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Karin Tanabe

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A Woman of Intelligence: A Novel Kindle Edition

by Karin Tanabe (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

4.0 1,259 ratings

Editors' pick Best Mystery, Thriller & Suspense

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"Captivating." ––The Washington Post

Named a Best Book of Summer by Good Morning America • BuzzFeed • PopSugar • BookRiot • LifeSavvy • CT Post

From "a master of historical fiction" (NPR), Karin Tanabe's A Woman of Intelligence is an exhilarating tale of post-war New York City, and one remarkable woman’s journey from the United Nations, to the cloistered drawing rooms of Manhattan society, to the secretive ranks of the FBI.

A Fifth Avenue address, parties at the Plaza, two healthy sons, and the ideal husband: what looks like a perfect life for Katharina Edgeworth is anything but. It’s 1954, and the post-war American dream has become a nightmare.

A born and bred New Yorker, Katharina is the daughter of immigrants, Ivy-League-educated, and speaks four languages. As a single girl in 1940s Manhattan, she is a translator at the newly formed United Nations, devoting her days to her work and the promise of world peace—and her nights to cocktails and the promise of a good time.

Now the wife of a beloved pediatric surgeon and heir to a shipping fortune, Katharina is trapped in a gilded cage, desperate to escape the constraints of domesticity. So when she is approached by the FBI and asked to join their ranks as an informant, Katharina seizes the opportunity. A man from her past has become a high-level Soviet spy, but no one has been able to infiltrate his circle. Enter Katharina, the perfect woman for the job.

Navigating the demands of the FBI and the secrets of the KGB, she becomes a courier, carrying stolen government documents from D.C. to Manhattan. But as those closest to her lose their covers, and their lives, Katharina’s secret soon threatens to ruin her.

With the fast-paced twists of a classic spy thriller, and a nuanced depiction of female experience, A Woman of Intelligence shimmers with intrigue and desire.

From the Publisher

Editorial Reviews

Review

‘This is an intelligent, elegant piece of writing … Whip smart.’ (Australian Women’s Weekly)

‘A layered and engrossing Cold War historical … This would be perfect for a film or TV series.’ (Publishers Weekly (starred review))

‘Taut and thoughtful, A Woman of Intelligence vividly portrays a particular moment in American history while capturing a woman's timeless struggle to create her own life.’ (Shelf Awareness)

‘The kind of historical fiction you can get lost in.’ (PopSugar)

‘Tanabe crafts the historical setting convincingly [and] the novel moves at a brisk pace ... Perhaps the most subversive thing about the twinned stories is this: how well the masks and performances Rina puts on as wife and mother prepare her for the world of espionage.’ (Kirkus)

'What sets A Woman of Intelligence apart from other novels in this genre is Tanabe’s protagonist, Katharina ... Through her poignant portrayal of Katharina’s struggles with motherhood, postpartum depression, and a loss of identity, Tanabe sheds light on the issues women faced during this period and, to a certain extent, still face today.' (Better Reading)

‘What a delicious skein of secrets Karin Tanabe has spooled in A Woman of Intelligence, somehow entwining the lies it takes to sustain the fiction of happy motherhood with the lies it takes to work as a covert operative for the FBI in 1954 at the height of the McCarthy hearings. Katharina Edgeworth’s awakening into the gray area of patriotic action is prescient, relevant and, above all, deeply satisfying. I loved diving into this world.’ (Sarah Blake, New York Times bestselling author of The Guest Book )

‘Tanabe has long delighted readers of historical fiction with her beautiful writing, compelling plots and sumptuous historic details. In A Woman of Intelligence, she gives fans a heroine to root for in the strong, complex and spirited Katharina Edgeworth. This is the story of a woman who dares to dream beyond the gilded cage and stifling social mores into which life has boxed her, and who proves the indelible power of women to change the world in the process.’ (Allison Pataki, New York Times bestselling author of The Queen's Fortune )

‘Karin Tanabe delivers her most complex heroine yet in A Woman of Intelligence. Katharina Edgeworth, a former UN translator, unfulfilled in her role as wife and mother, finds herself leading a double life as an FBI informant during the McCarthy era. Filled with intrigue and wit, Tanabe takes readers on a meticulously researched journey through post WWII New York. This is a novel for fans of thrillers and historical fiction alike.’ (Renee Rosen, author of Park Avenue Summer )

‘A smart thriller with heart ... and some simmering sexual tension, too.’ (Book Riot)

About the Author

Karin Tanabe is the author of A Woman of Intelligence, The Gilded Years, The Price of Inheritance, A Hundred Suns, The Diplomat’s Daughter, and The List. A former Politico reporter, her writing has also appeared in the Miami Herald, Chicago Tribune, Newsday, and The Washington Post. She has made frequent appearances as a celebrity and politics expert on Entertainment Tonight, CNN, and The CBS Early Show. A graduate of Vassar College, Karin lives in Washington, DC. To learn more visit KarinTanabe.com.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B08FZ93M9C
Publisher ‏ : ‎ St. Martin's Press (July 20, 2021)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ July 20, 2021
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 2745 KB
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
Print length ‏ : ‎ 375 pages

Best Sellers Rank: #5,494 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #14 in Historical Mystery, Thriller & Suspense Fiction
- #29 in Women's New Adult & College Fiction
- #56 in Historical Thrillers (Books)

Customer Reviews:
4.0 1,259 ratings

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Karin Tanabe

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Karin Tanabe is a fiction writer and former Politico reporter whose writing has appeared in the Chicago Tribune, The Miami Herald, and The Washington Post among many other publications. Before turning to fiction, Karin worked as a journalist covering politics and lifestyle. She has made frequent appearances on Entertainment Tonight, Inside Edition and CNN. A graduate of Vassar College, she lives in Washington D.C.

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1,259 global ratings

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Kindle Customer

A wife and mother

Reviewed in the United States on May 4, 2024

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The dream every woman wants or so they think. Rina speaks five languages and used to work at the United Nations and living a glamorous New York life. Then marriage and children with a highly successful and rich surgeon becomes a gilded cage. When offered a clandestine job by the FBI, that brings her in contact with an old boyfriend from college who has ties to the KBG the battle to escape the cage is a fascinating plot. This author has written a good book and I can't wait to read more by her.

One person found this helpful

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Book Club Member

From Mother to Spy?

Reviewed in the United States on December 5, 2021

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When the United Nations was founded just after World War II, protagonist Rina, fluent in four languages, accepts a challenging job as an interpreter. Soon after, she is swept off her feet by a wealthy young doctor. Then she trades in her career for marriage and motherhood. Despite their financial ability to hire nannies or babysitters, Rina's husband Tom insists that Rina act as the full time caregiver to their two children, who are less than a year apart in age. Rina feels overwhelmed and stifled. Her isolation is magnified by Tom's grueling schedule at the hospital. She drinks too much and commits a very public faux pas, which causes Tom to tighten the reins even more.

On one particularly traumatic day, Rina suffers a meltdown, literally running away from Tom and the children in a park. When she finally stops running, a shadowy figure who has been following her requests that she become an informant for the FBI. One of her old lovers from college is now a member of the communist party with ties to Washington, Cuba, and Moscow. The FBI wants Rina to reestablish a connection with him, pretend to be a communist, and obtain information about the source of sensitive leaks in DC.

This shocking turn of events became the springboard for my enjoyment of "A Woman of Intelligence," by Karin Tanabe. Just as Rina's life after marriage had been drudgery, so was reading about it. Much of the action afterwards requires suspension of disbelief, but those stretches of imagination are necessary to drive the plot, which offers danger, murder, romance, and emancipation. If you feel like dropping the book in the first chapters, hang on until the spying begins.

18 people found this helpful

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Katherine J Schipp

Okay not fabulous

Reviewed in the United States on June 2, 2022

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I liked her story but seemed a little far fetched

2 people found this helpful

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Kindle Customer

Loved this

Reviewed in the United States on May 4, 2024

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I couldn't stop reading this wonderful book set after the war in early 1950s New York. An intelligent, well educated woman marries a wealthy doctor and has two children in 2 years. In spite of outward appearances, she is not happy and at the time opportunities for women were very limited. Also it was a time of rabid fear of communism, Joseph McCarthy and racism. Katharine is approached by the FBI and her world changes. This was so good and thought provoking, glad I found it.

One person found this helpful

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Rikki

Twists and Turns

Reviewed in the United States on January 30, 2023

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This book was very different than I expected. I write it for my book club and look forward to discussing if the challenges experienced by this mother from the 50s is any different in todays society. A Very thought provoking and good read.

One person found this helpful

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Mary-Alice Farina

The Madame Bovary of the Upper East Side

Reviewed in the United States on July 23, 2021

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I find it incredibly telling that the only mediocre reviews of this riveting novel are people essentially calling its heroine a whiner because she is rich and has a husband and children, yet is still unhappy. So sure, if your understanding of what “should” lead to female fulfillment is fundamentally a patriarchal and narrow one, you may miss the entire point of this book.
Otherwise, brace yourself for a stylish, empowering update to Flaubert’s masterpiece meets a spy thriller. Hello, what’s not to love?! I love the worlds Karin Tanabe is always able to create and this is her best yet. The plot is so well crafted and page turning, I couldn’t put it down. But what I really loved was Katharina’s rich and conflicted inner life. Trapped in a gilded prison like so many women, her ambition a casualty of society’s expectations. And, like Flaubert, the point here is not to craft some elaborate morality tale and condemn or celebrate “good or bad” behavior, rather to depict this very real human condition, the very real plight of the mid-century woman—which still carries enormous resonance today, as if it even needs to be said. Karin Tanabe raises the big real questions of what we expect of women and how we support mothers, while telling a heck of a gorgeous story. Five stars!

48 people found this helpful

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Kate Tompkins

Some parts very well done. Others . . . meh

Reviewed in the United States on July 26, 2021

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The motherhood struggles, the helpmate invisibility of a well-educated woman are superb. The intelligence business was not well-done or convincing, which I thought was too bad as the early pages are great.

8 people found this helpful

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Louie Louie

Not Georgina Smiley

Reviewed in the United States on August 7, 2021

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This looks like an attempt at a cosmopolitan spy novel that ended up being a Cosmopolitan spy novel. Nice try.

2 people found this helpful

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