The Paris Notebook: An utterly gripping and emotional WW2 historical fiction novel, based on a true story

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Katja Heinz is the main character who lives with her widowed mother. She finds work at Dr Viktor medical Clinic as his personal assistant and typist of his patients medical records. Katja's job is to type up a top secret medical records from a notebook that must not be revealed.

With a wide range of WWII books on offer, readers are becoming more selective about their choices. Tessa Harris' latest offering is one I would certainly recommend. The Paris Notebook is well written with Tessa taking a small, often unknown aspect of truth, and building a thrilling piece of fiction around it - a race to reveal details about Adolf Hitler to the Allies. A unique historical fiction story that stands out from other books in the genre .’ NetGalley reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐TESSA HARRIS read History at Oxford University and has been a journalist, writing for several national newspapers and magazines for more than thirty years. She is the author of nine published historical novels. Her debut, The Anatomist’s Apprentice, won the Romantic Times First Best Mystery Award 2012 in the US. She lectures in creative writing at Hawkwood College, Stroud and is married with two children. She lives in the Cotswolds. The Paris Notebook is a unique twist on the dime-a-dozen World War 2 novels that have become so ubiquitous the past decade. Don't get me wrong, many of them are marvelous books. But so many share the same general plot. This is a fresh idea, and superbly written. So many twists and turns and I certainly didn’t predict the ending. Five stars from me, I highly recommend this book.’ NetGalley reviewer, This was an interesting WWII novel. Something that interested me in particular was the references made to well-known public figures. I also appreciated the bookshop setting, as I generally enjoy any book that is set in a library or bookshop. A unique historical fiction story that stands out from other books in the genre.’ NetGalley reviewer,

This is the third installment in the Dr. Thomas Silkstone franchise, as it continues the exploits of its eponymous investigator during his time in the eighteenth century. First published on the first of January in 2013, this was to be the next adventure in the ongoing saga of the doctor, as he gets his next case to investigate. Following in the same style and tone, it manages to recapture the overall ambiance of the series, giving the readers more of what they want with it. Using Katja as the main protagonist was a fabulous move, having a heroine who is naive, but headstrong is great. The author uses her to show the fear that is instilled in people living in Germany at the time who are not fully supportive of this new regime. Having her put herself in the midst of things had me with my heart in my mouth hoping she would come through each incident unscathed. She does suffer loss as many at the time have and it is a stubborn streak and a sense of doing what is right that keeps her progressing forward.This was such a well written, fast-paced novel that I flew through it in a few hours. Katja is such a strong inspiring character who is willing to go to great lengths to do what is right. Following her journey against all odds, we become invested in her success. This was beautifully written and elements of love, loss and friendship are so delicately interwoven that your emotions are assailed even more. It would be gullible to assume all German citizens supported and believed in their deranged Fuhrer.

This plot/story has multiple layers. One thing I enjoyed was the level of suspense. Harris has written historical mysteries as well, so naturally she is great at creating a sense of urgency and suspense within the story. I thought this was an unexpected treat as it read very much like a suspense novel with danger lurking around each corner. But what really worked for me was that she didn’t sacrifice character development to achieve suspense. Often with suspenseful books, there is less in the way of character development and more in creating suspenseful situations. In this book, I felt like the beginning really layer the foundation for the characters and gave the readers time to form connections and then as the story went on, things ramped up in the suspense department and it really created this balanced sense of urgency and compassion for the characters that felt unique to me. A mix of danger, suspense, mystery, romance and heartbreaking choices make for a story I would definitely recommend.’ NetGalley reviewer,Katja has got a job as a personal assistant to Dr. Victor in the clinic. She has not realized immediately what danger she is in. But not only fears, anxiety and uncertainty await her. She meets Daniel in Paris. After that, her life changes.... An interesting premise, where a young woman is asked to transcribe Hitler’s medical notes in Hamburg. Initially it started out interesting, and there’s a hint of a romance when Katja meets Daniel on a visit to Paris for a conference. When she flees Germany later and moves to Paris, the romance develops. Overall I found the story hooked you in, but I did wane a bit towards the end, from Calais onwards. And the final bit of the story just seemed too improbable - which spoiled it a bit for me unfortunately. I should be happy, but it was just too unlikely (or if it had happened, how could so long go by?).

A bold, strong story and one that drew me in from the start. It is emotional, unique, fast paced, intriguing, engrossing and a book I just couldn’t put down!’ NetGalley reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ This is where Katja meets and seeks safe harbour with Sylvia the owner of a Paris bookstore called 'Shakespeare and Company' and Daniel Keenan an Irish journalist appointed the role and responsibility to publish the notebook and reveal it's secrets in the attempt to stop the Nazis and War.A bold, strong story and one that drew me in from the start. It is emotional, unique, fast paced, intriguing, engrossing and a book I just couldn't put down!' NetGalley reviewer, A bold, strong story and one that drew me in from the start. It is emotional, unique, fast paced, intriguing, engrossing and a book I just couldn't put down!’ NetGalley reviewer, Dr Viktor hires Katja Heinz as his personal assistant to type Adolph Hitlers patient notes so that he may give the transcript to a publisher who will tell the world about Adolph Hitler before his power is absolute. Katja's father, a professor of anthropology, was murdered by the SS due to his attempt to warn Germans that what was happening in Germany under Hitler was not a good change. Katja, upon figuring out who the patient was, is only too happy to commit to the project.