essentially blackballed out of the newspaper industry. They stumble into a network of German-Americans trying to take down the Roosevelt Government and rid America of democracy. Theirs is an "America first" campaign to keep the US out of war, rid the country of Jews and immigrants, and make the nation a pure, Aryan one. Sound familiar?
The pair work their way into the system and reveal the secret to those fighting Nazism in America.
Sometimes feeling unrealistic that the characters could have gotten away with as much as they did, I had to remind myself that the characters are based on real people. The two women's innocence and inexperience surely would have outed them, but at the same time, it was this that made them perfect to find out information since it was hard to suspect them.
Books like this lead to thoughts of 'what would I do in this instance' but the past is now. Plots to overthrow the government are happening. Nazism is resurging. And the news has us frightened and wary of each other. I enjoyed this book but it kept me up at night thinking of the ramifications of 'what if they succeeded then, and what would happen if they succeeded now?" I shudder.

A surprisingly different WWII read!
Set in LA prior to Pearl Harbor, a group of spies infiltrate Nazi cells. A mother and daughter team risk their lives to learn of espionage and get info to the FBI and antiNazi groups.
Based on the lives of actual people, their tale is woven into the events of the time.
Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC!

I have read many WWII historical fiction books over the years, and this one is a MUST READ! I did not know (or forgot what I was taught in school) that the Nazis were trying to get a foothold in the United States during the years leading up to the entry of the US into WWII. This book was a fast read filled with well researched historical facts and had strong well developed characters. You don't want to miss this book.

📖 Book Review 📖

📱"Mother Daughter Traitor Spy"
by Susan Elia MacNeal

⭐️⭐️⭐⭐⭐ publication date 9/20/2022️
  
Nazis in LA- before America joined WWII is something I did not know about. This novel is inspired by the real mother-daughter spy duo who foiled Nazi plots. In June of 1940, France has fallen to the Nazis, and Britain may be next--but to many Americans, the war is something happening "over there." Veronica Grace has just graduated from college, and after a mistake that cost her a promising journalist opporunity in NYC. To start over she and her mother, Vi, move to sunny Los Angeles, where her uncle lives. Veronica is relieved to take a typing job in L.A.- but soon realizes she is in over her head. German Nazis are recruiting Americans.The FBI dismisses the Graces' concerns, so Veronica and Violet decide to call on an old friend, who introduces them to L.A.'s anti-Nazi spymaster.
   Very well-written with Veronica and Vi being realistic, very likablecharacters, with their flaws and mistakes. A wonderful narrative of secrets, risks, intrigue, espionage, undercover work, high stakes, and investigative genius.

Thank you @netgalley for the Kindle ARC

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Ok. Wow. Just, wow. I knew this would be a fantastic book…Ms. MacNeal’s books always are. But this one is just so relevant. It’s insane to think a fiction book based in 1940 Los Angeles would still ring true today…but here we are.

Mother-daughter duo Violet (Vi) and Veronica Grace pack up and leave their lifelong home of Brooklyn, NY, to start fresh in Los Angeles. When their dang good looking German looks get them noticed by some local Nazi actiivists, they end up finding themselves delving deeper and deeper into the world of racism, authoritarianism, and fascist regimes.

Sound familiar? Pretty sure I’ve read those words in the headlines in the last week alone. It’s eerie how relevant this book is to today, and massive props to MacNeal for being willing to talk about it. It’s not an easy book to read, but I’m not sure it was meant to be. I felt physically sick at the rhetoric that Nazi characters were spouting, because it was just all too familiar. But overall…fantastic book. 10/10 recommend.