A Place to Hide is another WWII survival story by Ronald H. Balson that is as inspiring as it is heartbreaking. Theodore “Teddy” Hartigan tells his story of working at the US Consulate in Amsterdam during Hitler’s rise to power and his reign of terror. There are villains but also heroes who do what they can to help. Research is excellent so that this historical fiction blends the facts well with the characters portrayed. A story that we should all read, brilliantly told.

A Place to Hide by Ronald Balson is my third book by this author. I found myself swept up in this unique story. It is set during the early day of World War II. The story is about the life of Theodore “Teddy” Hartigan as he leaves the USA and takes a job in the Consulate in Amsterdam. The year is 1938 and Hitler has already begun his rise to power and march across Europe.

The story is told during present day as Teddy Hartigan looks back at his life during this time. Teddy has never discussed his life during this time. Mr. Balson does a seamless job of moving between the past and present. He has a gift of writing a story that one can easily get immersed in. The characters are rich, endearing, kind, honorable and memorable.

The setting is so well written you can easily picture Amsterdam. You can vividly see where Teddy is living. You can see the inside of the Consulate and the local school.

Teddy’s job at the US Consulate was to process visa applications. As you can imagine, the quotas for coming into the United States was so small compared to the millions of people, especially Jewish Families, that wanted to emigrate. Teddy soon comes to the conclusion that there much be another way to help the people he has to turn away.

Teddy meets and falls in love with Sara who is Jewish. By loving Sara he is also put in an untenable situation because if Teddy was shipped back to the US, he wouldn’t have been able to take Sara because of the visa problems. Sara finds a girl who was dropped off at a local school. She is all alone and ultimately Teddy and Sara take Katy in. Katy is also Jewish. By this time the war has escalated. Teddy finds himself working with the resistance in Amsterdam and as a spy for the US.

The tension builds as the authorities begin looking for Teddy and the Nazis have stepped up their deportation of the Jewish people. I would highly recommend this book and cannot wait to see what Mr. Balson has in store for us next. Well done.

Many thanks to the author, St.Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A PLACE TO HIDE by Ronald H. Balson is an engaging and thoughtful work of historical fiction set during the late 1930s in the Netherlands. I have read a lot of historical fiction about the time frame of Hitler’s rise to power and the lead-up to the start of World War II, but this is the first book I have read where the focus was on the events taking place in Holland. Theodore “Teddy” Hartigan is the son of a wealthy Washington, DC family. He ends up with a comfortable job at the State Department communicating with foreign diplomats and monitoring events in an increasingly volatile region. As Hitler’s rise escalates, staff in Europe are fleeing their posts, leaving critical positions vacant. In a move that will change his life, Teddy is re-assigned to the US Consulate in Amsterdam, becoming in charge of processing visa applications for refugees from the surrounding countries that the Nazis have conquered. But as Hitler tightens the laws against Jews, it becomes clear that the existence of all Jewish people is threatened. Teddy soon realizes that he may be in a unique position to help. He joins forces with the father of his Jewish wife, Sara, and other members of the underground resistance to save as many lives as possible despite the incredible danger they face. I enjoyed this well-researched and informative book that had a good blend of historical and fictional events and people as is outlined in the Author’s note at the end. Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the chance to read and review an early copy.

Thank you NetGalley & St. Martin’s Press for this book for my honest opinion.

A Place to Hide is a WWII historical fiction book about an American man living in Holland during WWII.

Happenstance brings together two of our main characters, Teddy & Karyn, as they agree to a deal. Karyn will write Teddy’s memories down for his grandchildren & Teddy will seek out his contacts to find Karyn’s sister. (whom were separated during WWII)

First a few things I enjoyed:
- The well researched history. I knew very little about Holland during the war, so this as an interesting setting to me.
- The really heroic characters. These people made huge sacrifices to save people they didn’t even know. It was amazing & so touching.
- The premise of the story. A 92 year old man who escaped occupied Holland with his family telling his stories to a Jewish survivor, who happened to be in the same place during her childhood was fascinating.

The things I didn’t love:
- Some repetition. I thought to myself “didn’t I just read that?” a few times.
- I think the author could have done so much more with Karyn’s character. It felt like she was just a prop to get Teddy’s story written.
- The very abrupt ending! I was 92% into the book and didn’t think it was possible to wrap things up so quickly. It was possible, it just didn’t do the story any favours.
- I’m not sure about the style of writing. It was all dialogue.

Overall it was a good book, just a little bit lacking. I’m glad I had the opportunity to read it.

I found this to be a unique version of events during World War II. Readers are not taken to the concentration camps, although the camps are often alluded to in the book.

Instead, readers follow the life of Theodore (Teddy) Hartigan as he takes a job at the US Consulate in Amsterdam. It is 1938 and already Hitler has grabbed the attention of the world by his rapid rise to power.

Teddy’s job was to process visa applications, but the United States had quickly reached the limit on the number of visa applications available. Teddy soon comes to realize he has to help get these people to safety.

In the meantime, Teddy has fallen in love with Sara and they have taken a little homeless girl, Katy, to care for as their daughter. To complicate matters, Sara and Katy are both Jewish.

By this time, the war has escalated and no flights to the US are available. The people in Amsterdam are trapped by the borders surrounding it that are full of Nazis. Teddy soon finds himself working with the resistance in Amsterdam and as a spy for the US.

The tension builds as the authorities begin looking for Teddy and the Nazis have stepped up their deportation of the Jewish people. Before the book ends, readers will learn that Teddy was able to save many children and becomes an unsung hero to many of the people in Amsterdam.

Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for allowing me to read an advance copy. I am happy to give my honest review and recommend this book to other readers.

I am avid historical fiction reader, and in university I took many history classes that were centred around World War Two. My father is also heavily involved in events with veterans and has participated in many Dutch Liberation Remembrance events. I haven't read or studied a lot about the Dutch Occupation but I have some background knowledge about it and was looking forward to reading and learning about a new/fresh take on historical fiction in the genre.

While the subject matter for this book had a lot of potential I found that the way it was presented in this book was abysmal. The interview style felt off somehow, and the dialogue was stilted and awkward. What really bothered me was the bad editing (so many sentences/ideas that were repeated farther down the page, AND the characters and plots that were never resolved, What was the point of Burt collecting the baby pictures of Karyn and her children and grandchildren if he never returned to DC with them to show Teddy. I thought for sure that Teddy would recognize the child in the photos and the question of where Karyn's sister was would be answered. Unfortunately it felt like that plot line was abandoned and never mentioned again. The reader was gipped out of a resolution to Karyn's search for her sister and family by what seemed like a hasty ending to the book. After what seemed like a never ending set up to the story - SO much about spoiled Betsy and being in Anything Goes, the ending seemed rushed.

Maybe my ARC was a very early one and some of these issues were resolved. I really hope that they were before the book is published.

This was a wonderful and heartfelt historical fiction about WW2. It is very informative about events that happened in the Netherlands especially to Jewish citizens.

It follows Teddy, who works for the US Consulate in Amsterdam. He works to issue visas to thousands of individuals and refugees trying to flee Europe. As the war goes on Teddy and his girlfriend, Sara, realize that they might have the resources to rescue children from being sent to concentration camps.

This story was well written and really gets you invested in the characters. While the main characters are fictional, I loved how the author wove in real life people who helped in this amazing program to save jewish children by placing with families willing to adopt them. It's a hard and sad story to read but also wonderful to learn that there were those willing to risk their lives to help those in need.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this arc!

A Place to Hide is a heart warming story based on historical facts about some of the heroes that saved so many Jewish children and people during the Nazi invasion of Amsterdam during world war 2. This story told of the individuals that risked their lives to make a difference. The characters were incredibly well written and it was a very enjoyable read.

Thank you to Netgalley and to the publishers for allowing me to read this advanced copy.

A Place to Hide is the first book that I have read about WWII in the Netherlands. It was well written with great characters and a very compelling story. I most enjoyed the way that Balson weaved the history and the story together in a way that I wanted to keep reading long after the book was finished. I had the pleasure of listening to the audiobook and enjoying the e-book. The narrator's voice was easy to listen to. I will definitely read more books by Ronald H. Balson.

Thank you Net Galley, Ronald H. Balson, Macmillian Audio and St. Martin's Press for the opportunity to preview this novel. The ideas shared are my own. This novel is expected to be released on Sept. 17, 2024.

Teddy Hartigan, a diplomat for the State Department in Washington, D.C., has a comfortable life and position. In 1939, he unexpectedly finds himself reassigned to the American consulate in Amsterdam as consulate staff flee the country. His job is to process visas, and the number of applicants far exceeds the visas available. The demand for visas continues to increase as Hitler aggressively invades country after country in Europe and installs ever increasing restrictions and laws on the Jewish population.

Teddy is a man who wants to make a difference, and disappointing desperate people day after day begins to rip at his soul. He (and many others) always thought that the Netherlands were safe from invasion because of their long history of neutrality. When Hitler invades the Netherlands, it spurs him to become part of the underground groups trying to save as many people as they can.

Ronald H. Balson brings readers another remarkable and riveting WWII novel in A Place to Hide. The novel uses a unique method to tell the story, mixes past and present times, and puts fictional characters alongside real people. As always, Balson makes readers feel like they are there witnessing the events. His richly drawn and complex characters are a treasure. Though the book details the insidious changes and then horrific truths of war, this is also a story of the human spirit, of resilience, and of the power each of us has to make a difference in the world.

I have learned so much about WWII from this author's novels and I am grateful for that. It is a time in world history that needs to be understood and remembered so that it isn't repeated.

I will continue to read everything this author writes. I highly recommend this book to everyone. It's one you won't soon forget. A must read for those who enjoy historical fiction and/or are interested in WWII.

My thanks to St. Martin's Press for permitting me to read a DRC via NetGalley. Publication is 9/17/24. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own and are freely given.

Is there an author that you have tried to read multiple times, and it just does not work for you? I have read three books by Ronald Balson and I know I want to love the story. It sounds amazing, everyone loves it. I just cannot get into it. The story is just too unbelievable to me. You meet someone in a bakery, and in the next few weeks you are flying from Israel to Washington D.C. To meet with his grumpy friend who he knows will find your sister. You do not have much to go on, but it is just enough. I see red flags flying everywhere. I know people love him and I am not in the norm for not enjoying Balson's books. Which is what makes reading so much fun. There is always a book out there for anyone. For any taste, in any genre. That is why I love to read so much!

Ronald H. Balson is one of those authors that never cease to pull me in. His writing is emotional, makes you feel like you're sitting with the characters, and accurately portrays intense and large historical moments. I loved how this story was told — almost like a story within a story. Teddy was an incredible narrator and I enjoyed how he and Karyn interacted. It's very detailed and I know Balson included both real and fictional people in this narrative. This book was heartfelt, emotional, and an easy page-turner. I couldn't stop reading. I did think there would be a Balson-esque twist at the end, so I felt like I wanted more in a sense when I didn't get one. The ending felt a little abrupt as well, but other than that I did really enjoy this book. Thank you to St. Martin's Press for the e-ARC to read and review!

This remarkable and well researched novel takes place in the Netherlands before and during WWII. Several of the secondary characters are based on real people who risked their lives to save the Jewish people during the war. The author, who previously won the National Jewish Book Award, gives his readers an engrossing story but also provides interesting information on the belief of the local citizens who felt that since they were a neutral county, Germany would not invade them and if they did, the Dutch would be treated well.

Teddy is the son of a rich American family who get him a comfortable job with the US State Department with the thought that a job as a diplomat would give him a lot of leverage on higher level jobs in the future. Surprisingly he is re-assigned to the US Consulate in Amsterdam. His father thinks that it will be a good move for him but his fiancé refuses to accompany him to his new post and wants him to turn the job down. When he arrives at his new location he is assigned the job of processing Visa applications. The year is 1939 and refugees from the east - especially Poland and Austria - that have been invaded by the Germans are desperate to get to the safety of America. However, the US government has strict quotas about how many visas they will issue for each country and many people are put on a waiting list or turned away. The people in Amsterdam believe that their neutrality will keep them safe but when their government falls, they quickly have to deal with new laws that threaten the lives of their Jewish citizens. As life gets more difficult for the Dutch, they begin to form resistance groups to fight against their German invaders. Teddy quickly realizes that his position at the consulate can help save some of the Jewish children and gets involved in the resistance along with his girlfriend, Sarah. It's very dangerous for both of them since Sarah is Jewish. But the ability of saving even one life makes it important to both of them.

The entire story of Teddy's life is told during interviews with a Dutch reporter who is trying to find her long lost sister that she hadn't seen since the beginning of the war. Even though Teddy was 92 years old and in poor health, he wanted Kayn to write his history to share with his grandchildren who had no idea what he'd done during the war.

This was an inspiring story about people who risked their lives to help their neighbors. It would have been very easy for Teddy to return to the US when the consulate closed but he was brave enough to stay and try to help other people. If you read WWII fiction, this is another book that you don't want to miss.

“A Place to Hide” is the story of Teddy Hartigan who was transferred to the US consulates office in Amsterdam just as tensions in Europe were rising. As Hitler’s control expands and the Anti-Semitic edicts continue, the US enters the war, and news of death camps surfaces, Teddy becomes more involved with the resistance and helping to save the Jewish People of the Netherlands.

I love historical fiction mostly because at the end of a book, I have typically learned something new. But I also love historical fiction because it brings history alive, placing you right there is the thick of it. The balance of the two is what, for me, makes a great book. Unfortunately, I felt the balance was off in this one. This one had a lot of historical facts that kept this story moving forward, but the heart and soul of the story didn’t actually start until about 60-70% of the way through. While some of the set up was needed, some of the beginning felt repetitive and slow. There were a lot of characters that were briefly a large part of the story, but they suddenly disappeared and we never brought up again. I questioned why half of them were included at all. I also struggled with the structure of the story which was told through the eyes of a journalist who was documenting Teddy’s memoir. The secondary story line of the journalist seemed like an afterthought and was not developed at all. I would have loved to have seen a different structure such as dual timeline used to capture and highlight both stories. As a disclaimer, I did read this as an ARC and some of these issues might have been resolved by final publishing. Despite all the issues, the heart of the story and premise of the book was great and I felt worth the read, but I also feel like it could have been so much better.

3.75 Amsterdam WWII Stars

This is a historical fiction story set in Amsterdam during WWII. The setting makes me think of Anne Frank, and the book references the resistance seeking out places to hide Jewish families.

The story centers around Teddy, who is from a prominent DC family devoted to government work. He was working a job in the basement of the State Department when he was suddenly called up for a position in Amsterdam. He initially turns it down because he and his girlfriend have starring roles in a local musical.

I had somewhat forgotten how much US isolationism was going on at this time and how many people did not want to get involved in affairs in faraway Europe. Thoughts of war were brewing, and several people, including Teddy's girlfriend, tried to talk Teddy out of going.

He does oversee the processing of visa applications at the U.S. Consulate. It’s mostly fruitless, as the US quotas have been filled, but at least people can go on a waitlist and feel like they are trying to feel Europe.

Holland hopes they will be spared as the Germans march into several other countries. It’s not meant to be, though, and soon, the Jewish population is under harsh rules.

Teddy finds a new girlfriend, and they take in an abandoned toddler. Teddy realizes that he can play a key role in helping Jewish people hide and helping small children escape through an Amsterdam nursery school.

While Teddy’s story is fiction, hundreds of Jewish children were smuggled out to safety. I enjoyed this one, getting insight into being an American diplomat during the war.

A Place to Hide by Ronald H Balson is another of his riveting Holocaust novels. This one highlights some of the heroes, some fictional, some not, who rescued hundreds of children before they were sent to death camps. Henriette Pimentel, the founder and inspiration behind on of the most famous Dutch creches (baby and toddler care); Walter Suskind, the Jewish manager of a theatre in Amsterdam who deceived the Nazis into sending children to the creche and then erasing them from the rolls before they were returned to board trains; and Johan van Hulst, the director of a teacher training college whose students helped transfer the young children into the waiting arms of their rescuers. The fictional Teddy Hartigan, at this point 92 years old, is approached, through a friend, to help a Jewish woman find her origins. He agrees. In return she will help him write his memories for his grandchildren and great-grandchildren. It was a moving story of the resistance. Teddy had married Sara, a young Jewish woman, so they could adopt a Jewish orphan. His father-in-law, Saul predicted everything that happened in the Netherlands regarding the Nazis. Highly respected, he was always there to help.

Balson doesn’t write concentration camp stories. He writes stories of after the concentration camp, or others outside the camps. Just as poignant, just as important. He researches thoroughly and writes openly and fluidly. Very engaging. I always look forward to his books. In this one he delineated the slow maneuvering of Jews toward “the final solution.” The step-by-step chiseling away of their rights until they were rounded up to be killed. It was a terrifying journey to witness. Thanks Ronald H Balson for writing these novels.

I was invited to read A Place to Hide by St Martin’s Press. All thoughts and opinions are mine. #Netgalley #StMartinsPress #RonaldHBalson #APlaceToHide

A Place to Hide is the remarkable new novel by Ronald H. Balson. The plot is based on a true story and begins in Tel Aviv in 2002. A chance meeting between Karyn and Burt leads Karyn to reveal that she was a hidden Dutch child during WWII. She still yearns for information about the sister she was separated from. Burt’s elderly cousin Teddy worked in Amsterdam during the war and has contacts there. Karyn, a former journalist, travels to Washington to seek Teddy’s help in return for documenting his war time story. Balson’s plot switches seamlessly between Teddy’s past and present. Teddy is not in great health.

Theodore “Teddy” Hartigan is the scion of a wealthy and well-connected D.C. family. Teddy leaves his cushy position in the State Department in 1938 when he is re-assigned to the U.S. Consulate in Amsterdam to replace fleeing staff. His job is to process Visa applications when there are no Visa’s available. Teddy wants to help all the desperate people, but his hands are tied.

Teddy falls in love with Sara, a Jewish girl from the nearby town of Utrecht. Sara’s father is head of the history department at the university there. He understands the Nazi threat and solicits Teddy’s help to insure his daughter’s future. Teddy and Sara marry and adopt a little girl who has been abandoned, for her own safety, at a pre-school in Amsterdam. When the consulate is permanently closed Teddy is asked to stay on and to work undercover with Sara’s father. Teddy becomes part of the resistance movement. Jewish families are sequestered in Amsterdam and awaiting transport to concentration camps. Parents are desperate to save their children, and Teddy conceives a plan to help as many of them as possible. Could these children be adopted by gentile families? Balson’s writing puts this extraordinary story where it belongs- available for everyone to read and remember.

Ronald H. Balson can always be counted on for an interesting Holocaust novel, each with a different story to tell. In the earlier Defending Britta Stein (2021), an elderly Danish American woman tells a convoluted story of life in Denmark to explain why she recently painted graffiti on the exterior wall of a Chicago restaurant, charging the owner with being a Nazi collaborator among other things. Somewhat similarly, in A Place to Hide, retirement home resident Teddy Hartigan narrates his story of work in U.S. Consulate, Amsterdam prior to the U.S. entry into the war and the changes in his life when he opted to remain in Amsterdam after the attack on Pearl Harbor and the Consulate’s closing.
While Britta told her story to a lawyer, Teddy tells his story to Karyn Sachnoff, a war orphan seeking the sister from whom she was separated during the war. In exchange for contacting old acquaintances who might be able to help Karyn find her sister, Teddy insists on Karyn’s writing his war experiences, which he has never been able to share orally with his grandchildren, now in their thirties.

Teddy’s account begins in late summer 1938, shortly before he is offered the job in the U.S. Consulate, a posting that already looks dangerous but that he cannot turn down. As Teddy narrates his experiences to Karyn over a period of days, including time in the hospital, readers learn the history of WWII as it affected the consulate and the Dutch people, both Jewish and non-Jewish. While there is much to learn that will hold most readers’ attention, Teddy’s long monologues fill most of the story, including some details of consular life and more of his personal life after falling in love with a Dutch Jewish woman. However, by far the largest part of the narrative is war history filled with names, events, and precise dates and statistics. Although the mutual acquaintance who introduces Karyn to Teddy once comments on Teddy’s photographic memory, Teddy’s account lacked credibility, coming as it does from a 92-year-old reporting events that took place more than sixty years earlier. Although Teddy provides a valuable history of the changing war and its affects on the Netherlands, the narration frequently reads like a history book.

Furthermore, I found myself wondering about the title for much of the book. Not until roughly 85% of the way through Teddy’s narrative does he reach the part of the story the title leads readers to expect.

Does Balson plan a sequel? If so, I will read it. He left me with many questions and with a desire to know what happens next.

Thanks to NetGalley and to St. Martin’s Press for an advance reader copy.
3.5/5 stars

As a reader of much historical fiction about the Holocaust, I’m recommending ‘A Place to Hide’ by Ronald H. Balson.
It’s an unusual format in that the main character, Teddy Hartigan, now in his 90s and nearing the end of his life, has decided to tell the story of when he was both a consular official and undercover spy for the United States in Amsterdam during 1941-43. He has found someone to write that story based on his dictations. This involves not only his personal recollections, but much factual material. There is also a secondary storyline involving his developing friendship with his ghostwriter and her past connection to this period.
Teddy and many characters are fictional, however all of the historical figures are not. The perspective on the US isolationist policy of the period was accurate, although very disturbing. The author’s thorough research gives the reader the full story of the Nazi takeover of Holland portrayed in chronological order and considerable detail. It filled in many gaps in my prior knowledge and I learned about three important Dutch individuals famous for saving Jews, particularly children, from deportation and certain death.
Thank you to the author, the publisher St. Martin’s Press, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review and ARC.

A fresh take on the WW2 historical fiction. This one takes a new approach that I haven't seen. It was very detailed and well researched.