Mother Daughter Traitor Spy by Susan Elia MacNeal
In this absolutely gripping take on an important moment in world history, Mother Daughter Traitor Spy by Susan Elia MacNeal (Bantam) is a fantastic historical fiction-meets-spy-novel depiction of a mother and daughter trying to foil the plots of German Nazis in the United States.
The year is 1940, right after Germany had taken France during World War II, and little did anyone know that Pearl Harbor would occur shortly thereafter. But for someone like Veronica Grace, all of the world’s problems seemed to happen “over there,” not in the United States. But when the truth of her affair with a married man comes to light, just in time for her college graduation, Veronica’s opportunity at a prestigious magazine in New York is snatched away from her. Hoping to start fresh, Veronia and her mother, Violet, leave for California, where Veronica’s uncle has a summerhouse, made available to them.
Once there, Veronica takes up a job as a typist, only to realize that she is working for German propagandists who are trying to recruit Americans to the California Reich. And that’s only the beginning.
FROM JOURNALIST TO SPY
Horribly concerned by the propaganda, Veronica and Violet attempt to contact the police and the FBI to report her findings, though to no avail. Unwilling to stop there, the two women instead contact an old friend of the family, who puts them in contact with a local spymaster. It’s here that the two women are introduced to a whole new world as they literally go underground as spies — and discover how extensive the local propagandists’ reach actually is.
Veronica’s character, as a young woman, is still somewhat naive and vibrant in the face of new opportunity, and the parallels she draws between her skills as a journalist and her skills as a new spy is endearing, and even a light during a dark moment.
This subtle detail about her character is not unique to Veronica, however. Susan Elia MacNeal creates well-developed characters with clear appearances, beliefs and values that importantly interact with the plot. Veronica and Violet commit themselves to the importance and secrecy of their new roles as spies, and they see this as their duty to protect democracy and those whose lives have been most uprooted by World War II.
WELL-RESEARCHED, CREATIVE AND ENTICING
What’s so moving, though, is that this intricate, fascinating novel is based on a true story and real people. Veronica and Violet are representations of a real mother and daughter duo who took up lives as spies against the Nazis and sought to squelch the propaganda movement and to liberate Jewish people who had been taken by the California Reich.
The story is incredibly moving, especially knowing that much of what occurs in the book very well may have happened in 1940 — which, realistically, still is not all that long ago. But part of the emotional residence of this novel must also be contributed to Susan Elia MacNeal’s quality writing style, as well as her pacing of the book. The first third of the novel feels somewhat “slower,” as the reader slips down into this world of graduation, moving from New York to California and making the worst of discoveries alongside Veronica. But once Veronica and Violet agree to be spies, the pace and the presence of danger increase dramatically, and it feels like the pages cannot turn fast enough.
Mother Daughter Traitor Spy is an incredible story of a mother and daughter who tried to make a difference for the people nearest and dearest to them, and the emotional depth of the novel is striking and lasts long after the final page. This is one of those novels that will linger long after the story has been told, but the journey from the heights of New York to the depths of California, with political upheaval in the background and foreground, is so worth it.
About Susan Elia MacNeal:
Susan Elia MacNeal is the author of The New York Times, Washington Post, Publishers Weekly and USA Today-bestselling Maggie Hope mystery series, starting with the Edgar Award-nominated and Barry Award-winning Mr. Churchill’s Secretary, which is now in its 23rd printing. Mother Daughter Traitor Spy is her first stand-alone novel.
Her books have been nominated for the Edgar, the Macavity, the ITW Thriller, the Barry, the Dilys, the Sue Federer Historical Fiction, and the Bruce Alexander Historical Fiction awards. The Maggie Hope series is sold worldwide in English, and has also been translated into Czech, Japanese, Mandarin, Cantonese, Turkish, Italian, Russian, Portuguese, and Bulgarian. Warner Bros. has the TV rights.
Susan graduated from Nardin Academy in Buffalo New York, and also cum laude and with honors in English from Wellesley College. She cross-registered for courses at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and attended the Radcliffe Publishing Course at Harvard University.
Her first job was as the assistant to novelist John Irving in Vermont. She then worked as an editorial assistant at Random House, assistant editor at Viking Penguin, and associate editor and staff writer at Dance Magazine in New York City. As a freelance writer, she wrote two nonfiction books and wrote for the publications of New York City Ballet.
Susan is married and lives with her husband, Noel MacNeal, a television performer, writer and director, and their son in Park Slope, Brooklyn.
