Lady Codebreaker
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5.0 • 1 Rating
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- $22.99
Publisher Description
Fans of Kate Quinn and Kristina McMorris will love this gripping historical novel based on the true story of the woman who used her codebreaking skills to bring down Prohibition gangsters and WWII Nazis, and who ultimately helped found the present-day CIA.
Grace Smith has never been one to conform to society’s expectations. She flees small-town Indiana to seek adventure—and finds more than she bargained for when she’s hired by an eccentric millionaire to learn codebreaking. Soon she’s using those skills to help head the government’s fledgling cryptanalysis unit.
During Prohibition, Grace takes up the fight against rumrunners—not to mention Al Capone himself. And as the country careens from one Great War to another, it’s Grace who must crack the secrets of foreign governments, catch spies, and derail saboteurs . . . before it’s too late.
With wry wit and sheer grit, she forges her own path as a codebreaker, wife, mother. She’s spent a lifetime going up against powerful men and winning. But as war rages and the stakes grow impossibly high, Grace faces a truly impossible choice: her family or her country?
Customer Reviews
Lots of drama, addictive read
Oh. My. Word. I stayed up late into the night finishing Lade Codebreaker. I tried putting it away for the night, but I couldn't stop thinking about what could be happening. With the various timelines a lot went on.
Watching the characters grow over more than 40 years was wonderful. Grace is an anomaly in 1917. When most women were looking for a husband, she was looking for a job, a life that didn't revolve around being a wife. A series of unique situations finds Grace as a codebreaker, solving the coded messages of the enemies along side Robert Feldman, a man that would end up as her husband.
The story takes the reader through two world wars helping the allies to win the wars one telegram at a time, one radio transmission at a time. The reader experiences the prohibition and the smugglers that kept throats wet.
The work atmosphere created lots of drama. Men looked down on women. Too many women in the same office creates competition and bickering. Some wanted power. Some wanted what others had. There always seems to be someone wanting to be queen bee. Bringing J. Edgar Hoover into the story sent up all kinds of flags.
Grace wants to be in the action. She finagled her self on to a ship to learn about the smuggling during prohibition. She braved planes in the 1930's when the only females flying were stewardesses. She frequently found herself deep in the action. The idea of not knowing what would happen next made for a thrilling read.
All the action and suspense is balanced by romance. Grace may not have wanted to get married but it became necessary. Robert Feldman fell for her when they were both at Riverbank. He is a brilliant man. He is confident. Bobby is a wonderful character. He knows what he wants and he wants Grace. For her, marriage is a solution to her problems. For Bobby, it the first step in convincing Grace that they were made for each other. They end up walking through hot coals together.
There life was packed full of drama and struggles. I didn't expect the ending, but it had me admiring Grace even more. She was a very powerful woman that would do anything to protect her husband.