I fell in love with Ronald Balson's writing with his first book, Once We Were Brothers. Since then I have read every book and they do not disappoint. The fifth book in the Liam and Catherine series has the story moving back and forth from 2017 to WWII and Ada's history. While you are thrown into a difficult situation with Gabi who has land with a winery in Italy, you also get to read about Ada's struggles during the time of Nazi occupation. And her strength and resilience is absolutely amazing. You have to read the story to appreciate Ada.

Liam and Catherine are a couple who work well together to help people who need their skills...legal and private investigation. And their efforts reward you with twists and turns, background history, and a sense of compassion.

Thank you to NetGalley and the author, Ronald Balson, for an ARC in exchange for my honest review. I can't wait for a 6th book in this series.

Interesting story with most likable characters. It keeps you riveted until the end. Just not sure if Hitler and Goebbels would have happily listened to a free Jewish woman playing the violin.

St. Martin's Press and NetGalley provided me with an electronic copy of The Girl from Berlin. I was under no obligation to review this book and my opinion is freely given.

Catherine Lockhart and Liam Taggart are back and are embroiled in a battle to help save a woman's home. When an old friend of Liam's asks for their assistance in a matter involving his aunt, will their search for the truth lead the pair down a historical path?

History takes center stage in this novel and it is clear that the author has researched the events and time period that ushered Germany to wreak havoc over the world. As Ada's story unfolds, the reader is not given, until the very end, the last little part of the connection that she has to the characters in the present. The one thing that kept the novel from being great, in my opinion, is the foreshadowing and negative focus on one of the periphery characters. I finished the book mainly to find out if my hunch was correct, which was a shame. I really wanted to like this novel because of Catherine and Liam, as I have read some of the previous novels featuring these main characters. Their involvement in The Girl from Berlin is nothing special, which was unfortunate. The author does nothing to develop the characters of Catherine or Liam in this novel, leaving the book unbalanced and shaded toward plot. The Girl from Berlin was good, but could have been compelling with a few changes.

I have enjoyed many novels now by Ronald H. Balson partly due to the historical twists and partly because I enjoy the relationship of Catherine and Liam.

They are this time in Italy trying to help a friend's aunt trace the ownership of the land she's been living on for most of her life. Someone is claiming title which would have her evicted and she's sure the land is hers. The study weaves through the history of the original owner via her daughter's diary of sorts and explores the land grab traits of the nazi party all accross Europe during the second world war. Through the diaries the thread of ownership is eventually explained though I was constantly trying out my own theories. (,I find this happens to be a lot reading these novels.).
I cannot give away the ending so I will say that the author is very good at creating suspense, empathy and intrigue in a readable fashion. He also includes aspects of history that may not be well known but paint more depth to history we are already aware of. I'm sure to keep reading these.


Thank you to St.Martin's Press for our review copy. All opinions are our own

3.5 Stars

I struggled a bit with the alternating story lines at the beginning of the story as it was hard to get invested in either story line. However, once we got to the meat of both stories, I became immersed in them.

Present day Liam Taggart and Cathrine Lockhart are asked to go to Italy to help solve a legal dispute over who owns the vineyards currently occupied by Gabriella: her or VinCo. While there, Gabriella gives Catherine a memoir of a girl from WWII.

Ada, whose memoir we (and Catherine) read, is a German Jew and a gifted violinist. Unfortunately, with Hitler’s rise to power it becomes increasingly hard for her to play publicly and she eventually moves to Italy to pursue her dream. But with WWII raging on and Mussolini joining ranks with Hitler she isn’t safe there either. Her story is heartbreaking and upsetting.

Back in present day, Catherine works hard with an Italian lawyer to try and prove Gabriella the rightful owner of the land. You know the two stories have to be connected, but it takes some time to work and out and even longer to see how the memoir can help the case. I think Balson does a great job at slowly unraveling both stories and then bringing them together.

This is book five in the Taggart and Lockhart series, but it can be read as a stand-alone. But, as I’ve read other books in this series, I would recommend reading them all.

I received an advanced copy through Netgalley in return for an honest review.

Catherine and Liam are back to saving the innocent from the evil. Their friend, owner of a local Italian restaurant, pleads for help. His Aunt is about to unjustly lose her farm in Italy to some major corporation. Turns out that both Gabrielle and this company both claim ownership of this property, but how is this possible? Catherine and Liam are provided with a copy of a memoir as research, but are unsure how the memories of a German girl, Ada, are helpful or pertinent to their current litigation. As the story unfolds, the secrets from the past are revealed and their impact on the people alive today are made clear.

I've had a copy of this book for a while and lost some of my files on my ereader. I am SO HAPPY to have found this one again. I didn't realize it was part of a series of books (even though I've read a few of the other ones). This book was FABULOUS! It was like getting two stories in one. You have the modern day mystery and David vs Goliath courtroom story. Then you have the Jewish German family and their story of a life under Adolf Hitler and the Third Reich. I laughed, cried, and even yelled at a few characters in this book. I seriously cannot recommend it enough. Ronald Balson has become an auto-buy author for me at this point. Five out of five stars for me.

Thanks to St Martin's Press and Netgalley for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I am not sure how I have not heard of this author or series before, I absolutely loved this book. I could not stop listening to it. I have become a lover of Historical Fiction, especially those using dual timelines and this book fit the bill perfectly.

For those of you not familiar with this series, Catherine Lockhart and Liam Taggart are a lawyer and private detective. The live in Chicago and have a young son. They are contacted by a friend, restaurateur, Tony, who wants them to go to Italy to help his Aunt Gabby. It seems Gabriella is being forced off her land by a greedy corporation. They have managed to get a court to confirm ownership by the VinCo Company and she has 60 days to leave the property. She is adamant she owns the property and it is up to Catherine and Liam to find the paperwork to prove that Gabriella Vincenzo owns the property. The only clues they have is a memoir or diary written by Ada Baumgarten, a talented violinist that becomes the first female to play in a national orchestra. This is the story in the past, the horrible, terrifying past of being a German Jew during the rise of Hitler.

This story was not lyrical, but it was well told, gritty, and it gripped me. The unfairness, the corrupt corporation and lawyers trying to bully this old woman and intimidate her friends and lawyers had me wanting to know what is going to happen. I did figure out what the connection between the past and present was and how VinCo fit in, but trying to prove it and learning the rest of Ada's story kept me hooked. This book is a very absorbing dual-timeline that will immediately capture your interest with detailed descriptions of the characters and events. In the 1930s/1940s timeline, Balson does a great job showing how naive the Jews were until it was too late. Everytime Ada or her father said they would leave tomorrow, or at the end of the month, I wanted to cry, I knew what was going to happen. I had not read any stories about the people in Italy and what they were going through as allies of Hitler.

I do not want to share anymore of the plot or story with you, but suffice it to say, it is sad and terrible. The characters in this story were so real to me. I hated the lawyers in Italy that were willing to bend the law for their clients, an extremely wealthy corporation. I was rooting for Catherine and the young female lawyer Liam finds willing to work with them and fight the greedy corporation. Those in the past that we were meant to like and cheer for, had my pity and admiration and those who were the evil characters earned my disdain. I definitely recommend this book to fans of historical fiction, dual-timelines, WWII, Holocaust stories, and mysteries.

I have been reading a lot of historical fiction lately. Unfortunately most of my current reads have been poorly written . That is not the case with this novel. The pace is even and the narrative moves forward well. I am not going to discuss the plot as you can read it from the publisher. This is one of those books that goes back-and-forth between time periods. In the case of this book it is not confusing. I highly recommend.

This was a very emotional read. I love the setting of WWII Germany. There were times that I found the story to be slow moving. However, I would recommend this for those that like The Book Thief, The Alice Network, and The Orphan’s Train.

As a fan of Mr. Balson, this book did not disappoint. There is plenty of action to keep you wanting to turn the pages.

The rise of Hitler and beautiful Tuscany go together pretty well in this novel. Catherine and Liam are well used, and there is a lot going on. Two connected stories follow throughout the book.

This book had good character development and a good story. The timelines jumped between stories but they were quick to draw me in. I enjoyed reading about the war from many landscapes....Berlin to Italy. I will likely add it to my reading group when we start out WWII unit.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my unbiased opinion.

In this fifth book of the Liam Taggart and Catherine Lockhart series, a friend in Chicago asks them to fly to Italy to help his aunt fight the eviction she is facing from her home, even though she has the deed to the property. The aunt, Gabi, is too upset to talk about the case. Instead, she gives Catherine and Liam a copy of of Ada's story, saying that it will tell them what they need to know. Ada was born in 1918, the daughter of a violinist in the Berlin Philharmonic. She quickly became a violin prodigy in her own right. As Nazi sentiments grow, Ada and her family are in danger. Ada's talent puts her in the spotlight, both for those who want to help her and those her wish her harm.

This is the second book of the five in the series that I have read, and both can be easily read as standalones. I really liked Ada's story, which was the majority of the book. The modern part of the story was more flat, though, especially the lawyer for Vinco.

The Girl from Berlin by Ronald H. Balson
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#mystery #family #holocaust
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Lockhart and Taggart make a trip to Italy to save an old woman from being evicted from her Tuscan home.
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Balson’s The Girl from Berlin is a trip to the past. I hadn’t picked up Lockhart and Taggart novels before this, but now I have to read them all. Balson perfectly weaves the story of Ava Baumgarten, a teenage Jewish violinist in early Nazi Berlin, with Lockhart and Taggart’s mystery. You can’t possibly put this book down until you understand their connection.
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Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for my e-copy of The Girl from Berlin!
No need to wait! The fifth book in the Taggart and Lockhart series is out now!

4.2 - a great dual time period story; I felt like Balson got a little too modern-day political with this one, but I greatly enjoyed the legal tension and the quick plot

This is the third book I’ve had the pleasure of reading by Mr. Balson. I have a deep interest in the Holocaust era and read as much historical fiction as possible. Mr. Balson does a fantastic job weaving amazing stories with his characters Liam and Catherine and I was unable to put this story of Ada and Gabi Baumgarten down! The story jumps back and forth between present day and the memoir of Ada’s life through the the Nazi era and I was riveted by her tale. I highly recommend this book for anyone who has an interest in this type of book, you won’t be disappointed in Ada and Gabi’s story.

This take was full of joy, heartache and love. There were tons of twists and turns with a well laid-out plot. I couldn't pt it down.

Thank you to Netgalley, the Publisher and the author for the opportunity to read this book in return for my review based on my honest opinion.

This is the first book I have read by this author, and I enjoyed it quite a bit. I love historical fiction and I love it even more when there are so many true facts inserted on the story. I loved the back story to this house and the people who lived in it. That being said, I found the book dragged on in some instances and I had a hard time staying on track, I am happy I did, as the ending of the book was really good and made the draggy sections worthwhile.

This book was part of a series and while I think it was okay as a standalone, I wish I had read the other books first to get more of a feel for the main characters.

I received an ARC of this book but all opinions are my own.

So, just a disclaimer, I have not read any of the other Liam Taggart and Catherine Lockhart books by Ronald Balson. So, I was a little confused when I got started. But it didn't take me long to get into it!

This is a dual timeline story. Liam and Catherine are trying to figure out how to save the Italian aunt of family friend from being evicted from her Tuscan vineyard by a major wine making company-VinCo. To help solve the mystery, the Italian aunt, Gabi, gives Catherine a manuscript written by Ada Baumgarten. The manuscript tells the story of Ada's life growing up in Nazi Germany and her eventual move to Italy.

Liam and Catherine must use Ada's story to guide them towards clues they might use in 2017 to find the secrets hidden by VinCo to save Gabi's property.

Overall I loved the story! It's a great historical fiction (Ada's story) and and a riveting modern mystery (Catherine's story). A two for one!

I also really appreciated the uniqueness of Ada's story. I've read plenty of WWII era books about Jewish people. But Ada's particularly stands out because she is an incredibly talented violinist. The Nazi's don't want her around but don't want to kill her because of Hitler's love of classical music. It further complicates her life and tells unique story of professional musicians in Nazi Germany.

I would highly recommend and I don't think you have to have read the previous books to enjoy it.

Dear Fellow Reader,

In general, my writing of these reviews is a lot slower than my reading. This makes some sense because I read a lot. And I just got back from vacation which means that I am behind because, well, I read even more when I am on vacation. How much more, you ask? Generally, I read a book a day. Yes, you read that right, a book a day. To be perfectly honest, many of those books are not exactly War and Peace. You may have heard me talk about “popcorn” books before. I sometimes even read books that are “popcorn light”. For example, when I got on the plane, I had not started a book. I find it hard to start a book when on a plane. There are too many distractions. In this situation, I need popcorn light. A book so light that getting into the characters and plot is mindless. Enter Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the Brash Blonde. I will not pretend that this is great literature. It was fine for what I wanted. I wanted to read on the plane to make the time go fast. Popcorn light.

BUT, I do read more serious books. And sometimes I find a book that I must sit down and write about immediately because I think you might like it. I finished a book this morning and I think it is worth reading. It is part mystery and part history. And, unbelievably enough, it seems it is part of a series. And this book comes with the disclaimer that I was given this book to read in exchange for my unbiased review.

The Girl from Berlin opens with Catherine and Liam going to meet with their friend, Tony. Tony owns a restaurant in Chicago and needs help. It seems that a corporation is trying to evict Tony’s aunt back in Tuscany from her home. Tony wants Catherine, who is a lawyer, to go to Italy and help prove that his aunt owns the property. He offers to pay all of Catherine and Liam’s expenses to go and check out the situation. While they aren’t sure they can help, they decide to go.

As they are leaving for Italy, a package arrives. It is a manuscript that has been translated from German to English. The manuscript was sent by Tony’s Aunt, Gabriella Vincenzo, so that Catherine and Liam can learn of her history. She can not talk of it – they must read the book.

The manuscript is the story of Ada Baumgarten, who was born in Berlin in 1918. Her father is the first-chair violinist with the Berlin Philharmonic. Born between the wars, Ada’s life is rich with culture and the society of Berlin. But there are clouds brewing. Ada begins violin lessons with her father and is a prodigy. She begins with the Youth Symphony, a year before she should be eligible, because of her talent. While with the Youth Symphony, she meets Kurt, who is also a violinist. They become friends. But then Hitler starts rising to power and the Baumgartens, who are Jewish, become vulnerable. The manuscript goes on to tell what happens to Ada and her family through WWII.

In the book, the reading of the manuscript is interspersed with Catherine and Liam’s efforts to save Gabriella’s property in the current day. As they finish reading the manuscript, they find out who is really behind the effort to seize Gabriella’s property.

I found the story very interesting and absorbing. While I feared for what would happen to Ada, I was carried through the history of the times. I highly recommend this book. The book does seem to be the fifth in a series of Catherine and Liam books. I didn’t know this until I looked up the title on Amazon. You do not need to have read the other books in the series to understand this book. It stands on its own.

Thanks for reading!