Book Description
France, 1942. “I forced myself to hold his gaze. My heart thrashed inside my chest like a bird battering its wings. They knew who I was. They knew what I’d done.” This heartbreaking and unputdownable World War Two novel tells the incredible true story Dora Schaul, who risked her life by coming face-to-face with enemy—the monsters who killed her loved ones.
Dora has lost everything to the Nazis. Her dearest friends have disappeared into thin air. Her parents have been imprisoned in concentration camps and murdered for the crime of simply existing. She has no idea if her darling husband, the devoted and brave Alfred, is still alive.
Though her world is crashing and burning around her, Dora refuses to give in to Hitler’s tyranny. The Nazis may have broken her heart, but they will not break her spirit.
Secretly working for the underground network in France, Dora risks her life on the most dangerous mission in the history of the local resistance. She goes undercover as the secretary of the Head of Gestapo; a soldier with a brutal reputation. A cold-blooded killer.
She is tasked with leaking the names of the SS to the British press. Every day, she rubs shoulders with the enemy. She makes coffee for the people she despises. She types letters for the monsters who killed her family. At any second, she could be found out…
Can she survive, turning the tide of the war and saving thousands of lives? Or will those she loved the most in the world, and millions of other innocent people, have died in vain?
Fans of The Tattooist of Auschwitz, The Alice Network, and The Lilac Girls will be utterly swept away by this heart-wrenching and totally gripping novel about one of history’s most courageous women.
BLOG TOUR REVIEW
HAPPY PUBLICATION DAY ELLIE!
Review for 'The Undercover Secretary' by Ellie Midwood.
Read and reviewed via NetGalley for Ellie Midwood, Bookouture publishers and Bookouture anonymous
Publication date 19th January 2023.
This is the seventh book I have read by this author. I have previously read 'The Girl Who Escaped Auschwitz', 'The Girl In The Striped Dress', 'The Girl Who Survived', 'The Girl On The Platform', 'No Woman's Land' and 'The Violinist Of Aushcwitz' which I also recommend.
I was originally drawn to this book by its beautiful eye catching cover, its intriguing synopsis and title and its extremely talented author. The synopsis stated that 'Fans of The Tattooist of Auschwitz, The Alice Network, and The Lilac Girls will be utterly swept away by this heart-wrenching and totally gripping novel about one of history’s most courageous women'.I am a huge fan of 'The Tattooist Of Aushcwitz' so am looking forward to seeing if this lives up to this statement. I am also a huge fan of Ellie and if this is half as good as' The Girl Who Escaped From Auschwitz', 'The Girl Who Survived', 'the Girl In The Striped Dress', 'The Girl On The Platform', 'No Woman's Land' and 'The Violinist Of Aushcwitz ' it is sure to be a page turning read. I must admit I was also biased due to the publisher being Bookouture. I have yet to read a book published by Bookouture that I haven't enjoyed. Hopefully this won't be the first... Watch this space! (Written before I started reading the book).
This novel consists of a prologue, 27 chapters and an epilogue. . The chapters are short to medium in length so possible to read 'just one more chapter' before bed...OK, I know yeah right, but still just in case!
This book is set mainly in Berlin, Germany 🇩🇪, Lyon and Paris , France 🇫🇷 and a Amsterdam, Netherlands 🇳🇱.
This book is written in first person perspective and the main protagonist is Dora. The benefits of books written in first person perspective are as long as they are well written it makes you feel that you are being spoken to by the protagonist and it can create more of a bond between yourselves and them. If there are several protagonists you also get to see more of what is going on.
'The Undercover Secretary' discusses some topics that may upset some readers or may not be suitable for others. I like to point this out ahead of time in my reviews so you can judge if this book is for you or not. In this book Ellie discusses/includes the persecution of the Jews and others.
Well, what can I say but wow!!! This story is definitely not going to leave my head anytime soon. Firstly I must congratulate Ellie Midwood for yet another extraordinary novel that seriously needs to be made into a movie which I assure would be best selling!!!
This book is very powerful and extremely well written. It is devastatingly heartbreaking and beautiful at the same time. The storyline of this book is based on a true story which is another thing that drew me to read it. It is absolutely rammed with emotions that will make you smile, cry and laugh on the roller-coaster ride to hell that is World War 2 and the persecution and murder of the Jews and many other. Nothing is left out and the author has done an immense amount of research and brings Dora and Alfred's story to life. Dora, Alfred and their comrades are such powerful, strong and kind hearted heroes and I am looking forward to reading more about them. I had never heard of either before reading this but have read 'The Violinist Of Aushcwitz', 'Celia' s Journey', 'The tattooist of Aushcwitz', 'The Girl Who Escaped From Auschwitz,' The Girl Who Survived' and 'The librarian of Aushcwitz', and more, all of which I enjoyed so when I seen this I was intrigued to discover the ongoing of the war through another person's eyes and from a different perspective also. All of Ellie's books that I have read so far are based in holocaust camps, mainly Auschwitz, so I was intrigued when I read this book to see what was going on in Paris and how some brave German's were doing their part to try and stop the slaughter and war by becoming a part of the resistance. I have now also added many books to my wish list thanks to Ellie, her own and ones that she recommends at the end of this story. This story is particularly unique as it is not one I have ever come across before seeing things from the German resistance side of the war. I was also quite shocked when I read about how the French treated those involved and was absolutely disgusted if I am honest. I must admit I had no idea that they were involved and in some ways just as bad as the Nazis in the way they were treated especially at the Rieucros Internment camp. One of the things I love the most about Ellie's books is that I always learn something new with each one and this absolutely shocked me. The fact that the resistance was treated so awfully by both the French and the Germans is just absolutely heartbreaking. My heart broke but at the same time soared at the end of this beautiful story filled with romance, passion, war, love, horror, suspense, tension, hate and just absolutely everything you could ask for in an emotional rollercoaster page turning historical novel. As always Ellie I cannot wait to read your next guaranteed success.
This book did not disappoint. Some people believe that these stories should not be written but I am a strong believer that these victims earned the right for their stories to be told and to not be forgotten and this book does just that. I loved discovering not just Dora and Alfred's stories but those who surrounded them also. This amazing group of people who supported and lifted each other up during these dark times and helping them see the light are absolutely... Words can't really describe but I will go with angelic. This book was very hard to read as a whole but there were certain parts that will stay with me for a very long time and that we're soul destroying. What the Nazi's did to these innocent people makes me absolutely sick to my soul. I enjoyed learning about the lifes of not only Dora and Alfred but the life's and parts of the resistance and many more played. My heart absolutely broke for Dora who was an extremely amazing woman. After being kicked (literally) down so many times and after so many losses and heartache most people would have just given up but Dora was an absolutely true hero and put her life on the line so, so many times just to try and help others, including those who had been part of her suffering. She really is a true hero and I am looking forward to reading more about her. I absolutely loved watching the relationships and friendships between Dora, Alfred, Marthe, Isabel, Claude, Amory, Ashley and Hugo grow and develop throughout this story and each of these characters have their own tales to tell from Claude and Hugo who were a huge part of the resistance to Isabel who refused to give up her beliefs to Alfred whose love for Dora shone brighter than the stars to Ashley and Amory who helped Dora play her parts to Marthe who took her under her wing. Each of these amazing people will stay in my mind for a long time and my heart absolutely broke with tears streaming down my face for so many of them. I can't say more than that though as I don't want to give anything away so you will just have to pick up a copy and see what I mean. One of the characters who made me sick to my stomach was Klaus Barbie who is also known as the Butcher Of Lyon. This is another person I knew nothing about until I read this fantastic book. The man is absolutely vile and what he did to so many people I hope he rots in hell. As much as I despise him I will be doing some of my own research on him as well as many other characters in this book because as always Ellie piques my interest and I find myself wanting to know more and more about these people that changed history. Regardless of whether you love or hate the characters one thing is certain and that Ellie has the talent to bring them out of the pages so you feel you are surrounded by them as you walk along next to Dora.
Again congratulations Ellie Midwood on all your research and for writing this amazing story of both Dora and Alfred's and other resistance members who deserved to have their stories told in a way that did them justice and you have done that. I would say this book is on par with the likes of 'The' diary of Anne Frank' which left me with the same feelings your novel has of not even more emotional.
This is EXACTLY WHY you are my favourite historical novel author!!! Here is to your next guaranteed success 🥂
Make sure you read to the very end of the book to read the prologue and the first chapter of Ellie's absolutely gorgeous 'The Girl Who Escaped From Auschwitz' which is another page turner and one I have read myself and would highly recommend!!
Overall an unputdownable, heart wrenching, absolutely beautifully devastating story of lesser known heroes of the war.
Genres covered in this novel include War Story, Literary Fivtion, Historical Biographical Fiction, Historical German Fiction, Historical European Fiction, Historical Literary Fiction, Romance Novel and Jewish History amongst others.
I would recommend this book to the fans of the above as well as fans of Ellie Midwood, 'The Tattooist of Aushcwitz', 'The Alice Network', 'The Lilac Girls', 'The Librarian of Aushcwitz' , 'Celia's Journey', 'The Diary of Anne Frank' and anyone interested in the holocaust and its history.
351 pages.
This book is just £1.99 to purchase on kindle and £7.99 in paperback at time of review via Amazon which I think is an absolute bargain for this book!!!
Rated 5 /5 (I LOVED it ) on Goodreads, Instagram, Amazon UK and Amazon US and on over 30 Facebook pages plus my blog on Facebook.
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Author Bio
Ellie Midwood is a USA Today bestselling and award-winning historical fiction author, whose works have been translated into 14 languages. She owes her interest in the history of the Second World War to her grandfather, Junior Sergeant in the 2nd Guards Tank Army of the First Belorussian Front, who began telling her about his experiences on the frontline when she was a young girl. Growing up, her interest in history only deepened and transformed from reading about the war to writing about it. After obtaining her BA in Linguistics, Ellie decided to make writing her full-time career and began working on her first full-length historical novel, "The Girl from Berlin." Ellie is continuously enriching her library with new research material and feeds her passion for WWII and Holocaust history by collecting rare memorabilia and documents.
In her free time, Ellie is a health-obsessed yoga enthusiast, neat freak, adventurer, Nazi Germany history expert, polyglot, philosopher, a proud Jew, and a doggie mama. Ellie lives in New York with her fiancé and their two dogs.
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Purchase Link
Amazon: https://geni.us/B0BJQBT43Hsocial
