An Affair of Spies is a historical fiction. I wouldn't really classify it has a thriller, but it's not a cozy one either. It's just a very well researched historical fiction books, too me.

Nathan Silverman is a German Jew, whose parents sent him to New York to live with his aunt. He joins the Army, when German citizens are allowed. Because he is fluent in German, he gets tapped to go on a secret mission for the Manhattan Project.

Dr. Allison Fisher is a physicists work on part of the project in Chicago. She gets tapped because of her knowledge.

As I said, I could tell that Balson did a lot of research. The characters repeated some facts told earlier in the book, but it wasn't so much that it bogged the book down. Character development was good. The story moved along at a good pace, also.

If you like historical fiction dealing with WWII, I recommend you give the book a try.

Published September 13, 2022

Thanks to Netgalley, and St. Martin's Press for the ARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

#netgalley
#stmartinspress

📚 Happy Reading 🙂📚

Another excellent WWII thriller by Ronald Balson. Sergeant Nathan Silverman is a German Jewish refugee, who fled Europe at the urging of his family, and has enlisted in the US army, where he has been transferred into an intelligence unit because of his fluency in German. He is sent to NY City to meet a General and Robert Oppenheimer, and introduced to Dr. Allison Fischer, a nuclear physicist. Together, they are asked to sneak into Nazi Germany to evaluate whether a Dr. Snyder can help the U.S. effort to build a nuclear weapon and to determine what progress the Nazis have made in their own efforts to build one. Nathan's father (Josef) worked with Snyder and Nathan is desperate for news of his family, and fears the worst. Nathan impersonates a Wehrmacht officer and Allison is supposed to be his French girlfriend. Of course, they encounter many difficulties along the way, and because of compartmentalization, Snyder only has a partial picture, causing the Berlin chief of station to assist in an unsanctioned daring mission. Very good, 4.5 stars.

A thrilling, action-packed WWII spy thriller. Nathan is a German-born-and-raised Jew who escaped after Kristallnacht and is living in the US. He enlists in the military effort and is tasked with a mission to return to Nazi Germany to help a German nuclear scientist (and friend of his father) defect. The secrecy and importance of the development of the atomic bomb is a fascinating backdrop, although the scientific jargon went a little over my head at times.

Nathan Silverman lived in Berlin during the 1920’s. When his uncle is arrested during Kristall­nacht, his parents send him to his aunt who lives in the United States. Nathan is attending an university class when he sees a poster to enlist in the army. He is assigned to a special intelligence unit. He had hoped to fight as a soldier against the Nazis. He is summoned to New York by Gen. L. Groves, the head of the Manhattan project. He wants him for a special mission. He is to help a physicist who wants to defect to the United State as the United States want to be the first to develop the atomic bomb. Nathan will be a Nazi officer and will be working with an American physicist who happens to be an attractive woman. Her name is Allison Fisher. Nathan is also to get details of the Nazis’ nuclear program. Will they be able to escape back to the United States after their special mission?

The author has written an action-packed novel. I experienced being transported back in time with this story. It is a well researched story.

Having read many historical accounts of espionage during World War II, I was astounded by the events described in this fictional story. Was this overly simplified and sanitized version written perhaps for a young adult audience? As an adult, I didn’t buy it and felt slightly defensive for the real spies of history, who were so much more highly skilled and who endured so much more.

Example: Protagonist Nathan is supposedly a highly trained soldier, ready to enter combat in Europe. He undergoes further training in spy craft before undertaking a mission so important that, should it succeed, it would likely change the trajectory of the war. Here’s my problem: At one point, he gives the address of a safe house where he is staying to an old girlfriend, one he hasn’t seen for years, whose current political beliefs he doesn’t know. Not only that, he tells her about the goals of their current extremely top secret operation. Unfortunately, she does divulge this information to the Nazis, ruining the safe house and endangering the mission and the lives of multiple people. The reason he did this? For personal profit. Because he wanted her to ferret out information about his family. He gave her the address of the safe house because he couldn’t think of a way she could deliver the information to him. Huh? How about a drop location somewhere that couldn’t be linked to either of them? And telling her about the current operation? I guess that was just to impress an old girlfriend? Very bad things happened because of this dishonorable behavior. Instead of being hailed as a hero, he should have been courtmartialed. He put a critical operation in danger for a personal advantage.
This is only one example of incredibly stupid and reckless things he did…repeatedly. In a disguise as a German soldier, he very publicly rescued a Jewish man who was being harassed, causing a great deal of attention. Great low profile. He took many other unnecessary chances just because he believed his ideas were better than what his handlers planned and assigned to him. I really could not stand this arrogant idiot. Of course, the romance was also lost on me. I liked the female protagonist better than him and wanted her to stay far away from him.
I cannot recommend this book, even for young people. The history in it is too warped to be educational. If it was set in a fantasy world, it might be a nice story for young adults, but not as supposed historic fiction.

An Affair of Spies by Ronald Balsam is my second novel by this author. First and foremost this novel is extensively researched. While the characters are fictional the major events are not. Think Manhattan Project, Atomic Bombs, Nazi Germany, Werner Von Braun, and keeping tabs on your enemies.

The story begins in 1938 when a young Jewish boy leaves Germany and emigrates to the United State of America. He is leaving his parents and sister behind. His father was able to secure a sponsor and visa for his travels. His father is a well known scientist and his work is vital to Germany. However, his father is acutely aware of the tightening of the reins on the members of the Jewish faith. Thus the reason his son, Nathan Silverman is sent away.

When Nathan is old enough, he answers the call to serve in the Armed Forces of his new country. A cursory glance would alert ranking military members that Nathan has a very particular skill set. His skill set is brought to the attention of those individuals working on the Manhattan Project. He has been chosen to return to Germany, undercover, to aid a German scientist defect to the United States. If this scientist is as good as they think he is, he could be invaluable to the Manhattan Project. While Nathan is the son of a renowned German scientist, he knows nothing about nuclear science. In order to validate the defector’s worth Nathan is tasked with taking a scientist with him when he returns to Germany. The idea is to get in, evaluate and get out.

Mr. Balsam’s writing is excellent. He has perfect pacing. He described the World on the brink of disaster very well. The story had me staying up late and swiftly turning the pages. Complications keep you on the edge of your seat. There are many tense moments and lots of scientific language. I found it a delightful read. I enjoyed all the major events in the story and how they are deftly woven throughout the book. I appreciated how the relationship developed between Nathan and the US scientist. While it was transparent to me from the beginning, it was enjoyable to watch it develop and grow.

I only had two minor complaints. One was given Nathan’s dedication and professionalism and need to remain undercover, why would he jeopardize his entire mission? This part was not believable to me and should have been left out. The other complaint was the repetition of scientific information regarding nuclear science. Overall, the story was intriguing and I enjoyed reading An Affair of Spies.

I would like to thank the Mr. Balsam, St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

A big thank you to the author Ronald H. Balson, the publisher and NetGalley for providing me an ARC in exchange for my candid review.

I have read a lot of Historic Fiction about WWII so this book was right up my alley. Things I loved: 1) Great history and explanation of the race to build a nuclear weapon. 2) Descriptions of how difficult Jews had it in Berlin. 3) I like the interplay between the soldier and the scientist. The things that I found difficult 1) How easy it was to get into Berlin 2) believing that the US Gov would have a Female scientist assisting in the nuclear program let alone allowing her to travel to Berlin as a spy. 3) What bad spies these two are......who gives out the address to their safe house and their secret mission to an enemy resident?

It was a good book to read for the history, but the story lacked any attempt at plausability.

This espionage thriller has a lot to offer. The characters are well-drawn, the plot is well devised, and it picks up tension as it rolls on to its climax. My only complaint is the huge amount of dialog which often cuts9 the tension. As an espionage technothriller author myself, I was both entertained and enlightened.

What's it about (in a nutshell):
An Affair of Spies by Ronald H. Balson is one fast-paced thrill ride. In this story, two US spies work inside Germany to find out how far along the Germans are in creating an atomic bomb.

Initial Expectations (before beginning the book):
Based on the blurb, this story sounds incredibly compelling and fast-paced, with a bit of romance thrown into the mix. The cover completely embodies an espionage story.

Actual Reading Experience:
Wow! Just wow! This story starts fast, ends fast, and leaves me breathless in between. How much danger can two US citizens be in the heart of Germany? The risk never stops and never lets up. I was taken for a wonderful thrill ride as the pages flew by and the story unfolded.
The writing is just perfect for the story. If the afterward had said this story was based on real people and events, I would not have been the least surprised because it felt genuine and plausible. The plot is tightly constructed with a focus that never wavers. I loved these aspects the most because they enabled me to completely immerse myself in the story and experience all of the emotions that the characters were going through.

Characters:
Nathan is the main character. He grew up a German Jew who left Germany for the US a few years before WWII began. Once the war starts, he quickly enlists in the US Army, feeling the need to be in the thick of things in Europe. But, the military soon recognizes what an asset Nathan is and assigns him a spy job right in the heart of Berlin.

Nathan drove me crazy half of the time because his decisions had no logic behind them. I loved and hated that he led with his heart because even though it made him relatable, it also put him in danger more than once.
Allison was much more level-headed, and I loved that she was super bright and kept everything together, even when the odds seemed impossible.

Narration & Pacing:
The narration is in 3rd person and focused solely on Nathan. Since the plot is tightly constructed, focusing on Nathan, even in 3rd person narration, leads to a pace that is fast from start to finish. I loved that it was hard for me to tear my eyes away from the page!

Setting:
The setting is Germany (and France) during WWII. It is used effectively in telling this tale as it helped put more obstacles in the main character's way and also helped the reader see what it was like in Germany at this time.

To Read or Not to Read:
If you love fast-paced thrillers and want a focused look at what life was like in Germany during WWII, An Affair of Spies will give you that peek into a world that is much different than many of us would imagine.

An interesting read but?
I would have given it four stars, but some parts of the story really annoyed me. Example Nathan multiple time endangers the lives of the people helping him by ignoring the instructions, been indiscreet with the information he had. This is not a onetime occurrence but repeats itself over and over again. His job was the get information on Germany’s nuclear research and get one of the scientists out of Germany instead he jeopardized the job by making his main focus finding out about his family. The story itself had a lot of potential and if you are not bothered by the things I mentioned then go ahead because it was a very entertaining read.

An Affair of Spies by Ronald H. Balson was a fast paced historical fiction thriller. This was my eighth book that I have read by Ronald H. Balson. Although I enjoyed reading it, it was not one of my all time favorite books by him. I appreciated the impeccable research that went into writing this book, though. The plot of An Affair of Spies focused on the mission of helping a German nuclear scientist that was working at the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute defect to the United States. In exchange for helping him defect, the German scientist would supply information about Germany’s progress in the development of a nuclear weapon to the army personnel that was helping him defect. This plot idea was a product of Ronald H. Balson’s imagination. It never actually occurred but many of the German scientists, army personnel, locations of certain offices and army regiments and top secret projects that were mentioned in this book were real. At the height of World War II, the United States and Germany were in a race with each other to see who could develop a nuclear weapon first. Ronald H. Balson used these facts to weave a fictional story around them. The Manhattan Project was the guise the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers under the direction of Major General Leslie Groves established to pursue this research and development of a nuclear weapon. A brilliant scientist that was involved with The Manhattan Project and an army soldier were selected to carry out this dangerous and top secret mission.

Nathan Silverman was born and raised in Germany during the 1920’s. He resided in Berlin with his mother, father and younger sister. Nathan‘s father was a brilliant and respected physicist. When Hitler and the Nazi party came into power in Germany and started imposing antisemitic regulations for the Jews, Nathan’s life as he had known it was disrupted and would never be the same. The Nazis started to target Jews and commit atrocities against them. Nathan’s family decided to send Nathan to New York to live with his aunt. The Nazis were still allowing Jews to leave Germany. Nathan’s father believed his position would be enough to keep him and Nathan’s mother and sister safe. To hep ensure Nathan’s well being, his mother gave him her gold wedding ring with instructions to sell it if he ever needed funds. Nathan arrived in New York after a long and difficult journey by boat. He started to take classes at Columbia University when he saw a recruitment poster for the United States Army. Nathan decided to enlist, was accepted and ended up at Camp Ritchie in Maryland. Camp Ritchie was a secret facility that was designed to train soldiers that were originally of German descent. One day, Nathan’s commanding officer, Colonel Charles Y. Banfill told Nathan that he was being reassigned to New York City to The Manhattan Project. Nathan was told to report to Major General Leslie Groves and that he would explain his new orders. When Nathan arrived at the offices of The Manhattan Project in New York City the nature of his new orders were explained. The army needed Nathan to travel to Germany by way of France. He would be accompanied by a brilliant scientist who was also very involved with The Manhattan Project. The two of them would help one of Germany’s top nuclear scientists defect to the United States but not before he disclosed Germany’s progress in producing a nuclear weapon. Nathan pictured an old decrepit male scientist that would accompany him. To his surprise, the scientist was a woman. She was not only brilliant and attractive but close to his own age. Her name was Dr. Allison Fisher. Would Nathan and Dr. Fisher get the information they desperately wanted and needed about Germany’s progress of building a nuclear weapon? Would they be able to help the German scientist escape Nazi Germany? What dangers would they encounter?

There were a few things that I found to be quite exasperating while reading An Affair of Spies. The number one thing that bothered me was the unnecessary repetition of the scientific jargon concerning the nuclear weapons. I found it to be excessively detailed oriented and repeated several times throughout the book. Another thing that I questioned was Nathan’s professionalism as an officer in the United States Army. Why would he divulge information that could jeopardize the mission and put his life and Allison’s life in danger? Overall though, I enjoyed reading An Affair of Spies. I did appreciate the relationship that grew between Nathan and Allison even if I suspected that it would from their first encounter. It was still fun to watch it grow and develop. I recommend this book if you enjoy reading about aspects of World War II and enjoy historical fiction novels.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press for allowing me to read this ARC of An Affair of Spies by Ronald H. Balson through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

I received a complimentary ARC of this wonderful Berlin, WWII historical novel from Netgalley, Ronald H. Balson, and St. Martin's Press. Thank you all for sharing your hard work with me. I have read An Affair of Spies of my own volition, and this review reflects my honest opinion of this work. As always, the amount of research and just plain work that went into setting the scene for An Affair of Spies is obviously astronomical. As with the Liam Taggart and Catherine Lockhart Series and other independent novels like Eli's Promise and this, An Affair of Spies, this is a book you will finish before you will get any sleep at all. The story is tight, the characters personable and you will feel like you have been to Berlin. Back in 1942.

Nathan escaped Germany and is now in the United States Army. He is called to leave his regiment and become a spy for the atomic bomb program. He is being sent back to Germany with a civilian scientist to find out exactly what the Germans have achieved with their bomb program. But, it turns into a more dangerous mission than he first thought possible.

Nathan is a stand up guy and I fell for him! I love his protective instincts. And, let me tell you, when the situation gets tough, Nathan is a man you want on your side. And believe me, this situation gets tougher and more dangerous by the minute.

I was introduced to this author when I read Defending Britta Stein. This book is not as good as that one, in my opinion. But it is still a very good read. I loved the intensity and the drama. It was just a bit slow in places.

Need a story which will make you wonder what actually happened in Germany over the atomic bomb…THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today!

I received this novel from the publisher for a honest review.

Ronald H. Balson fans will enjoy his latest novel, An Affair of Spies. If you aren’t yet a fan but enjoy World War II era historic fiction, pick up a copy.

In November 1943, Corporal William Johnson pulls into Camp Ritchie, Frederick, Maryland, shocked to see marching German Wehrmacht soldiers fewer than 100 miles from Washington, D. C. Corporal Johnson has been assigned to pick up Staff Sergeant Nathan Silverman, a German-born American soldier, one of the German-speaking “Ritchie boys” training for intelligence work in Nazi-controlled Europe.

Johnson is to deliver Silverman to the Army Corps of Engineers, Manhattan Engineer District where he will meet Dr. Robert Oppenheimer and learn why he has been pulled from Camp Ritchie. The son of a German Jewish nuclear physicist working at the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute in Berlin the last time Silverman heard from his family in 1938, the staff sergeant has been selected for a dangerous mission. Although he does not know if his own family is alive or dead, he had visited the institute with his father several times before emigrating and had met his dad’s fellow researchers. Now one of those researchers, Dr. Gunther Snyder, wants to defect to the U.S.

Disguised as a Nazi officer, Silverman is ordered to travel to Berlin in the company of Dr. Fisher, an American nuclear physicist working in Chicago with Enrico Fermi and Leo Szilard. Together they are to learn about the Nazi’s nuclear research status and expedite Dr. Snyder’s defection. Those are their orders, but Silverman and Fisher have their own ideas, and fulfilling those ideas requires broadening their mission without authorization.

Although long dialogue segments packed with historical facts strike me as artificial and awkward, they also attest to Balson’s research and fill in background information most readers would not otherwise know. The same facts crammed into narrative passages might seem as awkward. The author's story line carries readers ever forward. As with several other Balson novels, beginning with Once Were Brothers, his first, An Affair of Spies once again leads me to imagine the story dramatized on the big screen or as a limited TV series.

My thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an advance reader copy of Ronald Balson’s latest, guaranteed to bring reading enjoyment and raise moral questions.

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Impeccably researched and brilliantly crafted WWII spy novel that will captivate it's readers from the earliest pages. While reading this book, I must have told myself dozens of times that this would make one really movie and I would love to see it on the big screen someday!

It tells the story of a German born Jewish man, Nathan, that escapes Nazi Germany in the late 30's and emigrates to America, ultimately joining the U.S. Army to hopefully get back to Europe to fight against Hitler and his thugs and find out if the family he left behind is still alive. Now, enter Dr. Allison Fisher, a brilliant and fiery nuclear physicist here in America. When both are summoned by the U.S. Army to deploy to Nazi ridden Berlin to find, interrogate and extract one of Germany's smartest physicist that wants to defect to America to help the war effort, Nathan and Allison find themselves on an adventure of a lifetime.

This book draws you in and keeps you on the edge of your seat chapter by chapter. It excels in suspense, thrill, and danger. The author, Ronald H. Balson, clearly did his research on nuclear physics, histories greatest scientists and physicists of that era, and was historically accurate with the ranks, facts and ways of Nazi Germany.

This is a must read and deserves more than 5 stars!

Quite a few days late but, A big thanks to the author, the publisher and NetGalley for approving me of a copy of an e-arc of this book!
I LOVED IT. VERY MUCH SO.
favorite book.

An Affair of Spies by Ronald H Balson is a gripping book around the meeting with and removal of a nuclear scientist from Nazi Germany. Nathan Silverman was the son of one such scientist and had been lucky enough to leave Germany before it was too late to do so. He left behind his parents and his sister. Allison Fisher was a young nuclear scientist who had volunteered to come along on this mission to be certain the information they were getting was accurate. Nathan had joined the armed forces as soon as it was allowed, as he was not a citizen, and he was chosen specifically for this mission as the target scientist would recognize him as the son of a friend, and he had first-hand knowledge of the city and country, and the language, as well as the subterfuge skills necessary. The book was filled with names and details surrounding the production of the bomb, almost to the point of being a work of non-fiction.

As are all of Balson’s books, this was a moving description of the time, filled with fictional personalities so real as be be part of the story. There were no concentration camps involved, although they were made mention of. Instead there was the stark realism of the Nazi state and the seriousness surrounding the development of an atomic bomb. Nathan’s compulsion to find his family was a touching one, if a little unrealistic. This mission was so fraught with danger already, that the addition of this journey would have proven impossible in reality. It was a moving portion of the story, however. A frightening time. I have pretty much given up Holocaust books as I have read too many, but I never pass by one by Ronald H Balson. They are all just too good, as is this one.

I was invited to read a free e-ARC of An Affair of Spies by St. Martin’s Press, through Netgalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own. #Netgalley #StMartinsPress #RonaldHBalson #AnAffairOfSpies

An Affair of Spies hurtled me back to chemistry class with its in-depth details on splitting atoms, chain reactions, and the fight to who will succeed at making the first nuclear bomb. If you are not a fan of science, you may get lost in all the scientific details and descriptions. I had a tough time connecting with the characters. I did enjoy yelling at Nathan throughout the book after he did one idiotic thing after another. The question is will he be able to complete his mission and bring back the German scientists who has sworn to give up all the information that he has on where Germany stands in the nuclear race? This book missed the mark for me, I do believe others would enjoy. Thank you to Ronald H. Balson and St. Martin Press for sending me this twisty mystery.

A spy mission to rescue a defector from Germany and prevent the Nazis from creating an atomic bomb. A woman scientist and an officer go to Berlin. The officer also has family that he wants to find.

An Affair of Spies
by Ronald H. Balson
St. Martin's Press
Out now.

I read Ronald H. Balson's AN AFFAIR OF SPIES late into the night, gripped by this deftly written histfic mystery-thriller.

Think WWII, the atomic bomb, a brilliant theoretical physicist who wants to defect from Germany, and two spies (Army Sergeant Nathan Silberman, and Dr. Allison Fisher, a French-speaking scientist), tasked with getting the physicist out of Europe so he can work on the Manhattan Project in America.

Perfect pacing, keen emotions, twists and turns, a developing romance, and a world on the brink of disaster kept me turning the pages swiftly to the end. A winner highly recommended for fans of histfic thrillers and addictive yarns.

Thanks to the author, St. Martin's Press, and NetGalley for the ARC. Opinions are mine.