I am not even sure where to begin with this review.
First let me thank Harper Audio & NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to this audio book.
On to the review. I wish they would have come up with a different title since is the same title of a movie based on the fantastic Historical YA novel Between Shades of Gray, all of which are WWII time frames.
However, snow and ashes are major components of the story line, so I won't let the title sway my opinion of this book.
I went into this story without preconceived thoughts one way or the other.
I have read a lot of historical fiction based on WWII, Concentration Camps and the Holocaust, so I was prepared to accept this as a run of the mill story line. I was very quickly and pleasantly surprised. This book has an unusual and unpredictable approach. The author does an amazing job describing the horrific reality of the concentration camps while weaving in a mystery for a perfect book. It is a given with the setting, this is not going to be a happy book. I have tried to think of words to describe the Holocaust, and I honestly don't think there are any that capture the magnitude of evilness. Words like horrific, inhumane, unthinkable, monstrous and brutal are not even bad enough words. But what I found so different with this author, her descriptions seem to be the most accurate when setting the tone and creating the setting.
Because I loved this book so much, I had to find out more on the author, who was unknown to me.
Please don't judge, but I was shocked to find it was written by a younger female. Why? because there was no sappiness I find with some younger female writers that cause me to role my eyes. On the flip side, there was no indication it was written by a man. It was just great writing! This appears to be her debut novel and is translated from German. I will be watching for more from her.
I can't complete this without saying the narrator was excellent.

Ramunno's Ashes in the Snow was such a surprise to me. It's about as complicated as a Holocaust thriller can be, but Ramunno deals with all of that complexity brilliantly. It is, after all, a brave writer who would have a Nazi lead this type of book. For all that I liked the actual book, I have to say that I found the narrator absolutely brilliant. I could listen to him read forever. He cut right through whatever else I was doing and I felt like I was there, in the scenes he was reading to me. It's not precisely the book you want to be immersed in, but it's the most transported I've felt in years.

Thank you NetGalley and HarperAudio for this book in exchange for an honest review.

As someone who has done rather extensive research on the Holocaust and Auschwitz I found this book unique and honest. The book follows Hugo, a criminologist, as he battles with himself to solve the murder of a horrifying SS Doctor at Auschwitz. He is surrounded by death and inhumanity, hiding his own illness, and yet still must play his part. It is playing his part which disgusts him throughout, and drives this book along.

I was conflicted while reading that the reader is supposed to sympathize with camp nurses who work with children and experiment victims, as well as an SS officer, but I believe that is the point of the book. Being disgusted at the actions around you and actions you feel forced to take while secretly resisting in other ways.

This audiobook is well done and I enjoyed the narrator.

Part WW2 historical fiction, part murder mystery, this seemed right up my alley and I’ve honestly never read anything like this before! I love WW2 historical fiction and I’m always drawn to books about the concentration camps because they were so unfathomable to me. This story was inspired by the author’s own family history, which makes it more interesting to me!

Unfortunately this one fell a little flat for me. The narrator was great but there were quite a few characters and the names were all very similar so I had a hard time keeping track. I’m very much a visual learner so I think this would have rated higher for me if I had physically read it. The mystery aspect of the story was well done and I actually didn’t figure it out ahead of time!

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Audio for the advanced listening copy! This review is honest and voluntary.

This book just wasn’t for me. I can’t really say why I didn’t care for it exactly. But it just didn’t hold my interest. After reading the description I was really excited about it and couldn’t wait to dig in. But I kept finding myself zoning out. I was listening to the audiobook so I kept rewinding and starting it over. But then I would just zone out again. I still believe that it is probably a great story so I will try it again only I will switch to reading the book. I’m giving it 3 stars at this point but that might change after reading rather than listening.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for letting me access this audiobook!

This was a very interesting and chilling portrayal of Germany in WWII and how people become complicit in terrible acts and crimes. The author did not shy away from painful situations and I had to take several breaks before continuing to listen.

My only dislike was that I struggled with the pacing. It seemed that everything was moving extremely slow up until the last 30 minutes or so.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Harper Audio for the free audio book in exchange for my honest review. This is narrated by Saul Reichlin who did an exceptional job!

The premise of this book is that a German doctor has died in the Auschwitz concentration camp under suspicious circumstances so the Nazis call in a non-Nazi criminologist, Hugo Fischer to solve the murder. Hearing the narrative through the lens of Hugo, who has only heard rumors of the camps and atrocities, but is not witnessing it first hand works well for this story. The characters, scenes and depictions are very well researched and developed.

However, I could not get past the fact that in WWII, the Nazis would never invite a non-Nazi into their extermination camp to resolve a murder. Had Hugo's background been clarified as to what or why he was there, then this would have been a 5 star book for me.

If you enjoy WWII historical fiction with gruesome depiction of the concentration camps then this is a book you will not soon forget.

This is a well written mystery set in Auschwitz. I think this mystery could have been set in any location with the same amount of intrigue.

This was a painful but intriguing mystery set in Auschwitz around Christmas. A doctor is found dead. A criminologist with a secret and a guilty conscious has to find the killer. Through his investigation he learns the true horrors of what is happening in the camps and the author does a better job than most in showing what Auschwitz was like for prisoners and staff. He finds the killer, but it's a complicated crime with wide-reaching consequences and in making the decision of how to proceed with this knowledge he has to face his own demons.

I liked this book. It was not light and fun, it was hard to pick up at times. But it was important and ultimately hopeful and deserves a spot on the top shelf of WWII historical fiction.

Thank you, Harper Collins and NetGalley for a review copy of this book.. Reviewed on Goodreads.

*receive for free from netgalley for honest review* This was a very hard read but amazingly written. Would recommend for sure.

Ashes in the Snow by Oriana Ramunno is a book that left me deeply moved and captivated from start to finish. Set in Auschwitz during one of history's darkest periods, this work of historical fiction intertwines powerful storytelling with factual events, creating an unforgettable reading experience.

At the heart of the story is a murder mystery, but it's so much more than that. As a young Jewish prisoner, Gioele Errera stumbles upon the body of an SS officer, triggering an investigation led by Hugo Fischer, a detective harboring a dangerous secret. Hugo's personal battle with a degenerative disease forces him to hide his condition while he delves into the complex murder case. The narrative confronts us with the horrifying reality of the Final Solution, forcing Hugo to grapple with his own beliefs and determine who, if anyone, he should try to save.

The storytelling in Ashes in the Snow is exceptional, drawing readers into a chilling winter setting where the cold seems to seep from the pages. The characters are vividly portrayed, and the casual brutality of the guards and the resilience of the captives are both unsettling and thought-provoking. Ramunno fearlessly tackles a subject that demands our attention, delivering an emotional read that I will wholeheartedly recommend.

I extend my gratitude to HarperAudio for providing me with an audiobook copy through NetGalley.

ARC audiobook provided in exchange for an honest review.

The narration for this book for very well with the story. I always knew who was speaking and it sounded like how I would imagine someone speaking back in those times. The story itself was quite jarring. Being that I’m both German and Jewish and know quite a bit about the Holocaust, it’s still tough to hear of all the horrors that occurred there. It was written very well and I enjoyed the murder mystery aspect and the way everything turned out in the end. If you like historical fiction and don’t have too many triggers about things that occurred during the Holocaust, you should try this book out!

This was an interesting take on what life inside of Auschwitz, and specifically the medical testing section of Block 10 might have been like.

Like many WWII HF reads this had very upsetting and emotional moments. It also provided some unexpected positivity and kindness in the midst of terrible atrocities. The audio was good and I only wished there was an authors note at the end to give more depth to the writing experience.

Thanks to the publisher for the alc in exchange for an honest review

Another glimpse into life in a concentration camp, but in this case the murder victim is one of the many doctors that perform the experiments in the facility, not that of those that arrive daily on the trains.
   A police investigator is sent to solve the mystery of the recent death of the doctor, which on first look seems to be a case of choking but evolves otherwise as clues appear.
   A little precocious and artistically talented little boy, one of Dr Mengele’s patients, doles out snippets of information to the detective that leads him to the real murderers and their reason for the doctor’s demise.  This Italian twin has witnessed the crime scene and his artistic skill and memory becomes the basis of the detectives queries.
   The trains are rolling in, the lines are forming in front of the gas chambers and the ashes are billowing out non stop from the chimneys while this detective has moments humanness that has him questioning the sense of it all.
   There are some very graphic scenes and conversations between characters that are uncomfortable to listen to.

This book is a detailed account of a holocaust victim. The story is intriguing, but it is also long-winded. While I believe, this could be a great story, it was hard to continue to enjoy after a while. I did like the twist of the boy being saved at the end. But overall I was not thrilled by the story.

Ashes in the snow - Oriani Ramunno

Thanks to the publisher and to Netgalley for this eARC.

Trigger warning - Graphic torture and violence in novel and this review - this novel is set in WWII Germany, therefore the story reflects and describes the brutality, torture and cruelty imposed by soulless murders under Hitler's realm, upon the innocent. This brutality is reflected, in part, in this review.

The title of this novel refers to the bodily remains left in the snow after an SS officer stomps a baby to death in front of the baby's mother, who the officer then kills, after she has witnessed this horrific murder. I am sure it also reflects the hideousness of ashes of humans as they were burned alive, en masse in the crematoriums.

A well-written, powerful novel, the main character in this story begins the story as a reluctant Nazi, able to live with himself, allowing others to get away with unimaginable crimes by holding everything at arm's length.
However, after being forced to witness the unimaginable up close, he becomes a reluctant, but willing, heroic character by doing what he can, helping, one life at a time.

I cannot say this is an enjoyable novel, however those of us who forget the past are doomed to repeat it.

This IS a very well-written, well-paced novel with excellent character development, and the murder investigation (ironic I know) .is captivating and clever.

Additionally, the redeeming lesson that I took from it is that even in the darkest deaths of evil, you can somehow find a way to do what is right. In this scenario, the only way people could do good acts in that dreadful morally bankrupt cesspool, was to pretend they were as devoid of soul as every other Nazi, so that they could remain alive to help from within that death machine, hidden from discovery.

What evil times they were when those who cared and loved their fellow humans were judged to be weak and unfit. and mass murders were judged to be worthy of ruling and murdering others.

Until next time...

"A beautiful, moving detective story set in Auschwitz on Christmas of 1943."
WWII cannot be mentioned without thinking about the horrors behind the concentration camps. This was cleverly written in regards to the death of an SS officer. When all around his death there were atrocities abound, but this particular officer took precedence. First, it was indicative of a death caused by choking. Then it was investigated as a murder.
A lovely character Gioele Errera, a young Jewish boy that is very bright, but with his twin prisoners in the Auschwitz camp. He found the officer known as Doktor Sigismund-Braun dead.
Another character and a man of compassion is investigator Hugo Fischer investigating the death of Doktor. He suffers a degenerative disease and is hooked on pain killers. He pretends to support the Reich to stay alive until he comes face-to-face with Hitler's Final Solution. The horrors are unimaginable and heartbreaking while like many others are caught in between. Isn't it ironic that while investigating one murder millions are being murdered or starving to death?
This is an interesting take on WWII and the dynamics that I haven't thought about and still not easy to read. I would recommend this to the historical fiction fans! Kudos to the author who wrote it in memory of her great uncle.
Thank you NetGalley and HarperCollins for this Audio eARC in exchange for my honest review!

I requested this one because it might be an upcoming title I would like to review on my Youtube Channel. However, after reading the first several chapters I have determined that this book does not suit my tastes. So I decided to DNF this one.

My thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for a chance to listen to this audiobook before publication. Honestly when I first read the description of this book I thought why not. It started off quite slow though, however, it really picked up the pace though once the initial start was through. For a historical fiction novel/audiobook it packs quite the punch and there were many times when I actually was picturing the horrors that our main detective was seeing for the first time. The authors use of description and the way that the characters are so flawed but so accurate to the time period really brings the story together. I look forward to reading/listening to more from this author. The narration was on point as well and really kept me going in my listening.

I was really intrigued to read Ashes in the Snow by Oriana Ramunno. You do not really expect a murder mystery set in Auschwitz. How do you even set it up. I've read quite a few books on the subject and I was prepared to the horrors of the concentration camps. I think the author did a good job finding the right balance of portraying all the despicable crimes against humanity but also finding a way to make it into a thriller based on human voices and characters. I like it that there was some hope in there somewhere. Against all odds. It's a difficult subject and I don't know if we need to have a murder mystery set in Auschwitz or not but I feel like the author was able to tell stories of those that did not agree with what was going on. I don't want to spoil the book. I enjoyed it.