In Progress: True Places

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Set against the tension-charged backdrop of 1920s New York, True Places is a historical novel that blends the intellectual thrill of espionage with the emotional resonance of one woman’s search for truth—in the world and in herself.

At the center of the story is Claire Winslow, a quiet but brilliant cryptanalyst working in the shadows of the American Black Chamber, a real-life organization devoted to decoding foreign communications in the years between the world wars. Claire is not a spy in the classic sense—there are no car chases or gunfights—but her world is no less dangerous. What begins as the methodical work of breaking codes becomes something far more personal when she stumbles across an inconsistency that suggests something is wrong—something deeper than a mistranslation, something intentional.

As the world outside flirts with modernity—radio towers rising, streetcars clattering down Broadway, and political tensions simmering in Japan and Europe—Claire finds herself entangled in a mystery that no one else seems to notice. And perhaps, no one else wants her to solve.

True Places is a story about intelligence—not just the kind measured in IQ, but the emotional and moral intelligence required to navigate shifting loyalties, institutional secrecy, and the blurred lines between service and silence. Claire’s work may revolve around deciphering foreign telegrams, but the real code she must break lies closer to home: Why are certain names being changed in the decrypted messages? Who stands to benefit from a fabricated translation? And what will it cost her to speak up?

Inspired by the true history of American cryptography between the wars, the novel explores how overlooked women like Claire helped shape the geopolitical decisions of their time—not with bullets, but with brilliance. The prose moves between stark clarity and atmospheric depth, giving readers both the precision of a cipher and the fog of a noir. It’s a world where subway tracks rattle underfoot, the ink of a mimeograph machine stains your fingers, and a single telegram can tilt the balance of power.

But at its core, True Places is about solitude and clarity: how we find truth in unlikely places, how we listen to what others ignore, and what it means to be loyal when no one is watching.

Perfect for fans of The Alice Network, The Secrets We Kept, and All the Light We Cannot See, True Places is a literary mystery rooted in history, character, and the quiet suspense of a mind that sees what others miss.