The Cryptographer’s Dilemma

Johnnie Alexander

Aug 2021 · Heroines of WWII Book 1 · Barbour Publishing

About this ebook

A Code Developer Uncovers a Japanese Spy Ring
 
Full of intrigue, adventure, and romance, this new series celebrates the unsung heroes—the heroines of WWII.
 
FBI cryptographer Eloise Marshall is grieving the death of her brother, who died during the attack on Pearl Harbor, when she is assigned to investigate a seemingly innocent letter about dolls. Agent Phillip Clayton is ready to enlist and head oversees when asked to work one more FBI job. A case of coded defense coordinates related to dolls should be easy, but not so when the Japanese Consulate gets involved, hearts get entangled, and Phillip goes missing. Can Eloise risk loving and losing again?
 

Ratings and reviews

The Cryptographers Dilemma was a fun book to read. I enjoyed it very much. I’ve always thought it would be fun to be a spy. So it was fun to live vicariously through Eloise & Phillip. It was fun to watch them interact as the story went along. I thought the characters were well developed. I liked how Johnnie Alexander used historical characters and weaved them throughout the story. I love history so reading another aspect of the was a enjoyable! II’ve always been intrigued by spy’s and code. Learning about the different codes used during World war two was pretty fascinating. Johnnie Alexander did a wonderful job recreating a part of history not everyone will know. I am excited to read more from her! I recommend this book to my family and friends. v I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book which I received from the publisher. All views expressed are only my honest opinion.

First in the new Heroines of WWII series, this novel combines the best of Christian historical and suspense genres. This is a stand-alone novel, as each of the others will be. It is the first novel I’ve read by Johnnie Alexander, and I am very impressed! The characters are portrayed with excellence. I felt as if I got to know each of the primary characters. It is fast-paced, well-researched, and the protagonists are people of faith. During World War II, women and a few men unable to enlist were recruited for in valued positions in cryptography or code breaking. Messages intercepted from enemies were sent to the unit to be decoded. There were many kinds of codes, with new ones being designed regularly, so it wasn’t as easy as it sounds. As someone who loves puzzles, I would have enjoyed doing this but would have lacked the mathematics skills to excel at it as Eloise has. Eloise enjoys what she is doing, even if she does miss her mother and her students. Her brother Allan, with whom she had been very close, was killed at Pearl Harbor a few months earlier. This is her way of taking up his mantle to serve their country. An FBI agent, Phillip wanted desperately to join his cousins and childhood friends as a pilot in the military but couldn’t meet a certain requirement. His plan is to flip a coin to see whether to enlist in the army or navy. His uncle, Richard, is a higher-up in the FBI, and gives him one last mission. Richard has three letters that were sent to an address in Argentina. Two were pulled by the censors due to the unusual content. A third was marked return to sender, and the woman whose return address was on it had not written it. She took it to the head of her local post office. Richard asked Eloise if she thought they were in code. He sends them, posing as brother and sister, to Ohio and Spokane to visit the women whose addresses the letters are sent from. All are about dolls, so Eloise could talk about dolls with the ladies as well as be available for codes, while Phillip does the official interviews. Neither was happy about going with the other, so it will be a long week ahead of them. The trip was extended as more information was uncovered. During their enforced time together, they got to know each other and erase the misconceptions they had for the other. Each has feelings for the other but knowing Phillip will be enlisting soon keeps them in denial. Soon they have bigger problems when a spiteful person blows their cover to the whodunit. This novel invited me in at the start and held my attention throughout. I enjoyed reading about cryptography, meeting Phillip and Eloise, and considering the spiritual lessons. I appreciated how their faith was important to both, and how the intriguing the mystery was. The ending was overall satisfactory but I felt there was one open item that, while not critical to the mystery, had my curiosity. What happened to the real doll woman, as well as what is fact or fiction in the novel, is detailed at the end. I highly recommend this to those who appreciate reading about WWII “code girls”, a good mystery with potential for romance, and how people live out their faith. From a thankful heart: I received an eARC of this novel from the publisher, NetGalley, and Celebrate Lit, and this is my honest review.

Are you willing to take a risk? After all, a coincidence is never a coincidence. Many cryptographers were used in WWII in an effort to stay ahead of the enemy. After all, knowing what they planned before it could be put into operation would likely save thousands of lives. Even if it were only a few, it was still worth it! Eloise Marshall was one of these very talented people who could take what looked like gibberish to the average person and find the message hidden within. Because of her skill, this naval code breaker was approached for an undercover mission with the FBI. Steganography was a way to send information that looked totally innocent to everyone except the one that had the code. But what information is being disseminated and what does this mean to national security? Agent Philip Clayton and Eloise are tasked with breaking this code, but will they survive to find the answers? This book grabbed my attention immediately and held it all the way through. The detail and well developed characters made it a most fascinating read. An ARC of this Heroines of WWII was received through Barbour Publishing and NetGalley. The impressions and comments made are my own and were in no way solicited.

About the author

Johnnie Alexander creates characters you want to meet and imagines stories you won't forget in a variety of genres. An award-winning, best-selling novelist, she serves on the executive boards of Serious Writer, Inc. and the Mid-South Christian Writers Conference, co-hosts Writers Chat, and interviews other inspirational authors for Novelists Unwind. Johnnie lives in Oklahoma with Griff, her happy-go-lucky collie, and Rugby, her raccoon-treeing papillon. Connect with her at www.johnnie-alexander.com and other social media sites via https://linktr.ee/johnniealexndr.