It is 1999 and undercover FBI journalist Kat Lawson is on a mission. She is to fly to Munich to meet curators of the Gerhardt Galerie and to discover more about art stolen and stored during the Holocaust, specifically the Gerhardt Hoard. Her boss and Holocaust survivor Sophie is tenacious but not always encouraging. Amongst a varied cast of characters Kat encounters in Munich are a Russian art dealer, fellow journalist and brother/sister art curator duo. Who can be trusted in the lucrative world of art when lives are at stake?

Spies, secrets galore, the magnificent Bavaria setting, art, crime and danger are rife in this fast-paced novel. Unctuous food descriptions and atmospheric castles contribute to the genuine Bavaria feel and brought back lovely memories of my family roots and time spent there. Not only is the story itself well worth reading but it also appealed to my heart.

Kat Lawson took a reporter job for a travel magazine when she lost her newspaper reporter job. It is actually an FBI undercover job to find art masterpieces stolen during World War II by the Nazis. But it seems more than one person has found out Kat's real agenda and they will stop at nothing to stop her including framing her for murder!

I read this book immediatly after reading Killers of a Certain Age (who's characters blew me away) and Girl Forgotten (which fell flat). I feel like the main character Kat is somewhere between the 2 main characters in those 2 books which is why this book was average. I wasn't a huge fan of Kat's because she made a lot of bad choices and then kept digging a deeper hole. I enjoyed the plot because who doesn't enjoy a good cat and mouse/murder mystery set in Europe? It was a bit unrealistic because the FBI has thousands of agents so why would they send a random reporter?

Interesting read loosely based on Hildebrand Gurltt, a museum curator. Art was stolen from the Jewish people during WWII and hidden as portrayed in this story. The book was somewhat predictable but enjoyable. Having not read the first in the series, I felt like I was missing a bit about Kat.

Having enjoyed ‘The Riviera House’ by Natasha Lester and having just read Bryn Turnbull’s ‘The Paris Deception’ about stolen art during WW2, I was interested in seeing how Silverman would present a similar story.

Inspired by reading about a real incident, the Gurlitt case, where a routine customs check at the Swiss border in 2010 led to the discovery of 1500 hidden works of art in a Munich apartment, Silverman kept me hooked with her story centered around one of the world’s largest art heists. Hans von Hausmann, Silverman’s museum curator, is loosely based on the life of Hildebrand Gurlitt, one of Hermann Goering’s art dealers.

I loved the blending of fact and fiction of something I was familiar with and really interested in learning more about - the Nazi-era art hoard, the tension of murder and secrets both past and present, and the suspense of a main character with a target on her back! Each time I set the book down, I was driven to Google to learn more about the news story and the heist as well as the role the Monuments Men held in this history.

Silverman’s main character, Katarina ‘Kat’ Lawson, a forty-ish, intuitive investigative reporter, is a breath of fresh air to this genre. I was quickly pulled into the story and Kat’s undercover adventure. I also enjoyed my armchair travel to Europe, especially Munich. Silverman’s descriptive writing enabled me to imagine myself in the setting. I look forward to book three.

If the blending of history and mystery appeals to you, you should check out this series.

I was gifted this copy by Level Best Books and NetGalley and was under no obligation to provide a review.

This is the second in the Kat Lawson mystery series. I did not read the first, however, this worked well as a stand alone.

Kat, a one time investigative reporter, is recruited by the FBI to go undercover in Munich, Germany. Her cover is as a writer for a travel magazine and her assignment is to try to find a hidden cache of valuable paintings stolen by the Nazis from Jews and museums and hidden by the father of a present day museum curator. Soon Kat finds that she herself is being hunted by both sides of the law.

This was a fast paced, quick read. Although the basic plot was certainly plausible, I found the “spy” action around it to be a bit over the top, far fetched, almost farcical. I gave up viewing it as realistic and read it more as a “fun” read. Strange to say that about murder and mayhem, but………

This book was very interesting to me because the author’s notes mention that she loosely based the story about the stolen paintings on a true character, someone I was familiar with because I had seen his collection at a museum in Bern as it was being catalogued and researched for possible return to the rightful heirs of the original owners. I also enjoyed the very accurate descriptions of Munich and some of the surrounding Bavarian locations.

Review in progress and to come.

I received a free copy of this book via NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving a review

It is 1999 and undercover FBI journalist Kat Lawson is on a mission. She is to fly to Munich to meet curators of the Gerhardt Galerie and to discover more about art stolen and stored during the Holocaust, specifically the Gerhardt Hoard. Her boss and Holocaust survivor Sophie is tenacious but not always encouraging. Amongst a varied cast of characters Kat encounters in Munich are a Russian art dealer, fellow journalist and brother/sister art curator duo. Who can be trusted in the lucrative world of art when lives are at stake?

Spies, secrets galore, the magnificent Bavaria setting, art, crime and danger are rife in this fast-paced novel. Unctuous food descriptions and atmospheric castles contribute to the genuine Bavaria feel and brought back lovely memories of my family roots and time spent there. Not only is the story itself well worth reading but it also appealed to my heart.

Author Nancy Cole Silverman has an incredible knack of capturing Bavarian culture and mentality. Talk about fun to be enveloped in the setting, characters and plot. Though predictable, the twists are rewarding and for me there is more to the story to enjoy than "just" the mystery. I like the inclusion of several German words and phrases. Several spelling and grammatical errors were somewhat distracting.

I love that Silverman details her fascinating inspiration and research for Passport to Spy. I wonder what she has in store for Book 3 in the series? Can't wait to find out!

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. My sincere thank you to Level Best Books and NetGalley.

Passport to spy was a fun read that helped my wanderlust and kept me reading to see if the rumors of stolen art were true. While I haven’t been to Germany, I love that region of the world and felt transported there by the pages. Though I was questioning how she was a spy got the FBI on foreign sole rather than CIA.

The cover is what drew me into this book and I found this book to be just OK. I generally do not enjoy books and for that reason it did not keep me intererdted. I do not want to discourage others from enjoying it, this is just my opinion.
Thanks to Net Galley in return for an honest opinion.

This is a quick easy read concerning stolen art by the Nazis during WW2 and forgeries with a lot of following by everybody ad nauseam. There was an obvious giveaway halfway through the story that wasn't a surprise at the end.
The explanation of German laws that allowed people to own stolen art was interesting.
An independent review thanks to NetGalley / Level Best Books

Bonus: A Travelogue of Germany

Journalist Kat Lawson has landed on her feet. She is now a FBI journalist spy for magazine Journey International. Her first assignment finds her in Germany looking for a cache of art stolen by Nazi Germans during WW 2. Loosely based on Hildebrand Gurlitt. Famous artists works attempting to be recovered is extensive.

The plot twists were steadily more intriguing. The details of various cities woven into the plot had me adding cities to my bucket list.

I enjoy well-written spy/espionage novels. While I found the writing here to be OK, I found the plot to be too predictable to hold my interest.

Passport to Spy by Nancy Cole Silverman

This is the second book in the Kat Lawson Mystery series. This story is not dependent on having read the first one although I will definitely be putting this on my reading list. But back to ‘Passport to Spy’. This is a story about an American investigative journalist, Kat Lawson, working for the FBI. She’s sent on assignment to Munich working undercover as a writer for a travel magazine. Her mission is to find evidence of the existence and location of a hidden hoard of art treasures stolen by the Nazis in the Second World War.

The story has good pace throughout and Kat quickly meets and gains insights into all the main characters. Intrigue is introduced early about whether the treasure hoard is real or just a rumour. Similarly, the reader starts to question whether the characters are real or are some of them putting on a facade? There are twists and turns in the plot and some surprises as it reaches an exciting conclusion.

A highlight of this book are the descriptions of townscapes, the Bavarian mountains, seasonal Christmas markets, sweet and savoury delicacies and places of interest. There is a real sense of place which compliments the storyline.

I had been anxiously awaiting a new Kat Lawson Mystery from Nancy Cole Silverman, and was thrilled to discover Passport to Spy was available. The author once again quickly drew me into her story and kept me turning the pages.

This time Kat Lawson travels to Germany as a travel reporter who is also working undercover to assist in gathering information about an art gallery possibly being involved in the sale of forged masterpieces. Part of her assignment meant that she had to meet Hans and Erika, curators of the Gerhardt Galerie art museum. While she and Hans appear to be compatible, Erika is difficult. Kat learns far more about the fake art than required. Even when her magazine editor recommends that she return home, Kat opts to remain in hopes of obtaining more information. This choice puts her life in jeopardy.

I had a hard time putting this book down as I got caught up in all the twists and turns of this investigation. The story moves along at a fast pace and there are moments I was almost holding my breath as Kat found herself in life-threatening moments.

The hard part now is waiting for what I hope will be a third book in this series.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an early copy of Passport to Spy. I am under no obligation to post a positive review, but am thrilled to say that I loved this book as much as I did the author’s first book in this series.

I know people always say, "I couldn't put the book down." But from the moment I started up til the final thoughts. Nancy pulled me in. She brings Kat's character alive. As Kat takes you on a job you can't and wouldnt want to refuse. Heart Pumping, blood rushing, thoughts going in every direction. Everytime I thought turn around go home. I also thought please don't stop now. You won't regret it. I'm definitely picking up her other books. - Denise Rivera

At the request of the FBI a journalist goes undercover trying to find valuable art stolen during World War 2. She tries to get close to those she suspects have meaningful knowledge along the way. What's not to like?

Give us one undercover journalist trying to uncover stolen art from WW2, based on real history and you have me enthralled!

Kat needed a new job, and what better job than undercover journalist for the FBI, with one mission to find proof of a hidden art collection stolen from the Jewish people under WW2. Needing to find out more, Kat gets close to Hans, who is suspected to have inherited said collection from his uncle.

I'll admit I was a bit sceptical if this book would suit my taste, but it got me hooked and finished within 24hrs.