I very much enjoyed The Secret Stealers by Jane Healey. I appreciate well-researched historical fiction novels and you can tell how much research the author put into this. The book reminded me of the The Paris Library, which is another book about WWII and the inspirational heroes that kept Paris afloat while it was occupied by Germany. Like The Paris Library, this book is based on actual people although the story is fictional. One difference is that Healey likes to highlight strong women in her books - and I'm all for it!

The characters are well-developed and I found the main character, Anna Cavanaugh, very likable relatable. I've never experienced what she experienced, as I was not alive during WWII, but I could see myself in her shoes. Her bravery is admirable and I'd like to think that I would choose the same path that she did. She is head-strong and ambitious - much like myself.

Being from DC, I am familiar with the Intelligence Community and it was fascinating to see how the CIA was created and how it operated at that time (via the OSS).

Healey did a great job with character development but I would've liked to read more about the actual missions. The book seemed a bit anti-climatic until it got to the missions, but these parts felt short and left me wanting more. The ending also seemed rushed - I would've liked to hear more about Anna and Phillip after their reunion.

Thank you NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for providing an eARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.