This was a fascinating read. I loved the glimpse into code breaking during the Cold War in DC and how the various agencies worked together. It was fast-paced and kept my interest the whole way through. I did want, however, more of the code breaking and less of the romance aspect; this slowed down parts of the story for me but it added some levity to an otherwise tense narrative about espionage.

Wow, what a book! Having read and enjoyed other Jane Healey books I was excited to start this one. It doesn’t disappoint. It follows a group of American men and women working on breaking Russian codes to track down spies. I was unaware of the project and immediately engaged by the writing and the characters. I stormed thrift in a few days. High recommended.

The Women of Arlington Hall follows Kat Kileen who worked at Arlington Hall, a secret military site that dealt with breaking Russian codes during the Cold War. She and the other women worked tirelessly to root out Russian spies along with the FBI. The code-breaking and early intelligence methods were fascinating and informative.

The characters were well developed and the tension built as the group got closer to revealing the identities of the spies. There was romance as well in the novel as well as some twists and turns. It was a great read and would be recommended to those that enjoy historical novels that dealt with the headlines of the times. Thanks to Lake Union Publishing and Netgalley for allowing me to read and give my comments

A great historical fiction read.

We follow Cat Killeen who is a codebreaker at Arlington Hall. It's a piece of history I wasn't very familiar with. I was hooked from the start. The book is well researched and Jane Healey writes in a comprehensible way, so you can actually follow the code breaking process.

For the romance lovers there is plenty to love aswell! This was my first read by Jane Healy and Im curious to read more!

*5 Stars*

Copy kindly received via NetGalley for an honest review.

A very interesting read with great characters. You can just imagine what was happening years ago could still be happening today. I would recommend this book.

The Women of Arlington Hall was such a fun and engaging read! I loved that it centered on a group of people—especially women—I knew nothing about, which made the story feel fresh and eye-opening. The historical detail gave me a glimpse into a fascinating chapter of history, and the characters were compelling enough to keep me turning the pages.

Yes, parts of the plot were a little predictable, but honestly, that’s exactly what I look for in a good historical fiction novel: a blend of comfort, intrigue, and a satisfying storyline. This book delivered all of that, and I thoroughly enjoyed the journey. A great choice if you’re in the mood for historical fiction with strong female leads and a touch of suspense.

Thank you to Jane Healey, Lake Union Publishing, and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

An extraordinary historical page-turner. Healey brings a creative eye, unique voice and immaculate research to the world of historical fiction - the people and lands of this novel will not leave me. The Women of Arlington Hall is more than a book; it is a profound experience.

1947 and all the women working at Arlington Hall are brave and adventurous. They are going where the average woman is not going, into a world of crypto analysis, breaking codes, trying to find the Soviet spies that have infiltrated the US to an unimaginable degree.

Cat Killeen is one of them, giving up the conventional, for a life of intellectual adventure and she has found a band of similar women (and men) who will support her. The story goes from the hunt , Cat joining forces with Jonathan, where they put everything on the line, risking reputation and their careers to bring justice for all.
The work was taxing and repetitive, but the social life compensated!

Based on real life, this was a story full of suspense.

My favorite historical fiction books teach me a little bit about history, but along the way make me fall in love with a group of characters. This is one of those books. Excellently written and I loved all of the information on the Venona Project! Women code-crackers for the win! Catherine was a delight, and her love story developed perfectly. I really, REALLY enjoyed this book!

This been looks into a time right after World War II when the country was still healing but the new fear was the Russians and the possibility of spies proving information in our nuclear capabilities to other countries. This was a well told story that kept me interested from beginning to end.

Rating: 🥰/5
Source: Book club #netgalley
Review: Another winner from my book club that I wouldn’t have picked up on my own. A spy historical fiction focused on the women who did hard things. Truly the right book at the right time for me. The writing style was great. Loved the story, the romance, the fashion, the spy mystery, the supportive women friendships and showing smart women doing brave things.
Published on Goodreads 8/16/2025

*~ Most Empowering Read ~*

This was my first I've read by Jane Healey and I am officially a huge fan. I loved the premise of this book and the way that women were pivotal in this work that was so important to our country at that time. The sisterhoods that are built in this story, the dynamics of being different during this time in history, and the connection between Cat and Jonathan as they navigate this world where they move from scholarly rivals to teammates and more was so beautifully written.

Thank you to Net Galley, Lake Union Publishing, and Jane Healey for an eARC of this story.

I’ve been reading Jane’s books for years. She’s one of my favorite historical fiction authors. The Women of Arlington Hall was a fantastic book about, post World War II, Cold War America. The Codebreakers of Arlington Hall played a huge part in discovering the spies that were in the US after the war and how they were stealing American secrets. The women Jane writes in her book are composites of many of the women that actually worked in Arlington Hall and made such a large impact during the time.

Jane is a wonderful storyteller. It is very clear that she puts a great deal of time into her research.

I wanted to make sure that I got the book read before the event this week, so I snagged the audio from NetGalley as well as the digital copy (thank you Brilliance Publishing and Lake Union Publishing). Gail did a great job giving life to each of the female characters in this book. I was sucked right in and listened to this book in almost 1 sitting.

I have been a fan of female codebreaker stories since I first saw the 2001 film Enigma, the Kate Winslet film about female codebreakers working on the Enigma Machine. I have read many historical fiction books about codebreakers in World War II and the Cold War. So when I had the chance to read The Women of Arlington Hall as an ARC, I leapt at the opportunity.

The Women of Arlington Hall is a story of intrigue and sisterhood. It is set in DC in the early days of the Cold War, 1947-1950, and centers around Cat Killeen, a young woman who ditches her guy at the altar to be a part of a secret codebreaking project in Virginia. She is surrounded by colleagues who support each other during the stress and secrecy of their job.

Cat is assigned to a special project—and one that if you’ve taken a course in American History, was in your textbook. She decodes messages sent by the Soviets in WWII in order to uncover the identity of Soviet spies in the US.

Cat has a rival from Harvard, Jonathan Dardis, who becomes an FBI agent that she intersects with at work.

I really enjoyed this book and loved learning more about codebreaking during the Cold War. The author clearly did her research, and while this is a work of fiction, there are also a lot of really interesting historical details.

Even though I had figured out what the special project concerned, I was on the edge of my seat in the last quarter of the book.

I’m not a big fan of romance in books, and this book did have some, but the relationship at least built up, so I did not resent it as part of the storyline.

I recommend this book and think it would make a good book club selection.

I read this book as an ARC. I am grateful to the publisher, Lake Union Publishing, the author Jane Healey, and NetGalley.

So good!

Jane Healey writes fantastic historical fiction, always featuring strong female characters, and this book is no exception. Set in the mid-1940's-early 1950's, this is a story about female codebreakers tasked with breaking Russian codes. It was a fascinating read to me, I don't know a lot about that time period, and while educational, this book wasn't dry like a history book.

I became invested in the girls' stories: Cat, Gia, Effie and Rosemary, and their friends/partners/boyfriends. There was a lot going on in the world at the time, countries worried about the threat of nuclear war, and those who supported sharing of secrets. Unfortunately, Cat becomes enmeshed in the middle of a spy hunt, and the consequences could mean the end of her career, maybe her life.

I highly recommend this book if you've enjoyed any of this author's prior books, or if you are a lover of historical fiction.

Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book, but my opinions are my own.

LOVE, LOYALTY, AND ESPIONAGE

I have been a devoted reader of Jane Healey’s novels for many years. I believe each new story is better than the previous one. Healey puts forth vast amounts of hours of impeccable research in each of her novels, and that is why they are so authentic, and you feel as though you are a participant in the story and not merely a reader.

All the above is true for The Women of Arlington Hall. Healey takes readers on a grand adventure of what life was like for Catherine “Cat” Killeen as she moves to Washington, DC, to join a group of like-minded people to help find Soviet spies who have infiltrated the United States. Cat moves into Arlington Hall with the other “government girls,” each of whom has a specific secret job. None of the others know what that job is unless they work directly with one another.

Cat runs into an old friend from college (or should I say “competitor” as they seemed to compete with each other for every point of every grade). Jonathan Dardis now works for the FBI and is still as good-looking and smooth-talking as ever. They find quite the sizzle between them as they work together for the common good. Unfortunately, their work comes before play as Cat becomes invaluable in cryptoanalysis and Dardis is sent to work overseas. However, before he leaves, they have a goodbye kiss for the ages!

Their two agencies put in many long, difficult hours trying to find a break in their shared need and goal. Finally, small cracks start appearing, then bigger ones, then major fissures, until big chunks crumble, and then a significant power collapses! Now that one major military secret has been cracked, will the star-crossed lovers be able to find one another again? If so, will their feelings still be the same? Or, will they be reassigned to new, separate projects and once again find themselves on different continents? I highly recommend reading this novel. It is full of love, loyalty, and espionage.

Lake Union Publishing and NetGalley provided me with a complimentary copy of this novel. The opinions expressed here are entirely my own and without influence.

I loved this story; I couldn't put it down but also didn't want it to end!
For me, this book had a bit of everything: smart female characters, loyal friendships, intrigue, and romance. It starts in 1947 with Catherine Killeen calling off her wedding at the last minute and heading to DC for a job as a code breaker in the Russian group, which was trying to break the Soviet's code to identify spies on U.S. soil who may be giving away the atomic secrets. The group is working closely with the FBI, including Jonathan Dardis, Cat's former classmate from Boston who was her biggest academic competitor in the cryptoanalysis they took together. Cat finds her groove as a cryptoanalyst, loving her new life, but will it be jeopardized by her family's history, or by her attraction to the arrogant and roguish Jonathan? The book focuses more on Catherine's life than the nitty-gritty details of code breaking, but there is enough background to feel like Healey did her research and she does a great job of exploring not only the inner and personal conflicts experienced by smart women of the era who didn't want to "just" be wives and mothers, but also the tense atmosphere of the burgeoning Atomic Age.

The Women of Arlington Hall by Jane Healey is a a World War II historical fiction novel set in Virginia about cryptology, a topic which always fascinates me. Cat, adept at crosswords and mathematics, is one of the top in her cryptology course. She joins the Army Security Agency which is responsible for breaking the Soviet code system among other things. She and her colleagues' backgrounds are scrutinized closely and a few red flags are recorded which adds another layer of intrigue. Along with code breaking, an atomic spy ring, connections with the KGB, and the Hiroshima tragedy, there is romance.

The cryptology and historical details such as the unfortunate "warm snow" gripped me more than the romance which seemed quite trite. The discussions Cat, Effie and their friends and colleagues had about their duties set off warning bells as to my knowledge the loyalty oath in reality was taken extremely seriously. I did enjoy the novel but was not as besotted with it as it was lighter than I had hoped.

Be sure to read the author's interesting notes about her inspiration and true events she wove into her story.

In times of war one must take many different risks

Catherine (Cat to family and friends) Killeen walks into the military complex known as Arlington Hall in 1947 to begin a new job about which she knows little. She has left behind in Boston her father and brothers as well as the man who was her fiancé, right up until the morning when they were to be married and she broke things off. She didn't think she loved her now ex-fiancé as much as she should love the man she married, and didn't think she could settle for the kind of life marriage to him would have been. She is brilliant, graduated from Radcliffe as one of its top students, and has a particular affinity for solving puzzles. That last attribute is what has guided her to this new job, working with a group of other similarly talented people as cryptoanalysts. As part of the Russian Section, she and her coworkers are determined to break the Soviet's encryption codebook and decipher the coded communications the US has already obtained, and in doing so hopefully identify Russian spies at work in the US. Cat has never had many close female friends, but that now changes when she finds herself living with and working alongside other women who dare to want more out of life than society generally offers them. Together they will laugh and love, all while working feverishly to root out those who are betraying their country and maybe even sharing information on creating atomic bombs. A former competitor from Cat's university days, a Harvard student with whom she shared a dogged rivalry, becomes first a collaborator and friend and then something altogether more important....but the activities of a family member she has never met may torpedo her career and her future.
Part historical fiction, part suspense and part romance, The Women of Arlington Hall tells an intriguing story that blends real life historical figures (Hoover and the Rosenbergs, for example) with a group of strong, smart young women who share a common goal and develop strong bonds to support one another as they prove their worth over and over to the men around them. The pace is quick and author Jane Healey weaves actual historical events into her fictional narrative, noting that many of the characters were inspired by real people and/or created as an amalgam of several of them. Cat and her friends and colleagues are well-developed and the setting is brought effectively to life. I was more interested in the espionage elements than the romance, but others may enjoy both equally. Overall, it is a compelling and enjoyable read, likely to appeal to readers of Susan Ella MacNeal, Kate Quinn and Pam Jenoff. My thanks to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for allowing me access to this novel based on the "government girls" of Arlington Hall in exchange for my honest review.

💖Review: The Women of Arlington Hall

🌻Rate: 5 Stars!!

🎆Praise: I officially have another new favorite author! Yay!!! I have always loved everything about the 1940s! Especially books on romance and spies! Jane has a great skill for weaving together such a beautiful and adventurous story! Naturally my favorite character is Cat!

🍿 Our dear main female character goes into the world of espionage in Washington DC where she works on a secret project with a bunch of very very intelligent individuals! Code breaking back then was a very intriguing and dangerous thing! These individuals were so brave the characters had me on the edge of my seat every single time when any sentence or scene caught me off guard but in a good way! LOL

💕 I really love the romance in this book a lot! I was so glad to finally read a spy romance set in the vintage era that had romance, code breaking, an unexpected events!
I felt as if I was going behind the scenes in a 1940s film! (I can imagine the costumes and the scenes being read between each character!!)

☕Extra: Intrigue for all to read! Indeed! Bravo! I will be reading more by Jane!