What a fascinating and informative story! I devoured this story. Based on a group of young women working for the government in Washington post WW2. The central character, Cat Killeen runs from the altar when she gets the chance of a career. But her career is not everyday, as a bright young graduate she has been sought out to work on crypto analysis-specifically decoding messages sent by the Russians-in a bid to find undercover agents working within the USA. This story highlights the endeavours of the young women who worked at Arlington Hall in the mid-40s and at the start of what would become the Cold War.
I really enjoyed the story which kept me reading late into the night. The characters are well-written and convincing in their roles, I enjoyed the female camaraderie as well as the various love interests amongst the girls. A highly enjoyable read, with a gripping story!

Jane Healey for years has been my go to for historical fiction. She has a way of building a story, developing characters and weaving history in a way that leaves me turning page after page. She also includes real people and events which is absolute perfection. The Women of Arlington Hall is a new era literally as this book is based post-WWII. To say I loved it would be an understatement.

The fact that we get a well written book that covers the early part of the Cold War era has me absolutely giddy. Cat, an absolute genius with puzzles, has an opportunity to work in DC on code breaking efforts that will have huge impacts on the Cold War era for not just the US, but the world. She jumps at the opportunity and soon builds herself a community of supportive and amazing sub-characters and also reconnects with some people in her past. There is also a b-plot romance that had me in a swoon.

Please stop reading this review and start reading The Women of Arlington Hall. I can't recommend it enough!

I loved this!! It has real Bletchley Park historical fiction vibes but it's set in the US about a decade later. Having lived in Arlington for 10 years, I adored the setting. The mysterious/thriller bits were just the right amount of tension. I was guessing who to trust throughout. The friend group is goals and the romance hit the mark. It's also fascinating as I'd never even heard of this project or Arlington Hall.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book.

Cat Killeen, recent runaway bride and Radcliffe graduate, finds herself navigating Cold War politics, nuclear espionage, and Russian code-breaking when she joins a top secret government group at Arlington Hall. As she meets friends and foes, including a past Harvard classmate, she finds herself embroiled in the mission of rooting out a Soviet spy network in the United States.

I enjoyed this immensely. I appreciated the author's care for details and how she balanced the much larger context of early Cold War America and the day to day lives of the people at Arlington Hall. I also really liked that the work of Cat and the others did had a significant presence in the novel rather than simply being a backdrop. Loved the characters and the relationships that Cat forms throughout her department and Arlington Hall.

I also really liked how the author developed Cat and Jonathan's relationship. Jonathan is quite the romantic lead and it is refreshing to have a male lead who is so besotted with the protagonist even if she doesn't realize it at first. His belief in her and her abilities also makes him incredibly endearing.

I read “The Saturday Evening Girls Club” a few years ago and really liked it so I was excited to see this new book from the same author come up as an ARC on NetGalley. I really enjoyed reading about a period in time that I wasn’t very familiar with (post-WW2 and early Cold War). I thought Jane Healy did a great job of mixing fictional characters with real people and events from history. Plus I always love when a historical fiction novel has a strong b-plot romance that adds to the story and isn’t just a side note. All in all, I’d highly recommend this for historical fiction lovers and I will certainly be looking for other books by this author.

I adored this book! The humanity of the characters drew me in and the plot kept me HOOKED. I love this period of history and this book brought it to new light for me.

"The Women of Arlington Hall" is about the codebreakers of Arlington Hall and the FBI working together to uncover communist spies. The characters Cat Killeen and Jonathan Dardis, start as rivals but develop a deeper relationship as they work together. The camaraderie among the characters and their support for each other is a significant aspect of the story.
There were some parts of the story that seemed a little far fetched but it was entertaining enough. The theme of love run through out from Cats mother choosing to marry her father but losing her family as a result, same sex relationships and love driving characters to change their outlook on life.
The deciphering names became repetitive but appreciate that code breaking is complex and the skill itself isn't the focus. The focus instead is how these women lived and worked.

I love a good women’s fiction this was very entertaining i enjoyed it alot! Can’t wait to recommend it my followers!

Historical fiction reads have become a new favorite of mine. A great one to watch out for is The Women of Arlington Hall by Jane Healey..

I loved the setting of this book. The post WWII/Cold War era is not one that I have spent much time reading or learning about, and I enjoyed my glimpse into some of the stories that I have heard of, but not studied. The women in this book were lovable and inspiring, with Cat reminding me of myself at my first full time job. And Cecil put a smile on my face whenever he showed up on the page.

THE WOMEN OF ARLINGTON HALL by JANE HEALEY is a well researched historical romance novel which takes place between 1947 and 1950 during the Cold War with the codebreakers of Arlington Hall and the FBI working together to uncover communist spies, in particular those who made up part of the team of scientists who built the atomic bomb. It is fascinating to see how the cryptologists uncover deeply encoded messages sent during the war in order to establish a code to break encrypted messages……
Cat Killeen and Jonathan Dardis, both brilliantly clever, start out as rivals but, as they work together their relationship changes…..
The camaraderie of those who work in such top secret positions, and their support of Cat when she is drawn into trouble, is good to see……
I am not going to tell you any more for fear of spoiling this interesting and exciting read for you.
I was gven a free copy of the book by NetGalley from Lake Union Publishing. The opinions in this review are completely my own.