Happy Friday! I’m linking up with Reading is My Superpower for another First Line Friday and featuring a new book by a new-to-me author.

“A girl like you oughta be in pictures.”

Code Name Edelweiss by Stephanie Landsem

The Basics

Title: Code Name Edelweiss

Author: Stephanie Landsem

Publication Date: March 7, 2023

Genre: Christian Historical Fiction

My Rating: 4.5 Stars

From the Back Cover:

“What I am looking for―what I desperately need, Mrs. Weiss―is a spy.”

Adolf Hitler is still a distant rumble on the horizon, but a Jewish spymaster and his courageous spies uncover a storm of Nazi terror in their own backyard.

In the summer of 1933, a man named Adolf Hitler is the new and powerful anti-Semitic chancellor of Germany. But in Los Angeles, no-nonsense secretary Liesl Weiss has concerns much closer to home. The Great Depression is tightening its grip and Liesl is the sole supporter of two children, an opinionated mother, and a troubled brother.

Leon Lewis is a Jewish lawyer who has watched Adolf Hitler’s rise to power―and the increase in anti-Semitism in America―with growing alarm. He believes Nazi agents are working to seize control of Hollywood, the greatest propaganda machine the world has ever known. The trouble is, authorities scoff at his dire warnings.

When Liesl loses her job at MGM, her only choice is to work with Leon Lewis and the mysterious Agent Thirteen to spy on her friends and neighbors in her German American community. What Leon Lewis and his spies find is more chilling―and more dangerous―than any of them suspected.

Code Name Edelweiss is based on a true story, unknown until recent years: How a lone Jewish lawyer and a handful of amateur spies discovered and foiled Adolf Hitler’s plan to take over Hollywood.

My Review

Code Name Edelweiss is a fascinating historical spy novel that takes place in the years before WWII. I didn’t realize before reading the book that it is based on a true story, and that makes it all the more captivating! This band of unlikely spies are thrown together in the midst of a Nazi plot to take over the movie industry. The charming, quirky, and engaging characters will capture your heart, and the fast-paced plot will keep you turning pages late into the night! The growth in the characters, especially Liesel, was evident as they were confronted with the evil in the world and forced to decide what they were willing to do to defeat it. Fans of historical fiction with intrigue and mystery will love this book!

Now it’s your turn! Please share the first line of the book you’re reading in the comments below. Don’t forget to head to Reading is My Superpower to see what first lines other bloggers are sharing, or to share your own!

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.