Review - Mother Daughter Traitor Spy

Susan Elia MacNeal is the author of the award winning best selling Magie Hope mysteries.  But she has written a stand-alone novel set in 1940's Los Angeles.  I was excited to see this novel from one of my favorite historical fiction authors.  Check out the details and my thoughts on this new novel filled with intrigue but based in fact.

Author: Susan Elia MacNeal

Copyright: September 2023 (Bantam) 352 pgs

Series: Standalone

Sensuality: Innuendo, nothing descriptive

Mystery Sub-genre: Suspense Thriller

Main Characters: Veronica Grace, German-American young journalist and her mother

Setting: 1940 Los Angeles

Obtained Through: Library

Book Blurb: "June 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; she and her mother, Violet, are looking for a fresh start in sunny Los Angeles. After a blunder cost her a prestigious career opportunity in New York, Veronica 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.

At once, the women go undercover to gather enough information about the California Reich to take to the authorities. But as 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 even a single misstep could cost them everything.

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 that raises timeless questions about America—and what it means to have courage in the face of terror."  

My thoughts:

Veronica Grace and her mother Violet Grace are so real in this novel.  The author puts the reader in the middle of the intrigue and you feel the tension and fear of being discovered.  Ms. MacNeal is at the top of her writing game as the pacing kept me engrossed in the story.  1940 Los Angeles is recreated with a lot of details and care.  

The climax was suspenseful and seemingly very real.  The fact that this was based on true events makes the story even more chilling.  My heart was racing in several instances.

I so appreciate Ms. MacNeal bringing this forgotten piece of American history back to life--lest we forget.  This isn't just history placed into a fictional story, it is well written with visceral tension and heroines you hold your breath for.

Rating:  Near Perfect - Buy two copies: one for you and one for a friend. 

Here is Susan Elia MacNeal talking about how she was inspired to write this novel.