Absolutely fantastic story. The author captured the feeling of the times with great clarity. To see how impacted the US was by Nazisim is insane to even try and wrap your head around.
We so frequently think about World War II, and the Holocaust, and only think about Pearl Harbor and the end of the Holocaust, as far as the US is concerned. When you see the amount of Nazis activity that was already here, it's crazy to think about.
This book follows the story of a mother and daughter who are both spies for the US, and help to thwart numerous Nazi activities in the Southern California and Los Angeles area. The craziest part is that these characters are based on a real mother/daughter "team." This is definitely a book to check out if you love historical fiction!

After graduating from college and then finding out she's losing her job in publishing, Veronica Grace and her mother, Violet, are moving from New York to Los Angeles to start new lives. It's 1940 and this mother daughter duo have fallen into a pocket of Nazi supporters/recruiters on US soil. What they don't expect is to become spies.

The story line of Mother Daughter Traitor Spy wasn't bad, and I enjoyed it for the most part. I liked that the characters were based on real people and events that happened leading up to WWII. I felt like parts of it were difficult to follow and I was bored. If you really enjoy historical fiction works around WWII and the holocaust, I feel like this is something you'd enjoy.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bantam (Random House Publishing) for this digital ARC in exchange for my honest reivew.

A wonderful historical fiction read! I was completely immersed. The research for this was fantastic, I truly felt like I was back in time with the characters. Highly recommend!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this arc in exchange for an honest review.

A mother and daughter in 1940s California go undercover to infiltrate Nazi sympathizer organizations in Susan Elia MacNeal’s (Mr. Churchill’s Secretary) latest. After journalist Veronica Grace loses her job in New York when her affair with a married man is discovered, she and her widowed mother Vi move to California to stay in a home owned by her Uncle Walter.

Veronica finds a job working as an office secretary and soon discovers that her new employers are Nazi sympathizers. Appalled at her employers’ political allegiance, she and her mother contact an old Navy friend of her father’s who is interested in what Veronica has learned about her boss’ subversive activities. Together, Veronica and her mother undergo training as spies to expose the threats of those who seek not only to keep the U.S. out of the war but to offer support to Hitler’s regime.

Based on actual mother/daughter spies who infiltrated Nazi organizations in Los Angeles, MacNeal’s latest is an eye-opening, riveting view of the efforts on American soil to not only undermine the American government, but offer support to Germany’s relentless quest for power.

I enjoy Susan Elia Macneals books as there is so much historical research that goes into them. This one is no different. Admittedly, I read a few pages in, wasn’t hooked and left it for months! I picked it up again and couldn’t put it down. It’s amazing to learn about some of the things that were happening here in the US during WWII before we entered it, and it’s scary how similar things are today. It’s a good read, hard to say enjoyable considering the topic and similarities to history repeating itself, but another good solid read from the author.

While providing historical background into little known events surroundingbthe attempted rise of nazism in the US, I found the story sort of flat. This could have been one of those tv docudrama type books. The history is excellent, fascinating. I certainly went down a few fun and interesting google rabbit holes. I just felt the charecter development to be a bit flat and one dimensional. But looking back, if I imagine this read as a docudrama series, I can totally see it. 3 stars from me. Thanks netgalley, I would recommend this for the main reason who knew about nazism in the US? We aren't taught about it. And we should be considering how closely we are flirting with facism now.

I love that this historical fiction is based on true events and real people! Although, the pacing was a bit slow at times this one hit all the right notes for me. MacNeal’s rich and vivid descriptions of locations and fashions really brought the era to life!

Thanks so much for the review copy. I’m not a big historical fiction fan but I did enjoy this one. I liked traveling to Los Angeles in the book.

This book is based on two real-life women, Sylvia & Grace Comfort who went undercover posing as Nazi sympathizers to infiltrate the Nazi/white Nationalist movement in the 1940's. I found this book fascinating, as my mother grew up in Southern California during this time & this is the first I had heard of this movement being so strong in that area. The plots to lynch prominent actors who were either Jewish or considered Communist & plots to sabotage Southern California aviation plants were especially eye-opening. I knew a little about the isolationist movement & having recently read The Lindbergh Nanny, I knew a little about Lindbergh's Nazi sympathies, but prior to reading this book, I had no idea about this faction of people who were so opposed to Roosevelt's re-election.

I think this book is very timely with the seeming rise of white nationalism & antisemitism we are seeing today.

I look forward to reading some of this author's other books.

What would you do if you found yourself amongst Nazis. Well that is just where Veronica and Violet Grace have landed. Shortly after moving to LA from New York in 1940, Veronica is employed by a couple of disseminate Nazi propaganda. She has a choice to make, never go back or became a spy. After Violet calls an old friends of her husband's, the Grace women find themselves with an opportunity, become spies for the US and relay back all information they can turn up about a Nazi group in California and their actions.

This story is based on a real mother and daughter of whom little is known. They are not the only real people in this story, just about everyone is. Something MacNeal did, that most historical fiction writers do not do, is she told you who these characters are representing before you start reading. This allows you the ability to know who is based on someone real and who is entirely made up. Then at the end of the book she goes more in depth about the real people and tells you what she changed (for example a character in the story dies but in real life they did not).

This is an interesting book that I definitely recommend.

A historical fiction tale of two women, Vi Grace and her daughter Veronica, who moved to Los Angeles in 1940 and find themselves involved in trying to prevent the Nazi party from coming to power in the United States. A truly well-written book, it has many details and lots of suspense and surprises.

Story of a mother and daughter who worked together to spy on the Nazi movement in the US in the early 1940s. Veronica Grace wants to be a reporter, but when she has a relationship with a married man, her future in journalism in NY is doomed. She and her mother, Vivian, a widower, move to CA. While there, they are exposed to extreme hatred towards Jews and it disgusts them. They are recruited to become spies to take down the Nazis. This is based on a real-life mother/daughter team who helped to destroy Nazi plots in Los Angeles during the war. (Sylvia Comfort and her mother, Vi)
This is a well written historical novel, and really exposes how easy it is to be lured into hatred via propaganda. We need to guard against this every day.

Mother, Daughter, Traitor, Spy tells the story of a mother and daughter who spy on Nazis in Los Angeles during WWII. After losing an incredible job opportunity, Veronica and her mother, Violet, move to Los Angeles to start anew. Shortly after their arrival, Veronica is hired by a German propagandist. When they voice their concerns to the FBI, they dismiss their claims. A family friend leads them to the local spymaster. Both Veronica and Violet agree to be spies on the Nazis. They eventually realize that their mission could be very dangerous. Could Veronica and Violet succeed in their mission without losing everything, including their own life?

I found Violet and Veronica to be very interesting characters. I learned in the author’s note that they were based on real historical figures which made them even more intriguing. Veronica is a little immature. She makes many foolish mistakes. However, she has a strong sense of justice. She eventually matures and becomes wiser. I also thought that Violet was a more interesting character. She was more logical and prude. I found her culture shock from moving to Los Angeles to New York to be very funny. I loved the mother-daughter relationship. They had a deep love for each other and their country. Therefore, they were admirable characters. I found them to be strong and courageous protagonists.

Overall, this novel is about family, patriotism, and prejudice. I found all the characters to be very likable and realistic. Besides Veronica and Violet, my favorite character was Jonah whom I thought was very funny. The only thing I did not like about the book was that it had a slow beginning. Nevertheless, it was a very captivating read, and I enjoyed the vivid descriptions of sunny Los Angeles! I also liked how it focused on a subject that I knew nothing about! Therefore, I was so intrigued by the subject material that I read it in one sitting! I recommend this novel for fans of The Call of the Wrens, That Summer in Berlin, and Invisible Woman!

MacNeal bases this book on a pair of mother-daughter spies who worked in Los Angeles at the cusp of WWII. Veronica and Vi Grace move to Santa Monica to start over. It's 1940 and the war is becoming more of a reality as Roosevelt's reelection looms and isolationism is a way for social groups such as a German run one in LA to recruit new members. Veronica stumbles into a typing assignment and discovers it's all Nazi propaganda. She and her mother try to alert the local FBI, but instead a man named Ari Lewis contacts them and their life as "good Germans" makes it easy for them to infiltrate the local German community. This was good and unsettling at the same time. I didn't know much about the West Coast having that much antiwar activity until MacNeal's other series touched on it in a recent book.

Excellent re-telling of the story of a mother and daughter who were spies against several of the Nazis who carried out Hitler's orders. The author conducted a lot of research for this work of historical fiction.

Thank you to NetGalley for a copy of this book for my honest review. Violet and her daughter, Veronica, are moving to Los Angeles after some bad occurrences in their lives. Veronica is looking for a secretarial job and finds one. Eventually she discovers that her bosses have connections to the Nazi's. In the year 1940, this is scary and Veronica and her mother vow to expose them. A lot of research went into this book and it is well organized and laid out.

If well-researched historical fiction is your thing, then I highly commend this book to your reading list. It was informative and an exhilarating read. This novel is "based inspired by the real mother-daughter spy duo who foiled Nazi plots in Lost Angeles during WWII."
1940-The Nazis have taken over France and Britain is next. American Veronica Grace just graduated college. Veronica is caught in a scandal which thwarts a journalism career in NY and she ends up taking a typing job in LA. She lives with her mother Violet. Soon she realizes she is working with a propagandist.
Veronica realizes Americans are being recruited by German Nazis for their campaign. She notifies the FBI, but is put off.
Soon they reach out to a friend and a new opportunity is given to them. They start working undercover to gather information, but Pearl Harbor is bombed. Can their intelligence help our country?
My thanks to Netgalley and Random House for an advance copy of this book.

Veronica Grace just graduated from college to be a reporter. She’s got a prestigious internship waiting for her until a call from the editor of the magazine changes everything. Veronica and her mother Violet “Vi” Grace to get away from the scandal of her affair with a married man move to California near family. Ari Lewis & Jonah Rose have a spy network keeping tabs on the local German community and especially looking out for sabotage. When Vi and Veronica realize their new friends and employer have connections to a Nazi organization, they’ll become a team as they turn into a Mother Daughter Traitor Spy.

Susan Elia MacNeal’s Mother Daughter Traitor Spy is a more recent historical story set in the middle of World War II. A unique telling of spies trying to save America from the Nazis. A mother and daughter who fled New York area due to scandal to California become embroiled in the spy game when a job has the daughter working for a local group of German Americans and naturalized citizens. Vi is reluctant to go under Veronica sees it as a way to get back her career she lost due to the scandal she was involved in. Mother Daughter Traitor Spy shows the danger of going undercover emotionally. There’s tension, danger, suspicion, suspense. They’ll have sympathy for the people they’re spying on. Friendships are formed and romance comes into play. Their investigation could cost them their lives and as the war starts to become more real to Americans these two women may just uncover more than expected as they work to bring justice to those traitors. Susan Elia MacNeal takes the reader on a suspenseful trip through the world of traitors and patriots with her story Mother Daughter Traitor Spy. Two women who never thought their lives would take the turn that they did will find that their new lives in sunny California will be more eventful than they first thought. With the help of two spy masters and an old friend they’re taken into a world of intrigue and danger as they work their way to find justice and protect their country. A look back into the 1940s and what life might’ve been like as a war wages in another part of the world. This reader had never read this author before, but this book has put her on my radar and have become a fan. I look forward to reading another of her books.

MOTHER DAUGHTER TRAITOR SPY by Susan Elia MacNeal
Published: 9/20/2022 by Random House Publishing Group / Ballantine



Sitting here today, it’s hard to believe that there actually were staunch supporters and sympathizers with the Nazi party. June 1940 France fell into the hands of the invading horde of Nazi Germany … and many felt that Britain was next. And, yet America stood on the sidelines… not wanting to get involved. This moving portrait of two American woman who would not sit on their hands is portrayed in this excellent slice of historical fiction. The story is not set in the ravages of the war in Europe, but rather in sunny, Los Angeles, California. The two main protagonists are Veronica Grace, who has just finished college and her mother, Violet (“Vi”) … a widow of a Navy commander. Both are of German descent, and fit the mold as being blonde and blue-eyed. But, their physical appearance is far from what’s in their heart.
Veronica can not get a job as a journalist in NYC. They set out together for a new start in Los Angeles. Without any credentials, Veronica settles for a job as a typist, and soon learns she is working for an anti-semitic propagandist. They soon realize that there is active element of the German Bund working to subvert the activities of American Democracy. Their goal is to keep America out of Europe, prevent re-election of Roosevelt, and to actively attempt to overthrow democracy with attacks on the infrastructure. Approaching the police and the FBI with their knowledge falls on deaf ears. Vi approaches and old friend of her husband, Ari Lewis, who actually is a anti-Nazi spymaster. With Ari’s help the two are able to infiltrate into the Nazi conspiracy community of L.A. As they slowly gain their confidence, they insinuate themselves deeper into the organizations to glean more incriminating evidence. At one of these secretive meetings, Veronica surveys her surroundings and muses: “Hell is empty and all the devils are here” (which actually is a quote from Shakespeare’s play, the Tempest).. and an accurate estimation of the circumstances.
MacNeal weaves an extraordinary cautionary tale, rich in characterization and plot, and obviously deeply researched. The intrigue and suspense ratchet up as they go deeper underground, as the risks of discovery heightens. Themes of courage, love and duty are juxtaposed with those of fear and hate, and culminate with a page-turner.
Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for providing an Uncorrected Proof in exchange for an honest review.

Mother Daughter Traitor Spy by Susan Elia MacNeal is a surprising novel set in World War 2. I have read many novels set during this time and did not expect to be completely surprised by this book. I had no idea how far reaching some factions were. I also did not know the real people that acted heroically on American soil to infiltrate these factions. I want to research and learn more! Great historical fiction overall. I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher with no obligations. These opinions are entirely my own.