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Table of Contents
About The Book
A glamorous Fifth Avenue wife hiding behind the perfect 1950s life is recruited by the FBI to spy on a dangerous Soviet operative from her past. As Cold War secrets and betrayals close in around her, Katharina must risk everything to reclaim the woman she used to be.
New York, 1954. From the outside, Katharina Edgeworth appears to have everything a woman could dream of: a glamorous Fifth Avenue apartment, elegant parties at the Plaza, two beautiful sons, and a brilliant husband from one of America’s wealthiest families. But beneath the polished façade, Katharina feels trapped in a life she never truly chose.
Before marriage and motherhood, Katharina was fiercely independent — a gifted translator working at the newly formed United Nations in the exhilarating years after World War II, believing she could help shape a better world. Manhattan was alive with possibility, and so was she.
Now, suffocated by the expectations of high society and desperate to reclaim her sense of purpose, Katharina is stunned when the FBI approaches her with a dangerous proposition. A charismatic man from her past has become a powerful Soviet spy, and the Bureau believes Katharina may be the only person capable of infiltrating his inner circle.
Drawn into the shadowy world of Cold War espionage, Katharina finds herself leading a thrilling double life, balancing cocktail parties and charity galas with coded messages, surveillance, and deadly secrets. As she becomes increasingly entangled with both the FBI and the KGB, the stakes rise dangerously higher — and the people around her begin to disappear.
But the deeper Katharina goes undercover, the more she risks losing everything: her marriage, her family, and even her own identity.
Elegant, suspenseful, and emotionally charged, this captivating historical novel is the story of one woman’s fight to break free from the roles imposed upon her and discover who she truly wants to be in a world divided by fear, power, and betrayal.
New York, 1954. From the outside, Katharina Edgeworth appears to have everything a woman could dream of: a glamorous Fifth Avenue apartment, elegant parties at the Plaza, two beautiful sons, and a brilliant husband from one of America’s wealthiest families. But beneath the polished façade, Katharina feels trapped in a life she never truly chose.
Before marriage and motherhood, Katharina was fiercely independent — a gifted translator working at the newly formed United Nations in the exhilarating years after World War II, believing she could help shape a better world. Manhattan was alive with possibility, and so was she.
Now, suffocated by the expectations of high society and desperate to reclaim her sense of purpose, Katharina is stunned when the FBI approaches her with a dangerous proposition. A charismatic man from her past has become a powerful Soviet spy, and the Bureau believes Katharina may be the only person capable of infiltrating his inner circle.
Drawn into the shadowy world of Cold War espionage, Katharina finds herself leading a thrilling double life, balancing cocktail parties and charity galas with coded messages, surveillance, and deadly secrets. As she becomes increasingly entangled with both the FBI and the KGB, the stakes rise dangerously higher — and the people around her begin to disappear.
But the deeper Katharina goes undercover, the more she risks losing everything: her marriage, her family, and even her own identity.
Elegant, suspenseful, and emotionally charged, this captivating historical novel is the story of one woman’s fight to break free from the roles imposed upon her and discover who she truly wants to be in a world divided by fear, power, and betrayal.
About The Author
Photograph by Julian Barton
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
- Publisher: Simon & Schuster Australia (July 7, 2021)
- Length: 384 pages
- ISBN13: 9781761101991
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Raves and Reviews
‘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
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