Newman’s gripping debut novel draws on first-person accounts of people who survived imprisonment in concentration camps during WWII, creatively combining several plotlines into a compelling narrative. Parallel stories highlight Maj. Bruno Schmidt’s rise in the ranks of Hitler’s Nazi Party and attorney Arnold Weisz’s efforts to protect his family from Nazi persecution. Dr. Samuel Singer, a WWII U.S. Army surgeon, is stationed in Germany, where he adopts a baby, names him Daniel, and brings him home to New York. In 1973, when Daniel and his father travel to Israel to celebrate the 25th anniversary of independence, Daniel is recruited by the Israeli government to undertake a mission identifying high-ranking Nazis who escaped to Egypt after the war. Fifteen years later, Daniel, now an assistant museum curator, receives a mysterious package from Germany and must unravel its secrets.

Though Newman’s protagonists are fictional characters, he intertwines their stories with accounts of real historical figures. His extensive research focuses on the chilling rise of the Nazi Party and the horrors endured by Jewish residents of Germany as they were stripped of their rights and sent to concentration camps. He also examines the fight for Israel’s independence as people liberated from the camps travel to the Holy Land in search of safety.

Newman effortlessly uses flashbacks and other clever devices to tie the stories together. Each narrative is richly drawn, revealing the characters’ emotions and motivations while adding the perfect amount of historical background to make their experiences believable and real. The even pacing continues throughout the novel, conveying an undercurrent of suspense that develops to a stunning conclusion. This powerful novel will enthrall any reader of historical suspense fiction.

Takeaway: Fans of WWII fiction will not want to miss this gripping story, which brims with authenticity and suspense.