A Woman of Intelligence

Trigger warning: murder

A 1950s housewife frustrated with motherhood becomes an informant for the FBI.

Katharina "Rina" Edgeworth is the wife of a pediatric surgeon in post-World War II New York City. After an exciting career as a translator for the United Nations, she is struggling with motherhood and being a housewife.

The first quarter of the novel is spent reminiscing about the glory days of single life and the woes of having an infant and a toddler at the same time. When she's at her breaking point, Rina is approached by a man from the FBI asking about an old lover. Desperate for something other than her current life, she agrees to help him.

Rina goes to meetings of the Civil Rights Congress with African-American leader Turner Wells as an entree into the Communist Party. She makes a friend with one of the young women who is supporting communism and can see why a young, rich white woman would be drawn to the tenets of communism.

Rina's husband isn't supportive of Rina doing anything other than parenting their children. He blames her mental health and drinking for her absenteeism and asks her to go to therapy. This is perfect for Rina, who uses therapy as her excuse for espionage.

For a novel about the Red Scare and espionage, the action of the novel is lacking. The story is more of a character study of an intelligent woman who feels chafed by her children.

Jennifer Jill Araya is a wonderful narrator who deftly handles all of the languages and accents in the novel.

Recommended only for fans of post-World War II fiction and readers of novels about the Red Scare.

Karin Tanabe is a political reporter and a graduate of Vassar College. She lives in Washington, D.C.

Publisher: St. Martin's Press (print); Macmillan Audio

Narrator: Jennifer Jill Araya

Running Time: 13 hours, 15 minutes

Length: 384 pages

Release Date: July 20, 2021

I received an electronic galley copy and audio recording of this title from the publisher through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.