This was one of those books that really have you on your seat since the very first chapters of the story, a story of two boys a German and a Jew that witness the tragical murder of a young lady in the evil electrifying walls of a concentration camp not knowing that this will keep them together for many years until the truth and justice will come out.

Benjamin is finally a grown-up man working and seeking to make justice after many years of living under terrible circumstances at the hand of the Nazis and the SS officers. he goes to a victim reunion every week to speak about what happened there during those terrible years and to have somehow a community, a connection with people who will understand what happened until one day Wilhelm that old German kid show in one of those meetings seeking to help them and himself.

Wilhelm has been helping Jews and survivors from WW2 for many years, he somehow feels responsible for many of the atrocities his father and stepfather did during the war, he is even determined to find that lost boy who witness the same atrocities when he was just a child. his mother doesn't want to do anything with this and she somehow has a very cold and distant relationship with her own son, she was a firm believer in the Nazi lies and the SS in her own words "she believes in the cause"

Ursula was an accomplice even if she never participated in these atrocities but staying silent and attending all the political parties she went to promote the Nazis and the Third Reich were enough to make her believe in their lies, many years will pass until she realise her immense mistake but will rectify everything with her determination to finally make the right thing even if that means to lose her son forever.

This one one of the few books that I've read that actually talked more about what happened after the war, the trials of Adolf Eichmann in Jerusalem were something that I haven't explored more about only a few glimpses and this book made me want to seek more about the subject, even the suggestion of a few great books that will help to explain more about this situation and what happened.

The only reason I didn't give this book five stars was that I didn't identify with the end, I really believe after all that Benjamin, Ursula, and Wilhelm went through they really deserved justice at least the people who were in charge of the justice in Germany were terrible, they didn't deserve to be treated and be dismissed the way the "so-called justice" did plus I still can't believe they didn't make Wilhelm testify, I believe the story would have been even stronger and even more believable, everything would have panned out differently if the writer let Wilhelm testify.

overall the book and the story were great, I really enjoy it so much

Thank you, NetGalley and The Book Guild for the advanced copy of Witness in exchange for an honest review

An unprovoked, gruesome murder is witnessed by two young boys from opposite sides of a fence. One an inmate at the Nazi death camp, the other a German who happened to be passing by….With a deftly drawn cast of characters, an intriguing plot and an immersive and compelling narrative, this is a one sit compulsive read.

Highly recommend this one! This was my first book to read by this author but definitely won't be my last. The characters will stay with you long after you finish the book and you will find yourself wishing the story would never end.

This story reminds me of the boy in the striped pajamas. I was intrigued from the first page to the last. It has interesting characters and an engaging storyline. There is also a great twist. I loved this book I highly recommend. Thank you netgalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.
My rating 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟5/5

An unprovoked, gruesome murder is witnessed by two young boys from opposite sides of a fence. One an inmate at the Nazi death camp, the other a German who happened to be passing by. At that moment of the killing, both boys saw each other momentarily, and a connection was made that would be with them for the rest of their lives.

Justice cannot be easily achieved, but through the tireless efforts of the two boys, the murderer is finally brought to trial. Will they get the verdict that will put him in prison, or will the murderer escape justice?

Set against the background of 1960s Germany, following the trial of Adolf Eichmann in Jerusalem, the novel explores many aspects of German society, including the terrible limitations of the German Penal Code in prosecuting ex-Nazis and its attitude to war criminals.
#netgalley #witness #lovereadingarcs

Great idea for a story and the different perspectives, set in a unique historical context, add a layer of intrigue. The story was a bit slow at times but overall a well written, well thought out book.

I loved this book.
It gripped me from the first page.
One of the things I loved most was the story being told from different perspectives, to me, this adds to the enjoyment of the story.
I raced through the book mainly because I had to see the outcome of the trial.
The author had the pace of the story perfectly, it made ME need to know the answers right now.
The characters were so beautifully drawn I connected immediately.
The research done on this book was impeccable.
It is one of the best Holocaust books I've ever read and one of the best books I've read in the last few years.
The twist in the story really made an amazing book even better.

I would highly recommend this book to everyone.

Great idea for a story, well written and good historical references. Reads very smooth and was easy to read and captivating.

Thank you to Netgalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
I found the writing style in this book a little too simplistic for my liking. Not my cup of tea. I am however looking forward to reading more from this author.

Had been looking forward to reading this book. But sadly it didn’t catch my attention. I found it very slow. And lacking a good plot. Not like any other books like this

Firstly I would like to thank netgalley,and book guild,and the author Daniel peltz for a copy of this book to read.

Really enjoyed the start of this book,Wilhelm a German boy who's father done terrible crimes.and Benjamin a Jewish boy seen terrible incident at the fence, Wilhelm felt the guilt of his father crimes and years later wants to bring war criminals to justice,will they get the murderers to trial? The second half of this book for me wasnt as strong as the first half.

This book will be reviewed on goodreads, and amazon UK.

I was so excited to be given this book to review after I requested it but sadly I was left feeling disappointed. The blurb makes this sound like a fascinating read and it could have been a good read if not for the problems within the book. The writing style fell flat for me and the characters were developed to the bare minimum and just felt disjointed. I really wish i could have given a better review because I wanted to love it.

I was fascinated by the blurb describing Witness - two boys, one an Auschwitz inmate, the other the son of the camp commandant, who witness the brutal murder of a female inmate by an SS guard. Unfortunately, the book doesn’t really live up to its promise. The characters were so poorly drawn that I had a hard time even caring for the two main protagonists. The change of heart on the part of one of the characters was not well delineated. The writing style was simplistic. For me, the only good point in the book was its description of the barriers German prosecutors had in bringing ex Nazis to trial. But even this didn’t keep me from just wanting to get the book over with.

My thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing an ARC of Witness.

DNF @ 61%

Far from what the blurb purports it to be.

If a naively simplistic tale of a very sensitive subject is your thing, give this a go. Steer clear otherwise.

There is no conflict in the story apart from the central one of a war criminal facing a trial in 60s West Germany. There is no character development. Everything happens at the speed of light. Daniel Peltz spends little time in getting to know his characters, instead relying on name-dropping (people and books) and on key events like Eichmann's trial to keep the reader engaged. It's all just a big sham. The novel reeks of a disingenuity that has become all too common in literature recently - to take major events from the past and craft around them some story; the Holocaust just happens to be the most prominent victim of this brand of writing.

Parts of it read like the worst Jeffrey Archer imitation you can imagine, especially when the protagonists breeze through some of the most testing situations people find themselves in.

This is just a bad, bad book.