An enthralling story about life in Germany during and after WW2. Nina is a young woman growing up in the GDR, a place where a joke or comment quickly puts you on the wrong side of the Stasi secret police. Magda is her grandmother- a woman who trod a very dangerous path through the Nazi hierarchy, who is now seen as a hero of the Communist struggle. As the stories of the two women unfold, the reader is drawn into their lives and the conflict and dangers that they face. A harrowing and gripping tale of life on the edge, where the drive to help others soon leads them into deep water. A brilliant read!

This is a dual line story where the stage is set in Germany, 1940 and 40 years later in 1980 in East Berlin. For Magda having graduated from business school, she is now the personal assistant to Walther, the factory owner and a close friend to the Nazis. As we follow her, we find she becomes the secretary to Himmler, a position she volunteered for. Magda leads a double life, as one who hates and defies the Nazis and what they stand for, while working for one of the uppermost men in the party. Through this association, we see the inner workings of these dysfunctional people, while Magda smuggles secrets right out from under their nose.

Flash forward to 1980 we find Nina, Magda's granddaughter, where both are living in East Berlin. Nina is very much like her grandmother, she is rebellious and as a teenager caused a great deal of trouble. As much as the war is over, living behind the "Wall" is just as dangerous. There are spies everywhere, no freedom, and a life lived under guards and rifles. For Nina she has a sense of curiosity, wanting to find out about her grandmother's life during the war. She knows there is a house in question, that was once lived in by Magda, but there are secrets involved with that house, and more secrets that Magda has kept to herself.

It is a very interesting novel, interesting to note the parallel and similarities between the 40 years . To see how some are brave enough to stand up to tyranny, to see that not all people in Germany stood by as an entire ethnicity was about to be extinguished. That even in households, there were those who believed in the goodness of people, where hope became the standard, while others in the same household supported the evil that existed in men. To read this book from a German perspective was quite unique and gave me a bit to think about. That there were people willing to put their lives on the line to save Jewish people from extinction certainly makes one think of humanity in a world filled with horrors.

Well done Catherine Hokin, for your research, for your talent and sharing it with your readers. My thanks to both NetGalley and Bookouture for this ARC in exchange for an honest review. To be reviewed on my blog https://bookreviewsbylulu.blogspot.com/, on Goodreads, Amazon and Facebook.

Two storylines in this book. A woman in 1940s Germany ends up working for a high level Nazi operative and uses her position to smuggle out reports and secrets to the opposition in order to save lives and maybe turn the tide of the war. Her granddaughter is living in 1980s Berlin and is dealing with a a divided country that is having what felt like the same issues within its country of infighting and sides and neighbors turning in neighbors for "despicable" behavior.

I have read quite a many books set during World War II, but surprisingly few actually take place in Germany. So the time of that storyline wasn't unique, but the setting did and it was interesting to put the storyline of that time and place and put it next to 1980s Berlin as they were dealing with same and different issues. I had never thought about history repeating itself in an odd way in this country.

For me this book was good, but for some reason the pacing felt very slow and it took me a lot longer to read this one than my typical reading pace. It could have been the crazy of the times that I read it, but it didn't capture my attention and suck me in like most historical fiction reads do.

I would be interesting in trying another Catherine Hokin book, have you read any of hers? Where should I go next with her backlist?

Two women Magda and her granddaughter Nina both have to battle oppression in Berlin. At the start of the second world war Magda becomes a secretary to a Nazi business man.. She even meets Himmler through her work but she fights to save as many Jews that she and her boss can. .It is a dangerous and frightening time to be alive in Germany and you never knew who would betray you.
Nina is bought up in East Germany before the wall finally falls and that too is a dangerous time to make a stand for democracy. We have forgotten just how bad life was there for the population Magda manages to save Nina from the stasi by revealing her Nazi past. Only we know the truth about her but Nina begins to suspect her grandmother has secrets to give up when the time is right.
The epilogue brings us up to date with a documentary that reveals everything and reunites good people to share their stories.

A solid historical fiction novel with two story lines. This is well-written and includes an engaging plot, interesting characters and a compelling backdrop. I think this will sell well, and look forward to Hokin's next book.

Thanks very much for the ARC for review!!

I love how this book starts out with the prologue throwing you straight into the war and realising really what was at stake, it makes you want to carry on and find out Magda’s story.
This is the first historical fiction I’ve read where it swaps between the past and present and I loved it. It was interesting to read how people were affected by the war and everything going on around for a long time. It was also good to see what war was like from a German point of view and really shows how much politics used to rule.
This is the first story I’ve read by this author and I can’t wait to read more now! I love the way it’s written and kept me so hooked I couldn’t put it down!

A big thank you to Catherine Hokin, Bookouture and NetGalley for the arc♥️

We do what we must

This is a dual storyline featuring Magda in the 1940 world war II years and her Granddaughter Nina in the 1980's during the cold war times when there was an East Berlin, a West Berlin and a wall between the two.

Magda never talks about the war years and her time spent during them to her granddaughter. Nina finds a picture of a beautiful tower house her grandmother once lived in which is in West Berlin. Magda and Nina both live in East Berlin. Nina does not agree with the communist control and is always in trouble over her views. She tries to escape to the west with a few dollars in her pocket and a fake passport. She is caught and put in a secret prison. When the wall comes down she is released and travels to the west to find the Tower House.

Magda's story is the second story in the book. It is her time during WWII when she was a secretary to Himmler. She acted the part of a Nazi in every way, but she was truly stealing secrets and helping the Jews escape. She makes an enemy of Eva and before she leaves the Tower House and goes home at the end of the war something horrible happens between her and Eva the wife of an SS Officer.

When Nina finds documents in the Tower House that are very damning to Magda and when she meets Eva and is told her Grandmother Magda worked for Himmler and was responsible for Eva's father's death and the death of millions of Jews Nina is torn. She does not believe her Grandmother could do such a thing but she has the evidence in her hands.

When her grandmother Magda is arrested can Nina solve the mystery and redeem her Grandmother or will Magda be sent to prison for war crimes?

This was a very good book and I would recommend it.

Thanks to Catherine Hokin, Bookouture, and Netgalley for allowing me to read an advanced copy for my honest review.

As with any books based on this subject, the Secretary was heartbreaking and touching. It broached subjects of love, hate, fear, strength and bravery.

It was a good storyline and I liked the history of it. The characters were fab and you really rooted for them. (Apart from Elsa!) although even her character really made your emotions high!

It was an interesting story and it’d be interesting to know If it was based on true events? If not, what gave Catherine the idea.

I liked the style of writing, how the chapters switched from present to past and from different characters points of view. It made the story feel more real.

Thank you NetGalley and bookouture for the opportunity to read and review this title.

Once again its a win for Bookouture when it comes to their historical fiction WW 2 stories. And tbe author did amazing job bring her story to life as well as her characters, this is the second book that I've read where the story takes place in Berlin, and one of the things I loved about the story was how she handled the topic of how the Jews was treated , and the different politics that was going on at that time. The way she wrote her story shows what life was like now and then in the different time periods and how it still effected the people living in 1990 that remembers the war of 1949

This story was told from two different timelines, each marked by terrible atrocities and inhuman behavior. Things we would like to turn our eyes and minds from.

Magda tells her story as Himmler’s secretary, cloaking her real work trying to help the resistance and Jews escape from the Nazis.

Nina, Magda’s granddaughter, has her own account of oppression and imprisonment living in the GDR prior to the fall of the Berlin Wall.

Once the wall falls, these two worlds collide in a revelation stunning to the two of them, their families, and the world beyond.

However painful the past reveals itself to be, it is necessary for both their lives to move forward.

This was a fine read. Nina’s story I, and I believe others, have little knowledge of other than a maybe a sort mention in a history book. Living in the GDR, behind the wall was a horror in its own right that has been easily forgotten.

Thank you Net Galley.

“There’s always a choice that isn’t a choice. It’s always impossible to save everyone.”
 
It’s easy to fight against the enemies. But how easy is it to fight against them by being a traitor to your own people?
 
Magda spends her days on the fringes of the revolutionary activities her family is involved in. She is too young to be risked. But when one day, Walther, the renowned factory owner and an intimate friend of the Nazis appoints her as his secretary, Magda doesn’t know her life is going to change forever. It’s one thing to spread pamphlets but another altogether to smuggle secrets from the very den of the tiger. Now about fifty years later, she is an old woman with secrets she wouldn’t share with anyone. She lives in the concentration camp of her own mind.
 
But Nina is not one to back down. She has got the rebellious streak of her grandmother. She has been in the eyes of the Stasi since she was ten years old. And now in her early 20s, she is a prisoner in one of the deadliest places that no one knows where to locate. But when the Wall falls, Nina is faced with a freedom she doesn’t know how to handle. So she does what she has always wanted to do. Dig into her grandmother’s past. And what better way to start than the formidable Town House which hides more secrets under its undergrowth than anyone will ever let on?
 
In a harrowing account of the horrors of the war, of resistance, of bonds forged by an united aim of equality and humanity, of revenge, jealousy, love and companionship, of dark pasts and truths lurking just behind the shadows, The Secretary is the emblem of bravery and hope in the face of the darkest times. It is the story that makes you believe that not all Germans were Nazis and that the Nazis existed even in households otherwise thought to be the abode of warmth.

The Jews were not just numbers. And the ones who fought, in spite of all their shortcomings, were still humans. This book is a testimony to that. I loved the writing, the plot and the setting. I have always had a soft corner for historical fictions and to read one from the perspective of the Germans who lived to tell the tale was indeed a unique experience. It is a book that should be passed down generations.

I enjoyed this read. Very interesting well written book. I look forward to more by this author. Absolutely fantastic!

4.5 Stars!

Magda Aderbach and Nina Dahkle are grandma and granddaughter, respectively. There may be some 40 years difference in age, but their lives and choices seem to run parallel. They are both brave and courageous and want to right wrongs. There are also long held secrets that may break them. Magda’s story begins in Berlin at the start of WWII and Nina’s in 1970’s Berlin that had become a part of the GDR. Told in both their perspectives, it is, at times, a horrific tale of the atrocities that took place in both time frames. Yet there is a also deep sense of love and sacrifice they share.

I’m not knowledgeable enough to know how accurate the details are in The Secretary. But this story seems to have been researched and woven into a tale that was both so very heartbreaking and fascinating. There were times that I was gripped by the terror of what was happening and dumbfounded by how any one human could hate another with such fierceness. I’ll never understand it. I was taken by the love and commitment to the help at any cost. The story is captivating. I definitely recommend it.

This is an intelligent read for informed readers!

Rather than tell you about a secretary who leads a double life smuggling secrets out of an SS officer’s workplace or a girl who risks it all to travel on a forged passport, I’ll tell you about why you need to read this book.

The author has written about something that fascinates her and it shows in her work. Oftentimes I wonder if a romance has been written and then because the publicist wants a historical fiction set in WW2, the author adds it as an afterthought. NOT Catherine Hokin. This has been well-researched and integrated well; readers will feel as if they are there with Nina and Magda. It’s obvious the author has spent time in Berlin because the descriptions are superb. This novel is set in Berlin during WW2 and in the 1980s up to and after the fall of the wall.

Hokin has a gift for descriptive writing. She’s dialled into the 5 senses in her writing and that’s what makes this book come alive. I also love the deep, meaningful and intelligent conversations between the characters. It makes this book ‘next level’. Sometimes in books, the conversations between characters are shallow or are not engaged in age-appropriate conversation, but Hokin has masterfully created characters who reflect the times. The protagonist is brave and her actions prove it. She doesn’t need to be sassy to show she’s courageous and strong.

The tension-filled plot is like nothing I’ve ever read before. Her characters are put in difficult situations and a wrong word or response could mean death. If I put the book down for a few hours, I could immediately sense the tension on the page as soon as I picked it up again. Sometimes authors TELL you about danger, but you don’t feel it. Hokin taps into this emotion and elicits the desired response. You will feel the encompassing grief and you will be well aware of the sacrifices made in the name of love.

Finally, Hokin educates her readers. Some authors cram facts in sentences and they don’t feel a part of the paragraph. They stick out like a fact that’s been crammed into their writing. Hokin embeds information seamlessly. Maybe you’ll be like me and be surprised that, while still erect, it wasn’t called the Berlin Wall on both sides of the division. Maybe you’ll be shocked at the repercussions of driving innocently close to the Berlin Wall as late as the 1970s. Maybe you will learn about Hennickendorf, on part of the old WW2 prison camp that was meant to ‘turn anti-socials and hooligans back into valuable citizens’. Regardless, there’s something for everyone; from romance to mystery!

I had previously read The Lost Mother by this author and was impressed. It’s good to know that Hokin consistently writes outstanding historical fiction. She’s an auto-buy author for me now. This needs to be on your radar come May 24, 2021.

I received this advance copy as a gift from Catherine Hokin, Bookouture and NetGalley and was under no obligation to provide a review.

A fascinating, very interesting read. Magda works in a factory as a secretary. This is pre-war Germany. When she is picked to be the Boss’s P.A- the position she has always coveted she is thrilled. What she’s not so thrilled about is to see the lapel pin Walther wears. Forward to the 1970’ss and Nina, Magda’s granddaughter finds a drawing of a house which when Magda sees it she visibly pales. Magda and her family are now in East Germany. Those of us old enough remember the wall (the “ Anti faschist barrier”) coming down but perhaps few realised or remember quite what life was like for those on the other side. The late 1980’s is not that far back. East Germany (officially the GDR- the German Democratic Republic) a part of the eastern bloc existed from 1949 to 1990 and was a Dictatorship/ Socialist state. Food was short and shops ran by the government who tried to substitute products when they weren't available. Alternate chapters tell of Magda working and Nina growing up in the two respective time periods and then coming together towards the end. Wow! A very moving account of life in both a war time and an Eastern bloc regime. I was stunned, I was gripped, I was very moved. Magda and Nina are both very endearing having similar qualities of doing what is right and dogged tenacity and determination against all odds. A treasure of a read, an informative one and one to capture the imagination.
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THE SECRETARY by CATHERINE HOKIN is an excellent WW11 novel which covers the war years in Berlin as well as the years of oppression behind the Wall. It is a story of great courage in the face of devastation as we follow Magda Aderbach, who works as Himmler's secretary, and then her granddaughter Nina Dahlke, who grows up in East Berlin.
The callous wickedness of the Nazi régime with their hatred of the Jews and their extravagant lifestyles when ordinary people were going without, is something that practically destroys Magda and also factory owner Walther Tiedemann, who pretends solidarity with the Nazis in order to help as many Jews as he can. What they are doing is very dangerous, especially as Walther's daughter, Elsa, is an avid Nazi and hates Magda.
Nina is very like her grandmother and gets herself into trouble when she questions the status quo in East Berlin. She longs to know the truth about her grandmother's actions during the war, but Magda will not tell her anything. When she uncovers incriminating evidence she is not sure what to do with it.
The book is very exciting and I am not going to spoil things for you by saying any more., except that you will not be able to put it down!
I was given a free copy of the book by NetGalley from Bookouture. The opinions in this review are completely my own.

Review pending

On first impressions, The Secretary looks right up my street with a brilliant cover which already sets a dark and dangerous tone to suit the subject matter.

I look forward to finding out more about Magda and her dangerous ties with the resistance and how this comes in to play with the time jump.

Looks to be an exciting read!