Mother Daughter Traitor Spy by Susan Elia MacNeal is fantastic. I have been a huge
fan of Susan Elia MacNeal's books for a long time. As soon as I was introduced to her Maggie Hope series, I devoured every one. This book came about as the result of some of the research she did for Maggie's latest adventure which took place in Los Angeles, California.

This is historical fiction at its best. It is based on true individuals and events. This story has everything to make a great read. It has intrigue, mystery, history, and suspense. This story had me glued to every page from beginning to end. (Just like the Maggie Hope Mysteries)

The story is about a mother and daughter who moved from Brooklyn, New York to California. Due to a twist of fate this mother/daughter duo become spies for the USA in seeking information about the American Nazi movement in 1940. The daughter, Veronica, is a fledgling journalist who infiltrates the American Bund. Her mother Vi is a homemaker who easily attaches herself to the America First Committee. The book outlines many of the plots of Nazi sympathizers in Southern California and Vi and Veronica’s role as spies.

Ms. MacNeal has a gift for making strong women characters. She has once again created two women who are very strong, likable, human, flawed, and real. Combine all that with a complex mother/daughter relationship and a very strong sense of right and wrong and you end up with two great characters. These two women are perfect for Ms. MacNeal to weave her magic of secrets, espionage, risk, nerve wracking undercover work and covert investigation.

Ms. MacNeal also does a wonderful job with the various settings throughout the book. You can feel the sun, picture California during 1940, see the various venues where the American Bund and America First Committee meet, picture Veronica’s workplace and see both women in their home.

While I have been a fan of Ms. MacNeal for years, I was slightly skeptical of her departure from the Maggie Hope series. My mistake. I absolutely loved this book. I can’t wait to see what Ms. MacNeal has in store for us next. Well done.

I would like to thank Ms. MacNeal, Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Wow! This was a fantastic book! I can’t believe how much I didn’t learn about this topic as a student. It’s also shocking the similarities between this period and things going on today. Although fiction, this book and characters are based on true people and events. Set in the WWII era, Veronica has graduated from college and has a bright future ahead of her. As she is preparing for her new job, she receives a phone call from her employer stating that her services are no longer required. She had an affair with a man that she didn’t know was married in the beginning. Unfortunately for her, the man’s wife belonged to a major publishing company, and she became blackballed in New York. Her uncle encourages Veronica and her mother to move to California. She’s discouraged with her job hunt out there. One day while she and her mother were out, they met a woman who was delighted with their German ancestry and offered Veronica a job as a typist for one of her family members. When Veronica begins her new job, she finds that the job involves Nazi propaganda and is horrified. Meanwhile, her mother has met some women who are impressed with her embroidery, and they take her under their wing. It turns out that these women are not as nice as they appear. I don’t want to say more about the plot because I don’t like spoilers, but you will not be disappointed in this book.

Also reviewed on B&N under 1IrishEyes430V and Kobo under IrishEyes430

I've long been a fan of Susan Elia MacNeal's Maggie Hope series and was looking forward to this new stand alone novel. I definitely was not disappointed. Based on true events and real people, this historical fiction novel tells the story of a mother and daughter who become spies on the American Nazi isolationist movement in the U.S., known as "America First". So much of the story parallels themes and movements we're seeing repeated today with Nationalist movements and themes of racism and fear mongering used to influence a less informed public. It was a great read and I highly recommend it to any fans of historical fiction, WWII fiction, or women's history. Strong 4.5 stars.

I received a complimentary ARC of this interesting novel from Netgalley, author Susan Elia MacNeal, and publisher Bantam. I have read Mother Daughter Traitor Spy of my own volition, and this review reflects my honest opinion of this work.

When we think of World War II our minds automatically center on Europe and the trials and tribulations involved, over there. Here, of course, we had the interment of the Japanese and Germans observed, but bloody battles and spying were confined to the countries of Europe. Not.

Susan Elia MacNeal brings us intrigue and danger in Los Angeles. She brings us a view into the lives of Americans, the plots and counterplots of everyday people. This is a real wake-up call for some of us.

“Mother Daughter Traitor Spy” is a historical fiction/spy thriller based on the real life mother-daughter spy team, Grace and Sylvia Comfort, German American women who went undercover and infiltrated a Nazi organization in Los Angeles. I loved the author’s note at the end detailing which characters were based on which historical figure - this book was so well researched.
The book takes place in 1940 and at the outset Violet and Veronica have recently arrived in Los Angeles from Brooklyn. Veronica finds work as a typist for a middle aged couple typing for a pro-Nazi, Anti-Semitic newsletter and propaganda, when she wants to report this but her concerns are dismissed since the focus of the police and FBI at that time was on pursuing communists “reds”. Her mother has a navy contact who puts them in touch with a private spies, whose focus was Nazis getting a foothold in America.

Vi and Veronica go undercover and must suppress their fear and revulsion as they pretend to sympathize with the Nazi Americans’ cause - as any good spy they need to lead real double lives always watching their steps and making sure they are inconspicuous.

The author’s vivid description of details in surroundings, clothing, places does an excellent job of bringing the sights, sounds and scents of 1940’s Los Angeles to life.

I love historical fiction that sheds light on snippets of history that I do not know much about and this book did just that and sent me on additional web searches and reading.

Set in Los Angeles during WWII, a mother- daughter duo go undercover to infiltrate a Nazi ring. MacNeal brings to life an aspect of the WWII era in the US that I hadn't previously learned about. The characters, both their motivations and their fears, felt reasonable and authentic. An entertaining and unique look at WWII, I recommend this for any history fiction fan.

Wow, this book was amazing. I was actually disappointed when it ended. A mixture of historical fiction, mystery and family this book will leave you wanting more. The characters were amazing, the story was frightening and the research was well done. I highly recommend this book!

1940 - Veronica, a recent college graduate, and her mother Violet are relocating to Los Angeles, when her prior career plans fall apart. When Veronica realizes that her new job is working for propagandists, she and her mother find themselves working undercover for one of L.A.'s anti-nazi spymasters. Inspired by a real mother-daughter duo who foiled Nazi Plots, Veronica and Violet find themselves investigating plots that put everything on the line.

Thank you Netgalley for my advanced reader copy!

Loved this. I knew next to nothing about the American Nazi movement during WWII - other than the Lindberg connection, Very timely. It was well-paced, well-written and very informative. I would recommend it to anyone.

I received this ebook as an Advanced Reader Copy. The review is my own.
I have enjoyed the Maggie Hope series by the same author, and was intrigued by the new book. Maggie a hope is based in England/Europe, so a WWII novel based in America was intriguing. Although the book is historical mystery/fiction, it does have some basis in fact. America was concerned about 5th columnists and infiltrators during the period, but not much was publicized about the ones they caught.
The book was very well done using history to write an interesting story. The characters were well done. It all drew you in , wanting to know what happens.

Mother Daughter Traitor Spy is the result of all the research from #NetGalley #ARCReview #TheHollywoodSpy (#MaggieHope #10) by #SusanEliaMacNeal. She had such a wealth of information about the Nazi movement on the west coast of the United States before we entered WWII that this standalone novel is the result. And it’s truly a story that needs to be told. I read a lot of history but had no idea about this aspect of WWII until I read the Hollywood Spy.

As for the story, it reads like a movie, but knowing that most of the events happened in real life brings it all home. I can’t imagine being Veronica and Vi Grace and becoming spies, hanging out with Nazis and going along with all they say and do in order to obtain information. I don’t think I could have done it myself.

The story, and the action, move quickly, and I found myself immersed in the novel. Some reviewers say the story and writing are simple, but if you ask me, that’s what makes Mother Daughter Traitor Spy work. The facts are so shocking, there’s no need to embellish or try to make the story the great American novel. Much like my beloved Nancy Drew travelogue stories, Susan Elia MacNeal weaves facts into her narrative that make an interesting story.

I thought the ending was a bit unbelievable and a tad rushed, but that didn’t take away from my overall enjoyment of the story. If you like a good WWII story, this is for you.

Susan Elia MacNeal, author of the long running Maggie Hope series, brings us another young, idealistic heroine, this one based in Los Angeles in the run-up to Pearl Harbor. Veronica Grace, a recent college graduate and aspiring writer, finds herself drawn into the German community of LA. A temporary job as a secretary becomes an opportunity to spy on the Nazi organizations operating out of the Deutsches Haus. Along with her mother, a talented seamstress much in demand by wealthy socialite German-American women, Veronica signs up to spy on her employers.

Veronica and Vi's naivete was slightly jarring at times. But perhaps that is a characteristic of the era, and certainly of Veronica's age. I found it hard to feel much sympathy for even the most benign of the "bad guys". The rhetoric of hatred that fueled American Nazis is all too familiar in our current political environment. Despite knowing how the WWII story ended up, I felt a sense of dread the whole time I was reading.

Fans of Maggie Hope will certainly enjoy this new book.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

It is June, 1940, and France has fallen to the Nazis, and everyone feared that Britain may be next—but to many Americans, the war is something happening “over there.” Veronica Grace has just graduated from college; she and her mother, Violet, are looking for a fresh start in sunny Los Angeles. After a blunder cost Veronica a prestigious career opportunity in New York, and is relieved to take a typing job in L.A.—only to realize that she’s working for one of the area’s most vicious propagandists. Overnight, Veronica is exposed to the dark underbelly of her new home, where German Nazis are recruiting Americans for their devastating campaign. After the FBI dismisses the Graces’ concerns, Veronica and Violet decide to call on an old friend, who introduces them to L.A.’s anti-Nazi spymaster. As they gather information about the California Reich to take to the authorities, the news of Pearl Harbor ripples through the United States, and President Roosevelt declares war. The Grace women realize that the plots they’re investigating are far more sinister than they feared, and they could be in danger.

Inspired by the real mother-daughter spy duo who foiled Nazi plots in Los Angeles during WWII, Mother Daughter Traitor Spy is a powerful portrait of family, duty, and deception -and what it means to have courage in the face of terror. This author shows in her writing the extensive research she did and tells the readers at the end the names of the real people that her characters in the story were modeled after. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for granting my request to read this very interesting book about the Nazis in Los Angeles during WWII. It was a very different slant to the WWII novels I have read--and I have read many--and a scenario that I would imagine not too many people realize was happening.

MacNeal's Mother Daughter Traitor Spy is a great read. She picks at a particular under-discussed part of American history--Nazi sympathies in the United States--and transforms that into a thriller about a mother and daughter who infiltrate fascist sympathizers at the start of World War II. Highly recommend. I imagine every library will have a copy and that is just fine with me.

Mother Daughter Traitor Spy was slow going to get to any action - nearly 50% of the way into the story before things pick-up for the Mother/Daughter duo. The storyline was not captivating, and it never felt like a suspenseful or like a spy drama.

This story does contain a significant amount of research and historical facts. Thank you Random House for the #gifted copy.

While it was the title and its play on words (a clever twist on John le Carre’s novel “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy”) that caught my attention (and I have no doubt that was the author’s intention), it was the blurb that got me excited. It promised a thriller: sinister and tantalizing. What I felt I got was a book that was so slow to start I wondered if I was even reading the right book (I don’t think the actual plot activated in any minor way until between 25% or 30% of the way in, which is just about anathema in any novel that purports to be a thriller, in my opinion). Even after the plot kicked in the pacing was uneven, the characters weren’t compelling, and the book simply never felt like a thriller.

Back in June, I read William Martin’s “December ‘41”, which is a WWII espionage thriller and WWII historical fiction novel. As a matter of fact, when I reviewed the title, it was categorized exactly the same as “Mother Daughter Traitor Spy” is on Amazon right now. That book is also set in the same time period, starts in Los Angeles with a lot of the same real-life players and the same real-life locations before spinning off into their own plots. Yet “Mother Daughter Traitor Spy” felt like a women’s historical fiction than a thriller at any time. Dramatic and suspenseful, sure, but a thriller? No.

I really wanted this book to wow me, to give me the female spy vibes I longed for. But it just fell flat.

Thanks to Random House Publishing Group, Ballantine Books, and Bantam for granting me early access to this title. Due to the 3 star or lower rating, this review will not appear on any social media or bookseller website. This is my personal policy as an ARC and book reviewer.

Violet and Veronica are a mother and daughter who decides to move to L.A. in search of a different life. While they are living their lives, World War Two is happening. Veronica takes a job as a typist and she realizes that she is working for a dark network. The Germans are trying to recruit Americans for their evil plan. Nobody takes the two ladies seriously and they find another network of people who believes them. They join the cause to stop this sinister plan. Like other stories that are written from this era, we see normal, unassuming people who become heroes. This show the resilience, resolve of people, and what people will do for the love of their families and their fellow humans. A page turner inspired by a true story, with a beautifully written plot and characters.


Disclaimer: Thank you to NetGalley and Bantam for this ARC, I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Well researched and based on real people and historical events, this is the story of how intelligence organizations and their operatives risked everything to fight against the growing strength of Naziism in the U.S. in the 1940s. German Nazis, along with American Nazi sympathizers, were working tirelessly to prepare for what they hoped would be Hitler’s victory in the United States. They had even built a huge ranch complex near Los Angeles that was going to be Hitler’s west coast bunker. This was just before the United States entered World War II. One of their primary goals was to sway public opinion to keep the United States from joining the war that was raging across Europe.
It was fascinating and quite sobering to see how cleverly the Nazis twisted facts to influence public opinion and gain recruits. The devious tactics they used to gain power are surprisingly similar to how hate groups today operate. It’s frightening to think that if the Nazis had had access to better mass communication, such as the Internet, how much more they might have been able to accomplish. They planned and executed heinous crimes, including committing sabotage against industries aiding the European war effort and making plans to kill as many Jewish people as possible.
It’s hard to believe that information about this pivotal period of our history is not more widely known. I was shocked to learn how widespread and successful the Nazi campaign to undermine democracy and overthrow the government was here in the United States. This book is not only an entertaining read, but also a sobering warning about how even a small group of extremists can do incredible damage to a democracy.

Mother Daughter Traitor Spy is a home front novel like no other home front novel I've ever read. It begins in 1940 on such a high note as Veronica Grace, aspiring journalist, is graduating from Hunter College (my alma mater) and about to begin working as a guest editor for Mademoiselle magazine after winning their annual competition.
But all that comes to a crashing end when Mademoiselle's editor in chief calls on graduation night and tells Veronica will not be welcomed as their guest editor after learning about an affair she had with a married man, who happened to be married to a woman, Mrs. Applebaum, whose father is a "titan of New York City publishing." In a call to Mrs. Applebaum, Veronica is told she will never get a job in publishing in New York City, and to just get out her the city.

When Veronica tells her mother and her Uncle Wally what happened, it is decided that she and her mother, Mrs. Violet "Vi" Engle Grace, would immediately leave NYC for Santa Monica, California. There, they could live in her uncle's summer cabin rent free.

Vi's husband had been in the Navy, but she's been widowed for the last 6 years earlier. She's an accomplished seamstress and embroiderer and has considered opening her own atelier. Her parents were both born in Germany and needless to say, both Veronica and Vi look like perfect Aryan woman.

It doesn't take long for the Grace women to be approached by some of the other woman of German descent, who wish to have Vi do some embroidery for them - swastika's and other Nazi symbols. Meanwhile, Veronica is having trouble getting a job in journalism and is referred to a Mr. Donald McDonnell who needs someone to take dictation and type. It turns out McDonnell and his wife Harriet produce a pro-Nazi tabloid and other Nazi propaganda. Veronica, who does not support the Nazis in any way, tries to report what she learns to the FBI, who don't seem very interested in Nazis, instead focusing on communists per instructions from J. Edgar Hoover.

Discouraged and annoyed at the FBI, Vi makes a call to one of her husband's colleagues in the Navy, Commander Ezra Zabner, to tell him what they suspect about their new acquaintances. Zabner is interested and introduces Vi and Veronica to Ari Lewis. Lewis, along with his friend Jonah Rose, are trying to learn what fifth columnists like McDonnell and his fellow Nazis are up to and they enlist Veronica and Vi to gain the confidence of these traitors,while they are in reality spying on them and reporting back to Ari and Jonah. A dangerous job for this mother and daughter? You bet, but it makes for some very exciting reading.

When I said that this book is a home front novel like no other, what I meant is that rather being a story about fifth columnists and quislings, MacNeal takes the reader right into the heart of one such America First group to give them a clear picture of how those groups worked, their anti-Semitic beliefs, their efforts to keep America out of the war in Europe, and how they recruited more members through the connections that Veronica and Vi make once they get to California. Persuasion propaganda is an interest I developed as a student in Hunter College (thank you, Serafina Bathrick, "Propaganda and the Mass Media") and continue to have an interest in, so this novel was right up my alley. This is, to say the least, a well researched, well written novel that I found I couldn't put down.

Mother Daughter Traitor Spy is based on a real mother-daughter team, Sylvia and Grace Comfort, as are all the other main players, giving the story the in-depth sense of authenticity because so much of the Grace's undercover work and the content of America First's beliefs are taken from reality. Added to this is such a strong, almost cinematic sense of time and place, that I felt transported back to 1940s New York and California. MacNeal's use of fashion throughout adds even more flavor to the book's historicity.

I have to admit that I was a little disappointed when I first heard that MacNeal's next book was going to be a stand alone novel and not a Maggie Hope mystery, which I've been enjoying since Maggie first appeared. But Mother Daughter Traitor Spy has turned out to be a thrilling spy novel about two courageous women involved in some extraordinary work, and yes, there is some love interest, too. By the end, I found myself wondering if MacNeal would perhaps grace her fans a sequel to Veronica and Vi's story. Maybe?

Lauren Willig's Two Wars and a Wedding follows a character from last year's Band of Sisters (one of my favorite books from 2021). Smith College graduate Betsy Hayes studies archeology at the American School in Greece in 1896 and desperately wants to go on a dig, but women are not allowed. When a war breaks out between Greece and Turkey, Betsy ends up as a nurse and proves herself to be an outstanding nurse. Having seen the horrors and dangers of war up close, Betsy travels to Cuba in 1898 to stop her best friend Ava from joining Clara Barton's Red Cross nurses, but ends up again in the throes of war as a nurse. Once again, Lauren Willig's brilliant writing and detailed research into historical events I knew little about had me enthralled. Betsy is an unforgettable character, and watching her grow from a single-minded young student into a strong, brave and caring woman was a wonderful journey . I'll be buying this book when it publishes in March of 2023.

I was intrigued by the real life story of two women who help the US beat the Nazis in California. At times the dialogue seemed a little unbelievable. Still, the most intriguing part about the whole thing was how familiar it all sounded. Listening to people plotting to take over the government for our own good is eerily familiar. How are we going through this again? I couldn’t stop reading. Maybe I was looking for clues as to how to beat it again. Maybe I just enjoyed women being overlooked and taking down a bunch of Nazis. Either way, I was hooked.