This book was sensational. I haven't enjoyed a book so much all year as this one. It was very well researched and gave an authentic impression of wartime Warsaw, Poland and the suffering of it's peoples under the jackboot of the Nazi army of occupation. September 1939. A city ruled by fear. A population brutalised by restrictions and reprisals. Amid the devastation, another hunter begins to prowl. What are a few more deaths amid scores of daily executions?

Former chief investigator Jan Kalisz lives a dangerous double life, forced to work with the occupiers as he gathers information for the fledgling Polish resistance. Even his family cannot be told his true allegiance.. Jan Kalisz, Douglas Jackson's police officer hero, is the natural heir to the late Philip Kerr's Bernie Gunther' Which is just the right emphasis to get me to dig out the Bernie Gunther titles which I have in my TBR pile . I strongly recommend this book. I thank NetGalley and Canelo Action The Publishers for this Review Copy.

I've read a few War books now and I'm starting to appreciate them a lot more. That's why I requested this book as well and I was lucky enough to receive it. It came out on the 7th of March and I received a copy from Canelo books via Netgalley.

Once the war starts, chief investigator Jan Kalisz is no longer in charge, the Germans are. From the very start, he is asked to live double life, forced to work with the occupiers while, at the same time gathering information for the resistance. He can't even tell his family.

Even in war, serial killers targeting young girls exist. Jan finds himself on the hunt for the killer known as The Artist. Can he solve this case while secretly working against the Germans?

I really appreciated this story as it is a basic detective story but now taking place during World War 2. The main character struggles a lot between his loyalty to Poland and his family under the same time he wants to be able to do his job which is to find a serial killer. This struggle is quite apparent in the book and the author did a magnificent job in describing that. I liked the flow of the story but sometimes I had some difficulty concerning the believability of Jan and his position. This also speaks to the horrific situation in those times of course, so I can understand it to some extent.

4/5 ⭐

Book one of the “Warsaw Quartet” which gives you hope that at least three more are on their way.
Ideal for fans of Philip Kerr, this is no lazy copy of a Bernie Gunther type story, but this has the same overlay of menace.

1939 and Warsaw has fallen to German occupation as the city becomes accustomed to their new status. Jan Kalisz starts work as an interpreter. His family and many citizens think he has turned traitor but in reality his is feeding information to the underground but can’t tell anyone. He is caught between doing his vital work and being despised by both his masters and his friends. As an ex detective he is supporting the new German police when it becomes apparent that there is a serial killer, and that killer might be German. The Germans are disinterested until the daughter of one of their senior officials is killed and now Kalisz has to not only play his double game, but help find a killer too.

The author is famous for his excellent Roman series and many of us have loved the adventures of Gaius Valerius Verrens through nine books. Now that historical and writing talent turns to another turbulent period of history. It took a little while to settle as we need to get a perspective of Warsaw at the time, the attitude of the Poles and Germans and the background of Kalisz. But then, about 25% of the book in, it started to fly and the menace and the situation under the Germans turns darker and darker and our hero is forced to make decisions that will see people dead. By the end of the book I was racing through to a very satisfying end. A brave and interesting choice to have Josef Mengele appear as a significant character and not as a cameo but as a fleshed out and interesting character.

Looking forward to the next one already.

Jan Kalisz is working as a chief investigator in the Warsaw police but when the Nazis occupy the city he is faced with a stark choice, work with the new regime or hope to survive alone. Kalisz is recruited by the underground and so begins a dangerous double life. Across the city the Jewish population is being ruthlessly dealt with, assets stripped and residents placed into the beginnings of a ghetto, even the ethnic Poles are treated badly, subject to summary justice. In the midst of this a serial killer is at large, mutilating young girls, and Kalisz's investigations are leading him towards a high-ranking member of the SS.
There are several book series which set police procedurals in the time of the Third Reich so this is not a new market. However, what sets this separate from others is that it is also set in occupied Poland and the main protagonist is not german. This makes the story so much richer as there is the opportunity to explore different aspects related to the setting eg. life under occupation, the polish resistance, the treatment of the jewish people.

This is an excellent historical thrilller that mixes the terror of the invasion with the fear of the serial killer. Well plotted, twisty and dark. The historical background is well researched and the characters well developed.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

Douglas Jackson (https://douglasjackson.net) is the author of more than a dozen novels. Blood Roses was published earlier this month and it is the first book in his Warsaw Quartet series. It is the 22nd book I completed reading in 2024.

Due to scenes of violence and mature language, I categorize this novel as R.

The novel begins just a few days after Germany invaded Poland in 1939. Germany is rapidly pressing forward into the heart of Poland. Polish Army Lieutenant Jan Kalisz is recovering from his wounds in a Warsaw hospital. Though he knows there is little chance of halting the German advance, he is anxious to return to the front lines.

A mysterious man visits him in the hospital one night. The stranger quietly advises Kalisz that he can do more for his country by slipping back into his old life than dying on the front lines. He had been an investigator with the state police before being called up. The Polish resistance expects the Germans to retain infrastructure employees when they take Warsaw. Kalisz would be an inside man for the resistance.

Reluctantly, Kalisz agrees. To many Poles, he appears to be a collaborator. Even his wife feels that he has given up on his own country. He is attacked on more than one occasion by his fellow Poles for working with the Germans. A neighbor approaches him about a missing Jewish girl. Knowing his German masters will not allow resources to be ‘wasted’ on the girl, he sends them away.

The authorities reconsider the case of the missing Jewish girl after a 13-year-old German girl, Trundl Kleist, is found murdered. Not only has she been murdered, but her body has been cut open and her organs used for an ‘artistic’ display. This gruesome crime gets the attention of the Germans. Bodies of other young girls are discovered, each subjected to a similar end. While not all Germans trust or like working with a Pole, Kalisz becomes deeply involved with the investigation.

The murderer considers himself an artist. He had a start in Germany, but only after his transfer to Poland has he been able to express his art. His canvas being the eviscerated bodies of the young women.

Kalisz desperately wants to find the killer before yet another young girl dies. He must find his way through hatred amongst the Poles, as well as through the hatred and distrust of the Germans. Their assumption that only a Jew would be capable of the brutal deaths makes his efforts at finding the truth even more difficult.

I enjoyed the 8 hours I spent reading this 347-page WWII-era mystery. The author expects to have three more novels in this series. I look forward to reading them, though they do have a dark and sinister air. I do like the chosen cover art. I give this novel a rating of 4.4 (rounded to 4) out of 5.

You can access more of my book reviews on my Blog ( https://johnpurvis.wordpress.com/blog/).

September 1939 and Poland is in the hands of the Nazi’s. The country is ruled by fear and everyone must follow the rules or there will be reprisals.
In Warsaw former police chief investigator Jan Kalisz has been forced to work with the regime and at the same time secretly try aid the resistance, whilst keeping secrets from his family.
But when the Wehrmacht general’s niece is found brutally murdered, Jan starts to see links to other horrendous murders and he voices his opinion to say there maybe a link, but he is totally ignored.
In the most desperate of times, can he catch the killer known as The Artist before he kills another girl, help his people in their fight and stay alive, all under the eyes of the evil Nazi regime.
I’ve read a lot of books based in the Second World War and I have to say I’ve not read a better one than this.
The atmosphere is incredible, the writing is just sublime and the main character is quite brilliant.
I hope there is more to come. Five star reviews don’t come any easier than this.

The serial killer is one of crime fiction’s most popular and overused villains. From Hannibal Lecter to the weekly procession of murderers on TV shows like “Criminal Minds,” it often seems that there are more serial killers on the loose than drug dealers or other evildoers. But just when you think it’s impossible to develop a new spin on the serial killer trope, an author like Douglas Jackson fools you with his fascinating new historical thriller, “Blood Roses.” Moreover, the killer himself is one of the less interesting aspects of this book.

The killer in “Blood Roses” calls himself the Artist and enjoys eviscerating young teenage girls and creating artistic tableaux with their body parts. Genre readers have encountered many similar psychos in their literary travels. The Artist isn’t all that different from many others, but his hunting ground and the cop pursuing him are unique in my experience. “Blood Roses” takes place in Nazi-occupied Warsaw, Poland, from the German invasion until the summer of 1940. The Nazis take over police headquarters, and the Polish cops are turned into glorified file clerks, assembling dossiers on the various categories of criminals. The book’s hero, Jan Kalicz, is an inspector with the Polish State Police. After the war ends badly for Poland, he returns to work for the police, while gathering intelligence for a Resistance group.

At first, the Germans, who are now running the State Police, were more interested in rounding up Jews and war profiteers than protecting the Polish citizenry. So, when the Artist’s first victims are Polish girls, a couple of them Jewish, those in charge aren’t that interested in solving the murders, despite their gruesome nature. But when the niece of an important German general is killed, they get serious about finding the Artist. Some of his superiors recognize Kalicz’s skills, and he takes a more prominent role in the investigation.

Kalicz faces far more difficulties than the average cop trying to catch a clever killer. He can’t always move around freely (at one point, he’s arrested in a general hauling-in of people on the street). He has no official authority. And he has to maneuver around his various superiors. Some respect his police abilities. Others are vicious sadists who enjoy inflicting pain on the Polish populace, including Kalicz, if he gets in their way. On top of his problems with the investigation, Kalicz must deal with issues at home (his wife isn’t thrilled about living with a man she thinks is a collaborator). And he has to protect his Resistance contacts when the Germans get too close to them. Every chapter of “Blood Roses” seems to bring Kalicz a fresh crisis, and very few of them directly concern his pursuit of the Artist. I was fascinated by the constant gamesmanship the resourceful Kalicz must engage in to stay alive and on the hunt. This book is as much a story of a deadly serious version of office politics as it is a police thriller.

The author’s most brilliant touch is the introduction of Dr. Josef Mengele into the story. The Germans need forensic help in the case, and Dr. Mengele is happy to assist. In the book’s cruelest irony, Kalicz soon realizes that Mengele is the most likely person in authority to help him. Of course, readers know what Kalicz doesn’t: just who Mengele is and what he’s planning while in Warsaw. (The book apparently takes some liberties with Mengele’s actual military service during this time.) Seeing Kalicz work with Mengele while the doctor describes his soon-to-be-infamous observations about physiognomy is ironically fascinating. Mengele makes another discovery that’s even more of a shock for modern-day readers, but I won’t spoil it here.
The author did extensive research for “Blood Roses,” the first of a planned quartet of books featuring Jan Kalicz during the German occupation of Poland. This period of Polish history is little known, other than to World War II completists. However, the author makes the locations and characters seem real. There are far more shades of gray here than in most similar books. Jan Kalicz is a complex character with whom readers will emphasize even as he gets into more hazardous situations. Plus, the author uses the reader’s knowledge of major upcoming events in Polish history to great advantage. Key passages in the book serve as forewarnings about the Warsaw ghetto, the subsequent Warsaw Uprising, the concentration camps, and other events in the near future. The author’s afterword informs readers that some of these events will play an important role in the upcoming books.

I’ve read many crime novels centered on the hunt for twisted serial killers like the Artist. And I’ve read quite a few World War II historical thrillers. But I’ve never read a book like “Blood Roses” before that takes a familiar villainous type like the Artist and puts him in as bizarre a situation. And while I’ve read quite a few cop novels in which the main character worries about staying on the right side of his superiors, I’ve seldom read one like this where failure means losing his life instead of his job. “Blood Roses” is a very good police procedural and a very good historical thriller. Combine the two in one book, and the result is an excellent experience for readers.

NOTE: The publisher graciously provided me with a copy of this book through NetGalley. However, the decision to review the book and the contents of this review are entirely my own.

This is a story of a former Polish Chief Investigator, forced to collaborate as an interpreter for occupying German forces while under pressure from many directions to find a serial killer.
I gave it the following SCORE:
Setting: Warsaw, Poland, 1939
Characters: Chief Investigator Jan Kalisz, his family, colleagues, and a large cast of Polish resistance and German High Command, including some of the most menacing in history.
Overview: In addition to leading a double life of providing information to the resistance and working as an interpreter with the Nazi occupiers, Kalisz is tasked with finding the psychopathic killer of a Wehrmacht General’s niece. Unable to tell his family his true connection to the resistance, forced by the German hierarchy to work under pressure while his fellow countrymen hold him in contempt for his collaboration with the occupiers, he is determined to prove that his suspect will kill again and to find him before it is too late.
Recommendation: I rate this book 5 stars
Extras: This book reminds me of Simon Scarrow’s Blackout, another excellent tale. There are several intriguing and uniquely different insights to familiar notorious Nazi characters that keep readers alert and apprehensive. This book is the proposed first of a four-part series and it certainly deserves to have more Jan Kalisz stories to look forward to. Here is a plea to the publisher to keep this terrific series going.
Thanx to NetGalley and Canelo for the opportunity to provide this candid review.

First in a four book series set in Warsaw in WW2. After reading this excellent first book, the series will be a must read for any fan of historical crime and espionage fiction, with a strong factual background.
The way the inspector tries to carry out the murder investigation, whilst juggling trying to stop being killed by his Nazi bosses and keeping his role in the Polish resistance secret, is one of the most thrilling and page turning reads in recent times.
Roll on book two!

Blood Roses is set in Warsaw just as the Germans have taken the Polish city over in Hitler's invasion. We meet Jan Kalisz, a former detective who was fighting against the Nazis until being injured on the battlefield. In hospital, he is approached by a man we come to know as Kazimierz, who wants Kalisz to go back to work under the Nazis, whilst passing on any useful info that could aid Kazemierz's rebel cause.

Fluent in German, Jan becomes a favourite of the Nazis, using that term loosely, as they are really not fond of anyone who is not German, taking him on detective missions with them as he can translate between German and the native tongue. At the same time, someone named The Artist is brutally murdering young girls, and the Nazis don't really care, until one of the victims is no longer a Jewish girl, or Polish girl, but a German daughter of a high ranking official.

Can Jan solve the murders before more innocent Poles are slaughtered? Or before his cover is blown? These are the key questions you must ask when reading this novel.

I really enjoyed this book, it was quite a different concept to a lot of murder mysteries, and was quite fast paced, even if there are a lot of different elements to the book and a lot of events going on that can at times be distracting from the key issue: solving the murders.

The killer's reveal was not easy to figure out, yet made perfect sense. This is designed to be book one of four in a series, and Douglas Jackson certainly has me waiting with anticipation for the second novel.

Sidenote: knowing what he will go on to do later in the war, how creepy was it painting Dr Mengele as somewhat of an aide to our hero Kalisz!

Jan Kalisz is a Polish soldier, wounded and returning to his wife and son in Warsaw, once the Poles are defeated by the Germans. However Kalisz is also a policeman and when he is approached by someone high up in the Polish resistance who asks him to remain in the police and work with the Nazis he cannot refuse. He will be in a perfect position to pass useful information to his fellow resistance fighters.
However, he cannot reveal what he is doing, even to his own family, so he is considered a traitor by his wife as well as by his fellow countrymen. Jan is an honourable man but he finds himself in an increasingly difficult situation and has to make some hard decisions as the novel progresses.
When a young German girl is murdered by a viscous serial killer known as “The Artist” Jan must track him down to save others being killed.
The irony of hunting a serial killer in a society being run by a bunch of murderers is not lost on Jan but he is determined to do what he can to prevent other killings. His situation is precarious- if the Nazis discover what he is really doing it will mean almost certain death.
I really enjoyed this compelling and well researched story. I like crime mysteries and books set in World War 2 so this was a perfect read for me.
The characters were well drawn and the setting very atmospheric and menacing, in part due to the occupation and the violence of the occupiers and also because of the killer who is lurking in their midst. It did occur to me that the Nazi invaders were free to practice state sanctioned murder whilst “The Artist”committed equally horrific acts but these were only considered a crime because he killed a German child.
.I particularly liked Jan and was pleased to see that this was going to be the first in a series of books meaning that I would be meeting him again in the future.
I definitely recommend “Blood Roses” as a well constructed and exciting thriller which had me gripped from the very first page.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for my advance copy.

Set in war torn Warsaw a Polish investigator is forced to work with his Nazi occupiers in fear of death or torture at the slightest whim.
Rather than directly join the resistance he has been asked to stay in place passing information if he can.
A serial killer is on the loose attacking young girls in a macabre fashion. Kaliz tries to get his Nazi superiors interested to let him help investigate the case.
Is the killer a Pole or a member of the occupying forces. If the latter will the Germans allow him to solve it or simply remove him as they ruthlessly removed others.
A great crime drama even given the unsettling backdrop.
I look forward to the next book in the series.

Initial thoughts on immediately finishing:
* well written
* evocative
* engaging
* great read
* start of a series

There is a cadre of writers who set their protagonist in these same times - Furst, Kerr, Gardner - Jackson slots in nicely.

Suffice to say, this does not disappoint. Highly Recommended.

Douglas Jackson's mixed genre "Blood Roses", to be published by Canelo, represents a fascinating mix of historical fiction and police procedural. According to a self description on the cover of the book (I am working from an ARC provided by the publisher), it is "A Chilling WW2 Serial Killer Thriller, and that is a pretty good summary in a nutshell. Set in Warsaw, Poland just after the collapse of the Polish State under the assault of Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union in 1939, this intensely atmospheric thriller captures the enormous stresses which fell upon the Polish people following their defeat and occupation by the Nazis. The protagonist is a Polish policeman who finds himself released back into Poland rather than taken into custody as he has served in the military where he has received wounds serious enough to prevent his capture on the battlefield or internment as ex-military. He finds his way back into service as an unofficial investigator working for the Nazis. He is also working for the nascent Home Army (the Polish Resistance) while posing as a collaborator to everyone else, including his intensely patriotic and rather naive family. Obviously, the potential stresses here are intense and made that much worse when he finds himself on the trail of a particularly violent and troubled serial killer in a place and time when the occupiers were themselves engaged in mass murder at every turn. The author does a superb job of showing how a decent, patriotic man finds himself immersed in a society imprisoned and at war with a ruthless enemy surrounded by a world turned upside down. Add in to that the barbarism of an individual predator hiding in an ocean of predators, and it isn't hard to understand the intense pressures on the protagonist and his friends and family as they try to survive in an unfamiliar nightmare with the constant threat of violent death all around them. The anguish and pain, not to speak of the chaos and confusion of the situation, are omnipresent as a backdrop to the plot. It is the kind of book that is hard to put down, and full of twists and turns rooted in the historical moment as well as the character of the serial killer and assorted other characters, including some startling surprises. . I recommend it without reservation.

“Blood Roses” by Douglas Jackson is a gripping historical thriller set in war-torn Warsaw during the Nazi occupation. As the city grapples with the horrors of war, a serial killer known as The Artist begins to prey on innocent victims.

Former chief investigator Jan Kalisz, forced to navigate a dangerous double life under Nazi rule, is thrust into the heart of the investigation. With his true allegiance hidden from even his own family, Jan must race against time to catch the elusive killer before more lives are lost.

“Blood Roses” offers a chilling portrayal of wartime intrigue and suspense, drawing readers into a world of fear, deception, and relentless pursuit. With its compelling narrative and vivid historical detail, this novel is a must-read for fans of gripping serial killer mysteries.

Blood Roses tells the story of Polish detective Jan Kalisz during the early occupation of Warsaw in 1939. A series of young girls are horrifically murdered and the occupying Germans need Polish interpreters to help them work with the locals. Kalisz, as a former detective, is a natural selection but unbeknown to the Germans, Kalisz is part of the Polish Resistance.

An excellent read, Jackson harnesses the tension of working for the Resistance whilst appearing outwardly to be collaborating with occupying forces. This is especially harrowing given Kalisz is unable to let even his wife know what he is doing, allowing her to think him
a traitor.

Great book and I can’t wait to read the rest of the series. Thanks to the author and the publisher Camelot for this advance reader copy. All opinions are my own.

A brutal story set at the time of the German invasion of Poland. The Warsaw detective division are brutally removed from office by the SS at the beginning basically reduced to filing clerks. Jan Kalisz previously a detective wounded in the invasion has returned to the police department but secretly he is part of the underground opposition to the Nazis. A series of brutal murders explicitly described here he is eventually attached to the investigation in a very minor role. Nobody trusts him be it his wife,,fellow Poles or the Germans makes for a conflicted individual but eventually he makes progress. Disturbing at times especially with the appearance of Josef Mengele in the tale it’s an absorbing story and with more to come very interesting.

A first-rate serial killer thriller with a twist.

"Blood Roses" opens in Warsaw, Poland, in September 1939, where former Police chief investigator Jan Kalisz is recovering from injuries sustained in battle. Warsaw is surrounded, and the Nazis are about to take the city. He is approached by a member of the fledgling resistance movement. They want Kalisz to take up his old position, work alongside the occupiers, and feed information to the resistance. He agrees, knowing that not even his close family can know this, and so he will likely be labelled a collaborator.

Events become more complicated when the niece of a Wehrmacht general is found mutilated, and Kalisz links the murder to other killings, surmising a serial killer is at large. He is paired with a Nazi ex-cop, and together they set out to solve the murder. The meaning of the book's title soon becomes clear as the investigation deepens.

And so the reader is launched into a story which is part wartime thriller, part serial killer crime story. It's a tense story, as Kalisz struggles to justify his decision, and to live with the consequences. He witnesses first-hand how the Nazi occupation affects the citizens, Jewish and Gentile, and sees how things will escalate. He is viewed with suspicion by all sides, and yet somehow must stop the killer before he strikes again.

The prose is tight and descriptive; Kalisz emerges as a damaged man, but a determined one, and as this book is the first in a planned series of four, I look forward to seeing him develop further. The Nazi occupation, and its general advance across Europe is vividly portrayed, The dread and fear and anger experienced by everyone, but especially the Jewish population of Poland is written in red on every page, and the fanatical brutality of the Nazis is clear but never gratuitous. The identity of the killer is revealed in the final few pages, and while it's not a huge surprise, it doesn't matter, because this book is as much about the journey as the destination.

Whether you are a fan of wartime thrillers, or serial killer investigations, this book is perfect for fans of Simon Scarrow, Chris Lloyd and Luke McCallin. I look forward to the next book, while heartily recommending this one.

Good story line Set in Poland during the second world war. A twisted serial killer is killing girls in a grotesque manner.
The local Polish policeman has to work with the SS to find the killer.
Looking forward to the next installment.