Atomic Love

This romantic thriller is set in 1950's Chicago, during the height of the McCarthy era and Cold War. Protagonist Rosalind worked on the Manhattan project but was summarily dismissed due to a report about her emotional instability, written, she is sure, by a colleague and lover who dumped her. According to author Jennie Fields, there was, in fact, a young woman physicist on the Manhattan project --the youngest member of the team--who designed the boron trifluoride counter that gauged the first man-made nuclear reaction. Additional inspiration for characters came from another physicist on the team, Theodore Hall, who, like Weaver in the book, shared "crucial atomic secrets with the Russians while at Los Alamos, and continued to so postwar..." (Author's Note). A final inspiration from her own life was grandfather Dr. Joseph Spring, the Coroner Physician for Cook County during the Al Capone era. He was also well-known for significant contributions to the development of forensic science. He is seen in Rosalind's father, Dr. Joe.   

Rosalind was devastated by the simultaneous loss of her lover and her career. Moreover, she experienced a sense of horror that the work she had been doing was used to kill so many people after promises were made to the team that the bomb wouldn't be used but simply threatened. Her older sister looked after her until she eventually went back to work, behind the jewelry sales counter at a department store. She greatly misses being a scientist, but is fearful of pursuing meaningful work-- too ashamed by the circumstances of her dismissal, and also afraid the negative report will follow her into the job search. When her former lover, Weaver, gets back in touch after years of silence, she finds, to her chagrin, that she still has feelings for him. She is conflicted when she is contacted by the FBI, asking her to renew the relationship and spy on Weaver to find out if he is planning on passing information about the hydrogen bomb to the Russians. To complicate matters further, Rosalind begins to find herself attracted to her FBI handler, a former prisoner of war. 

The book is well written, and although the plot line is somewhat predictable, it is still worth a read. Rosalind is a woman scientist at a time when there were few opportunities for them and you get a good picture of the uphill battle women faced to be taken seriously in the world of work. Other characters are also well developed and the author's obvious love for the city of Chicago shines through her descriptions of settings. 

Kirkus lauds the book as "Atmospheric, historically interesting escapism." Publishers Weekly offers a slightly more mixed review, applauding the discussion of women's social constraints but finding the espionage plot line less compelling.