Note: Thank you to NetGalley, Bookouture, and author Gosia Nealon for the advanced reader copy of this book. This review will also be posted on NetGalley. What follows is my unbiased review of the book.

In high school, I can remember learning about the Enigma code-breaking machine. It was a bit vague on the details, just that it won the war and the intimation was that it was the Americans who did it. Later on, I learned it was not the Americans, but the British under Alan Turing at Bletchley Park. After reading The Code Breaker Girl, I now know the truth that it was actually Polish cryptologists and mathematicians who first cracked the code in the 1930s and began to build machines to enable them to crack the code faster.

Beata is a Polish orphan who has set her mind on achieving all that she can in a man’s world. She is multi-lingual which gets the attention of the Polish Cipher Bureau to help crack the codes the Germans are using. The Germans are building up their military and the Polish authorities are nervous. One night when she’s out with her roommate, she encounters a British man who seems to have certain opinions about Polish women, not realizing this woman sitting near him can understand the conversation he is having with a friend. When he tries to make nice to Beata, she freezes him out.

It turns out that Harry is from British Intelligence and is in Poland to see if they have really cracked Enigma as well as the machines being built to do it. He is impressed with what he sees, and while spending time there gets to know Beata better. She also learns he is much different than his first impression. Harry is back in England when Hitler finally invades Poland, setting off the chain reaction of World War II. Beata and the rest of the cryptologists decamp to Hungary and then Paris. Harry visits her there, having volunteered to be a British spy, but it must be a secret. When Hitler invades France, the remaining members of the Cipher Bureau decamp to the area where the Vichy government is holding out. Harry comes up with a plan to get Beata across the border to Spain, and then England, but it fails and she is captured by the Germans.

I always love learning more about history, and when it’s in a book that’s entertaining as well, all the better. I had no idea before reading this that Polish mathematicians were the first to crack Enigma. Once I started reading, I verified that some of the characters in this are actual historical figures who were involved in that. At Bletchley Park in England, there is a plaque commemorating their efforts that helped win the war.

The fictional characters here are great. It’s easy to root for Harry and Beata and their relationship. Both are kind people with a strong moral compass, and both have suffered great losses in their respective lives. Harry lost the mother he adored at a relatively young age. Beata never knew her parents as she was found on the steps at the orphanage where she grew up. Despite there being an attraction early on, their relationship is slow to develop which is nice. Both are on their guard against getting hurt as well.

The Code Breaker Girl also did a great job depicting what it was like in occupied France. No one knew who they could trust, and that is part of the problem Harry faces when trying to get Beata to safety. There is also a German officer who may be sympathetic to Beata, but she isn’t sure. The depth of these characters and the challenges they face are very well-crafted.

Yes, it’s historical fiction, but there’s enough real information here about the Polish mathematicians and cryptologists who historically were the first to crack the code that it’s educational as well. There was a good balance between the romance of Harry and Beata and the historical events they were living through. I highly recommend The Code Breaker Girl.