I had not read any other book by Naomi Ragen, but I was most curious about The Enemy Beside Me which looked to be packed with information and facts about the treatment of Jews during WWII in Lithuania. Ragen is a good storyteller. This book weaves a few stories together. One is of a famed Nazi hunter Milia Gottstein-Lasker who inherited her work from her family, then there is the story of what happened to 200,000 jews in Lithuania that were killed not by the Nazis but by their fellow Lithuanians, and also the sudden uncoupling of Milia and her husband. The reading is sometimes very difficult, but how she weaves these stories together is clearly part of her magic as a storyteller.

Without spoiling the plot, this is a book about hope, growth, learning and forgiveness which seems to happen even when you feel it is impossible. I did finish the book, but there were times I was crying. I did not know anything about this part of the world, although I did know about the Holocaust but there are details here that are horrific. I see from the bibliography that Ragen did a lot of research and based much the of the story on first person accounts of survivors so I commend her for bringing light to a subject that even Lithuanians have had a revisionist attitude towards.

I highly recommend this book to people who want to learn more about the Holocaust and Lithuania, as it was different from other countries in the war. In general the story holds your attention and I learned a great deal.

This book; it’s in my head. I can’t stop thinking about it. People don’t want to be reminded of the past particularly if it’s from a place of fear about the truth. This book is fiction based on shocking true events.

Dr. Milia Gottstein-Lasker from Israel agreed to be a keynote speaker in Lithuania with a special program for Holocaust Remembrance Day. Her grandfather was the founder of the Survivor’s Campaign with the hunt for Nazi war criminals who escaped. Her father also devoted his life to find justice and after he passed, it was up to Milia to take over. Sadly, war criminals still living were not easy to bring to trial as many were protected by organizations and governments.

Milia had a lot of reservations about accepting a role with this special program, “Our Neighbors, Our Friends” in a country – Lithuania -- that murdered all of their Jewish neighbors and friends 70 years ago.

This wasn’t easy for her to be there as she was aware of the facts: 96.4 percent of the Jews in Lithuania were killed in three towns. She knew it and so did Dr. Darius Vidas, Chairman of Algirdas University who invited her. She was famous and he needed a strong appeal to draw interest to this special event. Yet, Milia and Darius had strong disagreements of who was responsible for the deaths of thousands of Jews.

The message is clear: 200,000 Jews were violently killed in 1941 in Lithuania. It wasn’t easy to read about the gut-wrenching horrors. Besides the tearful, disturbing descriptions of what happened, there was a lot of romance in the story which was heart-warming. It's a book that should be on top of everyone’s list this year for the past that affects the present and future.

My thanks to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for allowing me to read this advanced copy with an expected release date of September 12, 2023.

 I have been a Naomi Reagan fan after reading quite a few of her books. Most of her books involve the inner lives of Orthodox women. This book is very different.

The book follows an Israeli woman who is an accomplished professsional with a successful husband and grown adult children. Like her grandfather and father before her, she is a Nazi hunter, and an educator of all those who want to forget about their roles in the holocaust, especially partisans. Is she appreciated and respected by her surgeon husband? Maybe not, because is there any room in a marriage for two lifesavers?

She is invited to speak about Lithuania’s role in the death of thousands of Jews in WW II in series of conferences in Lithuania spearheaded by a Lithuanian professor. She jumps at the chance because this is a country that has been a holocaust denier since World War II. She feels that she might have some influence on them, and the rest of the book follows her both professionally,and personally through Lithuania, and finally back home in Israel.

 I learned so much from this book that this fact alone would’ve earned it five stars. I never knew about the legacy of Lithuania and was fascinated to learn of its history.

I could not put this book down.It was both compelling and interesting, and for good measure, even had romance. There was so much in this book that all readers could relate to.

Milia, head of the Survivor’s Campaign, works to bring Nazi criminals to justice. Now that many years have passed, she puts her energy into spreading the truth about the cover-ups of what actually happened. When asked to speak at a conference in Lithuania, she works alongside the person who invited her, Darius, professor and author, descended from a local “hero” who saved a Jewish family. Darius is proud of his heritage and wants to enlighten his countrymen by exposing them to his guest’s research to learn the truth behind their country’s real story. Her revelations through survivor testimony demonstrate the role played by Lithuanian natives in the abuse and slaughter of their Jewish neighbors and the cover-ups placing blame on Communist and Nazi invaders. Milia’s speech to high school students outrages the audience. Many walk out in protest; others weep. Darius stays loyal to her, defending and protecting her against threats and harm. With only the desire for truth in common, they become emotionally involved. Naomi Ragen’s novel is upsetting to read. It provides a perspective on the Holocaust that is heartbreaking because it reveals the horrendous rewriting of history and lies handed down through the generations.

Wow! This is a side of WWII and the Holocaust that I’ve never been exposed to before! So I am incredibly grateful for the history lesson!

Milia inherited the task of hunting down the Nazi’s responsible for the suffering and massacre of Jews during the Holocaust. Her grandfather established an organization to seek justice for his family who died at the hands of their countrymen in Lithuania. Darius is a Lithuanian professor who has challenged himself to being truth to a country who has long since denied wrong doing during the war. But once he meets Milia, he realizes that the truths he was always taught might not be the truth at all.

I think this story is vital to todays world. History does not have to repeat itself if we learn from and accept the past.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Naomi Ragen for a chance to read this book before it hits the shelves.

Ragen's book is based on true events. I've read a number of books in this genre, but none have been about Lithuania's role in the Holocaust, so I found that angle interesting. The horrors of the time are clearly portrayed, but this is an important read and one that should not be forgotten.

I received a free copy from NetGalley. Difficult subject. Sadly the story around it was super slow.

This historical fiction novel reveals Lithuania's relationship with its Jewish population during WW 2 and current times. It is hard to digest the past cruelty and current levels of lies and denials.

Milia Gottstein-Laska inherits her career from her grandfather and father; chasing down Nazi war criminals and putting them on trial. It is an uncomfortable job for all involved. In the midst of personal drama, Milia is given an opportunity to speak freely at an internationally attended conference being held in Lithuania by Professor, Dr. Darius Vidas. The fact based story line is an emotional challenge at some points.

This is not a book I would have finished if it were not an ARC but I am glad I did finish it. I found it interesting how the neighboring country of Bulgaria handled their Jewish population during the same time period and the resulting prosperity of that nation compared to Lithuania.

The most fascinating and important parts of this book had to do with imparting historical information about Lithuania's history as it relates to WWII, the treatment of Lithuanian Jews, and the denial of hard truths as demonstrated by the nation's unwillingness to grapple with the ugly, violent parts of its history. The fictional part, meaning the story full of affairs and handsome, well-meaning but naive professors and family drama, were... cringe. For what seems like a well-researched book, there were certain parts of the book that read like a geriatric millennial trying to speak GenZ and failing horribly (and I say that as a geriatric millennial myself). It's like all the efforts went into the history so that Milia's story was an afterthought. Also, the Islamophobic/anti-Palestinian undertones were really hard to ignore and felt particularly egregious given the fact that the book was asking us to listen for the voices that have been lost, that have been unheard, and have been quieted. Finally, the plot line around Dr. Vidas' family was so ridiculously easy to predict that it was almost insulting. I appreciate the introduction to Lithuanian history, but I think I'd have preferred to receive this information via the source materials.

This was a story based off of true events. Milia has worked at an organization dedicated to bringing justice to Holocaust victims and ensuring their voices are never silenced. It is an overwhelming job that has put strains on her personal relationships. Now, when she is on the verge of moving on from the organization she learns of something that puts everything into doubt. She proceeds to head to Lithuania to speak at a conference, not unaware that she is not very welcome in that country as she has pushed for the government to admit its role in the destruction of its Jewish community. It is during this trip that Milia begins to question everything she’s ever known and start a different path into her future. I liked that this book focused on Lithuania’s role in the Holocaust and brought to light the fact that certain countries played a decisive role in the Holocaust and want society to forget that role.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press. I received this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A child of two Holocaust survivors and an author of 14 novels, Naomi Ragen brings us a powerful and provocative novel rooted in the crimes of the past.

Milia Gottstein reluctantly assumes leadership of her family's organization, the Survivor’s Campaign, whose sole focus and very difficult task is to bring Nazi criminals to justice. In doing so, she has to put her own familial duties behind her; her role as the wife of a prominent surgeon, as a mother to three children, and as a grandmother.

When she comes to a crossroads, wanting to relinquish control of the organization, she is confronted with a life-altering truth. As she struggles to accept and deal with this unforeseen twist in her path, she’s invited to speak at a conference in Lithuania. Knowing that this is a chance to fight for her own agenda, she accepts the lecturing job, unaware that in addition to the political turmoil she experiences, she’ll now deal with inner turmoil. It’ll put everything she’s ever believed in question and cause her to forge a new and difficult path into her future.

Ragen asks us to consider what’s at stake when we’re making costly decisions, how we can deal with wounds of the past, how our black-and-white views blur when we have a shared experience, and what we plan as our next step when our present actions spark outrage. Without giving too much away, she also deals with an important issue within the Jewish community - a relationship issue - and prompts us to consider our response.

With antisemitism at record levels, this poignant story asks us to consider ‘what if…’ and needs to be on your reading list immediately.

I was gifted this copy by St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley and was under no obligation to provide a review.

Are these facts correct? Can any of this be true! How could so many Lithuanian Jews be killed, and I’ve never heard about it! I considered myself knowledgeable regarding Holocaust history, and yet the information in this book escaped me.
What an eye-opener The Enemy Beside Me is. The atrocities committed by Lithuanians toward people who were their neighbors—Jews—are unspeakable and sickening to read about. The author has assembled facts and melded them into a compelling narrative; this story held my interest and attention throughout.
Best wishes, Ms Ragen, for a very successful, The Enemy Beside Me. I highly, highly recommend this book to anyone who has ever picked up a book. My wish is that everyone can see the light revealed with your words.
Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review The Enemy Beside Me. I thoroughly enjoyed it and learned so much.

A wonderfully compelling read from a top five favorite author of mine. Plenty of heart and drama to keep the pages turning. I will definitely be able to recommend this to a wide variety of readers.

The Enemy Beside Me grabbed me from the first chapter. It's an eye opening look at the story that Lithuania tells itself, its citizens and the world about what they did (or didn't) to protect their Jewish citizens - friends, neighbors, relatives, every Jewish citizen - during WW II. Told from the perspective of Milia Gottstein, who inherited the mantle of her father who dedicated his life to tracking down Nazi war criminals and holding them accountable, it provides astounding information about the nearly complete decimation of the Jewish population of Lithuania, and the coverups that followed into the present day.

Currently living in Israel, Milia accepts the invitation from Dr. Darius Vidas to speak at a series of presentations in Lithuania designed to raise awareness of what really happened during the war. Initially Darius, driven by what he believes to be his own family's history of saving Jews, wants to show that there were good people in Lithuania who helped drive out the Nazi's and saved their local Jews. But the more Darius dug into things, the more he found that the truth was much different from what he'd been raised to believe. Initially suspicious of Darius and his motives, but not wanting to pass up the opportunity to tell the truth about what happened, Milia takes on the key note speakership, and helps Darius to investigate and bring to light what really happened. They both see it as a way to let the people of Lithuania know the truth, especially the young people.

Heart wrenching in places, infuriating in others, The Enemy Beside Me is unforgettable and unputdownable.

This book read more like a non-fiction book than a fiction book for me. I found it interesting to know that Lithuania was the leader in the awful things that happened to the Jews. Also interesting that there were Jews after the war who sought after the Nazis for their punishment of the heinous crimes committed. But I just couldn't get into the story and ended my reading a quarter of the way through.



Thanks so much to netgalley and the publisher for the arc. The opinions are my own

The Enemy Beside Me
I have read several books by Naomi Ragen and she is one of my favorite authors. I have mixed feelings about her newest novel, The Enemy Beside Me. It is about the horrible murder of Lithuanian Jews in 1941, not only by the German Nazis, but Lithuanians themselves, literally wiping out the Jewish population in that country. Milia, the protagonist in the novel as well as the author herself are descendants of those Jews and had family members brutally murdered. These are facts, not fiction. However, Lithuania, as some other Eastern European countries want to rewrite history and blame everything on the Germans and they erect statues and memorials to those who participated in the killings, avoiding any responsibility. I am a native Hungarian and this is exactly what happened in Hungary also.
These Holocaust denials have to be told and corrected. This is what Milia is trying to do when she is invited to a Holocaust remembrance conference in Lithuania by Dr Darius Vidas to be a keynote speaker and educate young students. However, after her first honest talk about what happened, she is no longer welcome by those who do not want the truth told. So, why do I have mixed feelings? The truth has to be told, so hopefully history won’t repeat itself, and I commend the author for that. What I didn’t like was the repetitive textbook like descriptions of events over and over. I also didn’t think that Milia’s marital issues added to the novel. During her trip Milia and Darius develop an attraction to each other which I found not believable as they only just met and were together only for a few days. Overall 3.5 stars, rounded up to four.
I received a complimentary copy of this book, opinions are only my own.

I was pleasantly surprised at how much I liked this book. Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read an advance copy of it. I thought I had read everything I wanted to about the Holocaust, but this book presented information that was new to me in a very powerful way. The book is written in contemporary time from the point of view of an Israeli Nazi hunter and a Lithuanian academic historian. I appreciated being able to see how their backgrounds and family histories impacted their perspectives on what happened in Lithuania during the war. The author brought the characters to life, and their personal lives and issues made the book interesting on their own. I think this book would be an excellent choice for book discussion groups.

Milia Gottstein takes over from her father and grandfather as the head of the Survivor’s Campaign, an organization to bring Nazi war criminals to justice. She has dedicated her life making sure the Holocaust victims will never be silenced. Milia receives an invitation to be the keynote speaker at a Holocaust conference in Lithuania from Dr. Darius Vidas. She is seen as an enemy’ in that country for her efforts to have them try war criminals and admit their historic responsibility for annihilating almost their entire Jewish community, including her own family—At her speeches, there are riots with people not believing what she is saying.
I have read many stories of the Holocaust but this one was one of the most real, most bothersome, most sad I believe I have read. It is worth reading and let’s hope that none of us will forget what happened those years ago. I did shed tears while reading this and I know I will always remember.
Thank you NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this story.

The Enemy Beside Me by Naomi Ragen is a powerful and moving novel.
This well researched novel will give the reader an insightful view into Lithuania.
The descriptive details was vividly portrayed and provides tremendous depth and backstory. Clearly the novel becomes more of a page-turner the deeper you get into the story.
The supporting characters add depth and passion to this transitional tale, and I immensely enjoyed reading their thoughts and insights and the complexity that this added to the novel.
I was completely blown away by this story. Her writing was stunning and so compelling.
This book and these characters will stay with you long after you have finished the last page.

"I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own."

Thank You NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

Imagine you are me--a voracious reader who also happens to be a librarian. And here it is, mid-May, and you are halfway through a book that you're already realizing is going to be THE best book you read this year. And you finish it knowing that you were right. It WILL be the best book I read this year because it is absolutely amazing in every way that a book can be. It is an eye-opener to some hard truths about Lithuania. It has characters that are fully developed, imperfect, but striving to be the best they can be. And it has wonderful descriptions of people, places, and feelings.

There are passages in this book that will have you breathing with great trepidation. You'll be tempted to go quickly and not dwell on the horrors. But then you'll realize that you must, and you go back and read through it, allowing it all to sink in.

It's a story, but it is also an education. Ragen has outdone herself here and I've read everything she's ever written. This is a masterpiece.

Thank you to NetGalley for an advance copy of this book. It is phenomenal.