Review ~ Prisoner of Night and Fog by Anne Blankman

Prisoner of Night and Fog (Prisoner of Night and Fog, #1) by Anne Blankman

Publishing date: April 22nd 2014
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
416 pages

In 1930s Munich, danger lurks behind dark corners, and secrets are buried deep within the city. But Gretchen Müller, who grew up in the National Socialist Party under the wing of her "uncle" Dolf, has been shielded from that side of society ever since her father traded his life for Dolf's, and Gretchen is his favorite, his pet.

Uncle Dolf is none other than Adolf Hitler.

And Gretchen follows his every command.

Until she meets a fearless and handsome young Jewish reporter named Daniel Cohen. Gretchen should despise Daniel, yet she can't stop herself from listening to his story: that her father, the adored Nazi martyr, was actually murdered by an unknown comrade. She also can't help the fierce attraction brewing between them, despite everything she's been taught to believe about Jews.

As Gretchen investigates the very people she's always considered friends, she must decide where her loyalties lie. Will she choose the safety of her former life as a Nazi darling, or will she dare to dig up the truth—even if it could get her and Daniel killed?

From debut author Anne Blankman comes this harrowing and evocative story about an ordinary girl faced with the extraordinary decision to give up everything she's ever believed . . . and to trust her own heart instead.

This book! This book you guys! I can only say WOW! I'm left completely speechless and at loss of words. I did not expect this. What I had in mind about this book is completely wrong. I probably saw Hitler in the book blurb and made my assumption right away. What I thought this book is going to be about is Hitler persecuting the Jews, something like Anne Frank: The Diary of Young Girl, but fictional. But no, it wasn't anything like that.

Prisoner of Night and Fog is a book set in the time frame where Hitler is building his army of followers and his rise to power. But more importantly, this is the book about Gretchen and how she experiences this period being a person that is in Hitlers inner circle, being a daughter of a fallen Nazi hero, being raised to believe that all Jews are subhuman. But her beliefs start to change when she sees a Jew beaten up by her brother, a Jew with real emotions and real pain.

Anne Blankman managed to create from a subject so scary, something so amazing and interesting. You can see how much work she put into researching the subject about Hitler's life and his uprise. Every chapter, every sentence and every word is based on a true events, but still, it's fictional. How she succeeded to create a story that is a combination of both, will remain a mystery to me, but it does prove one thing. You can write something as amazing as Prisoner of Night and Fog if you put enough effort, passion and love into your writing.

Gretchen as a character is truly fascinating to me. She was raised to believe that Jews are not worthy, that she should be an example of how important people should look like. Hitler, or as Gretchen calls him Uncle Dolf, is a person who she sees as a father, a person who gives her advice and who teaches her things. But as the time passes, she sees that he is wrong, but she doesn't want to let go and step out of her comfort zone. She doesn't want to believe that all her life she's been deluded by things that are not true. But Daniel Cohen is there for her when nobody else isn't, Daniel the Jew. The romance between them, progressed slowly from just acknowledging each other because of their common goal, to friendship and then finally to romance. It was integrated perfectly in the story to follow the historical aspect of the novel, but also the mystery aspect too.

I somehow missed the fact that Prisoner of Night and Fog is going to be a part of the series. I thought it is a standalone, but now as I was writing this review, I realized there is going to be a second book, and I can't really describe to you how happy does it make me! Prisoner of Night and Fog is full of suspense, mystery and beautifully written. It's a win combination for me, and I'm definitely ecstatic to read the next work by Anne Blankman.

About Unknown

Hi. I'm Anatea, a 23-year-old Croatian girl, living in Germany. I enjoy reading books, traveling, fashion and photography. Let me show you my world.