Power couple Catherine and Liam are off to Italy to aid a friend needing urgent legal assistance. Their mission is t to solve the mystery of why VinCo, a massive wine corporation, is vying for a small plot of land where Gabriella Vincenzo, an elderly woman, resides. She has deep emotional attachments to her home and refuses to heed to VinCo's persistence.
Gabriella gives Catherine a document that she stresses is essential for her to read in order to understand why VinCo's wants her land so badly and why they must be fought.
Readers are taken to prewar Germany in the story of Ada Baumgarten, a young woman with a passion for playing the violin.
The book then switches between Catherine and Liam's legal mission and Ada's painful journey throughout World War II. Readers do not learn of the connection between Ada's story and Gabriella's land until the end of the book when it all seams together.

If I were to read this story a few years ago, I would have been appalled by what humans were capable of during World War II but also grateful that we had learned from Nazi Germany and could never fall for another megalomaniac like Hitler.
Today, I read this book with a deep feeling of dread. The current situation in the USA bears striking similarities to prewar Germany. Ada's father believes there is no way the Nazi party will gain enough supporters to have any impact on the country-

"...my father, like most of his friends, showed little concern. Hitler was a blowhard. Hidenburg would crush him in the election. This whole SA thing would go away."

Within a few years, Hitler had the ability to override the commonsense and humaneness of a large swath of people. Hitler wanted to "make Germany great again", This sent chills down my spine. 80 years into the future, will there be stories based on the horror to come that began with the promise to make America great again?

Even though I have not yet read the first books in the Catherine and Liam series, it did not matter very much. Ada's story was poignant and the mystery of how she connects to VinCo and Gariella made it difficult to put the book down. I am looking forward to reading more by Ronald H. Balson.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC.

What can I say? It's a Ronald H Balson book. I knew it had to be amazing just based on that. And it was. I adore Liam Haggard and Catherine Lockhart and I'm always ready to join them on one of their exciting heartwarming adventures. And I hope they have many more of t hem. I love that he has two characters that are always in his books. That you get to explore different time periods and places but you get the familiarity of these two beloved characters. You also don't have to read his books in any particular order though I would recommend reading the previous book, Karolina's Twins(which is AMAZING) before reading The Girl from Berlin because you'll be spoiled for something pretty major. I loved Ada Baumgarten so so much. In fact she is now in my top four of five female characters. And for a male author to have written that female is amazing. Somehow Ronald H Balson writes female characters very well. And not only that but females in different time periods.it's so perfect it's eerie. I also loved Kurt. The side characters were just as enthralling though. I would love to read Natalia's story as well. Ada's story was fascinating and captivated me from the start. I loved reading about WWII from inside Germany and, eventually Italy. You can tell that he does his research and brings it into the story in a very entertaining way. I just couldn't put this book down. I adore it and I can't recommend it enough! If it has the name Ronald H Balson on it, it's amazing!

The Girl from Berlin by Robert H. Balson is a wonderful book. It is the story about a brave Jewish family living in Berlin before and during and after WW 11. Ada, the central character is devoted to her music and a wonderful violin player. Her family is Jewish and they continually put off trying to leave Germany and move to the United States. Finally its to late for them. They seem not to be aware of the danger they are in because they are Jewish..For me reading the book was a tense experience.I never went to the end to see what happened to them but was very tempted. At that time Jews all over Europe were rounded up and sent to the camps where they would die.

This is the fourth of Ronald Balson's novels featuring Chicago attorney Catherine Lockhart and her private investigator husband Liam Taggart. The couple receive a request from a friend of Liam's to look into a situation in Italy where the friend's elderly aunt Gabi is being forced off her property by a large conglomerate claiming Gabi's deed to the property is invalid.

The book is written in two different time periods: the present and the 1930's and 1940's when the point of view is from a Jewish girl, Ada Baumgarten, who lives through the rise and takeover of the Nazis in Europe. Ada is a violinist who has grown up in Berlin, but relocates to Italy when the German Nazi's begin rounding up Jewish families and sending them to concentration camps. The author makes the points of view very clear, so there is no confusion for the reader.

Liam and Catherine are given Ada's diary which she wrote about her experiences during the 1930's and 1940's, and pursue the case of Gabi's land problems with its help. There is nothing predictable about this story. Every time I thought I knew what was going to happen, I was wrong.

Ronald Balson continues to amaze me with the original stories he comes up with regarding the Holocaust and the treatment of Jews during Hitler's reign. Each of his novels elicit all kinds of emotions from the reader: frustration, anger, pity, and empathy. I've learned to read his books with a box of tissues nearby.

"The Girl from Berlin" is a stand-alone novel, but once you get to know the Catherine/Liam team, you'll want to read their other stories, too. Balson presents a believable, compelling story that you won't want to put down.

I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Amazing. Mr Balson is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors. The way that he combines history and modern day is just remarkable. I love historical fiction and he writes about WWII like no other. Strong, moving characters. Liam and Catherine are just an amazing team, and it is wonderful that their story progresses more in every book with every new gripping case that they take on, The way Ada’s memoir led right up to the conclusion of the book made it a page turner. Reading about her character’s bravery and selflessness is something that stays with you once the story is finished. I already can not wait for his next book!

A good historical fiction.
A mystery drama,intrigue during and after WWII .
A good insight into the stories and life of those that lived during that time.
Did learn somethings that I didn't know.
Voluntarily reviewed

I could not put this book down! I loved it.

I really enjoyed the WWII storyline, especially Ada's diary entries.

Many thanks to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for my ARC. All opinions are my own.

Thank you to NetGalley and St Martin’s press for an advance reader copy in exchange for my review.

I have just finished reading the book while on a vacation and I must say it was truly a page turner. I was reading it during all my down times! I enjoy reading, but for the past few years have not had the time. His book was one that made me sad that I have been missing it!

The story is really 2 stories entwined together that then will all make sense at the end. While it is fictional, it sure makes you feel like it is a true story in the times of Nazi occupation and world war 2 as a Jew. The other story line is certainly present, but really did t seem like the “meat” in the book. It does allow the story to drive, which I found to be refreshing.

I really enjoyed this book. Catherine and Liam are a great couple, but their story wasn't the one that interested me. I loved getting to know Ada, the Jewish violin prodigy, who came of age in Germany just as the Nazis took control of the country. Reading Ada's diary and learning all that she experienced, saw, and did wrenched my heart and kept me reading long into the night. Even though this was fiction and it's not the best book in the world, it was a very good read. It was engaging, the characters were real and easy to relate with, and the settings were beautifully described. I was pleased to learn Mr. Balson has a Catherine and Liam series, and I'll definitely be reading his other books.

I have read all of Balson's books and enjoyed this one. Unfortunately, the references to Pre and Post Nazi Germany have an eery feeling in the age of Trump and what we could be seeing down the road.

Balson skillfully combines the beautiful and touching stories of 2 women, Ada during WWII and Gabi in modern Italy. Their stories are woven together by a manuscript/journal, which we are allowed to read and ultimately understand the connection between present-day Italy and WW II Germany.

The catalyst is the attempt to dispossess the elderly Gabi from her much loved vineyards in Tuscany. An American couple is dispatched by relatives in Chicago to try to help Gabi keep her land. Gabi insists that they read Ada's journal to help them understand what happened.

We read about the young musician, raised in cultured Weimar Germany who is a violin prodigy and how the tentacles of Nazi hatred dislocate her to Italy and destroy her family. Her connection to Gabi is lovingly explained and the reader can find great satisfaction is the way the 2 stories are connected.

For music lovers, there is a great depth of information about music and the intellectual/cultural atmosphere of those years. The author is able to transmit the hesitancy of loyal Germans to flee their country, believing that Hitler's threat was a temporary one. For those of us who also want to read a love story within a fascinating novel, we are allowed to share the 3 greatest loves of Ada's life...all leading to an extremely satisfying endling, with perfect closure.

I happened to be in Berlin while I was reading this novel, so Balson's writing had an extra meaning for me. My own family members were musicians dispossessed from Hungary, but having the good fortune to find positions in America.

This is really ***** (5 Stars) +++ (with at least 3 pluses!). This is one of the best books I have ever read. I have a handful of favorite authors and now can add Ronald H. Balson to that list to make it a handful plus one. This is the third of Mr. Balson’s books that I’ve read and I think the third of this series. Catherine is an attorney and her husband Liam is a private investigator. A friend of theirs, Tony has an elderly aunt In Italy. This elderly aunt has been living on her small vineyard since her grandmother died. Now someone is trying to take it away from her. Tony hires Catherine and Liam to take a trip to Italy to help his elderly aunt. What a great story! What great characters. I have been reading almost exclusively for the past several days and now need to fold laundry, clean house and get back to 2018. But I’m sad to leave my friends I’ve made from this book. I have already been recommending this book and this author to anyone who will listen. I’m going to find another of Mr. Balsons’ books to read next. Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for allowing me to read an advance copy for my honest review.

Thank you Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC.

Opening with a drive through the beautiful Italian countryside, this book grabbed from the start and had me turning page after page.

Gabi is an old lady, about to be evicted from her Italian vineyard to make room for Vinco, Big Vine.
The land and its villa have been her property for decades and she's not giving up without a fight. Having had no luck with the Italian lawyers, her nephew in the United States hires his friends Catherine and Liam to sort things out. They move to Italy to investigate the case.
Gabi meanwhile is fiercely defending her award winning plot of Ada's grapes. But who is Ada and why is this tiny plot so important to Gabi?

The book alternates between Gabi in 2017 and Ada in the late 1930's. Through Ada's memoir we learn about her life as a young violin player. It tells of everyday events and gives great insight into the workings of the operahouse, the orchestra and Ada finding her place as a Jewish woman in a man's world now also dominated by nazis. From Berlin to Bologna you can smell the fear, hear the music, engage in lively conversation, enjoy both Jewish and Italian traditions. All scenes so vividly described. All characters indepth.
In 2017 we race against the clock to find evidence of Gabi being the true owner of the land.
Both stories entwine seamlessly, the 2017 parts giving the reader a welcome break to deal with the nazi horrors.
The moment the connection between Gabi and Ada reveals itself takes my breath away. Heartbreakingly beautiful.

While writing this review I'm standing in Gabi's vineyard, mesmerized, enjoying the Tuscan sunset, wonderful violin music playing in my head. The Girl From Berlin is a treasure that will stay with me for a long time. Highly recommended.

I loved Karolina's Twins, also by Ronald H. Balson, and it is no surprise that I also loved The Girl From Berlin. This wonderful story, told from the present day and the days leading up to, through and after World War II, has Catherine Lockhart and Liam Taggart working to help the aunt of a friend, who is threatened with eviction from the land she has owned and loved for years, by an evil corporation who claims she doesn't really own it. Although not licensed to practice in Italy, Catherine and Liam dig into the court case that led to the eviction, and find a number of things that, to quote Liam "stink like a dead fish".

Alternating with Catherine and Liam's story is the story of Ada Baumgartner, child violin prodigy and young Jew in Berlin in the 1930's. We learn about Ada's career, her family and her love for a young man who may be a Nazi. But what is the connection between the young jewish woman in Berlin, and Gabi Vincenzo, the elderly Italian woman in Siena? And how is Catherine going to prove the frauds that have been perpetuated against Gabi?

The Girl From Berlin is a wonderful book which will keep you turning the pages long after you should have turned out the light; you won't be able to put it down!

The Girl from Berlin by Ronald Balson
I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I have read each of the author’s previous novels.
I am struggling a little bit with the rating. On one hand, I couldn’t put the book down, it was a perfect read for a sleepless night and a plain ride. There are two stories here, one of Ada Baumgartner, a child violin prodigy affected by the rise of Naziism in Germany from 1933 through WW II and the other of Gabrielle in present time Italy who is unjustly being near eviction from the home she has lived in most of her life. How these two stories connect is the subject of the book and of course it’s not revealed to the very end, hence you keep turning pages. Catherine and Liam (whom we met in previous novels) are once again called to help with avoiding the eviction, the now husband and wife team of an attorney and a private investigator. Gabrielle gives Catherine Ada Baumgartner’s memoir and asks her to read it to the end to figure out why she has the right to stay. Ada’s story at times are far fetched and unrealistic, such as the accidental meetings with her boyfriend throughout the war, some of the scenes in the concentration camps, negotiating with Nazi officers, her mother’s story, etc.
The current story in Italy also is strange at times, bribery, murder, and lots of secrets. Overall a page turner, no more than 3 stars for reasons I mentioned. Thanks NetGalley, St Martin’s press and Ronald Balsom for the advanced copy.

As a big fan of Ronald Balson’s books, I was delighted to get the opportunity to read an advance copy of his latest book, The Girl from Berlin. I thought the plot was very compelling, and it was interesting to read about life in Italy during Mussolini’s rule, in contrast to Hitler’s Germany. I enjoyed the characters who had been in his previous books. I flew through the book wanting to know what happened.

My only criticism of the book is that it seemed ridiculous to me that the characters took a crazy amount of time to read a manuscript which was key to their investigation. With time of the essence, either the information should have been told to them verbally or they should have finished it within a day. (I read the book including the manuscript in less than 24 hours.) This could have been solved by having them need to wait to get parts of the manuscript translated. I also thought the book ended rather abruptly.

I highly recommend the book for readers who enjoy both historical fiction and legal thrillers. I look forward to the next book in the series.

Yes, Ron's next book is being released this fall and I gladly welcomed Catherine and Liam back into my lives:) This time they travel to Siena, Italy to help their friend Tony's aunt avoid being evicted from her wine villa. As always, it was a strong mystery, with Catherine playing the lead role this time. The descriptions of Siena brought back good memories from my vacation there 6 years ago. The story switches between the present day in Siena and the late 1930s and early 1940s in Berlin, Germany and multiple locations in Italy. Prior to this book I hadn't read much about the impact of Hitler on the Jews in the major cities and the country side of Italy. I always learn something new when reading Ron's books and this time was no exception. I knew a bit about musicians during the war but I learned a lot more about music in general along with a bit more about wine and wineries. If you have been anticipating Ron's next book as much as I was, you won't be disappointed.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for providing me with an early copy of this book in exchange for an honest review

Catherine Lockhart and Liam Taggart have been tasked with proving a woman is the rightful owner of her home in Tuscany, even as a greedy corporation states they are the rightful owners and intend to take possession. Their search for answers takes them back 100 years to the story of Ada Baumgarten, a young woman of privilege and culture at the end of the Great War, but it’s her talent as a musician that will save her as the forces of Adolph Hitler and the Third Reich rise over Germany. Fleeing to Italy becomes the only solution that will save Ada and her family . But what does she have to do with their current assignment and the deed to the Italian property now being questioned?

As time marches on and their are fewer and fewer survivors of World War II, their stories, real and fictional become all the more important. Balson takes readers on a journey through one the darkest times of human history

I have been a fan of Ronald Balson since I read his first book "Saving Sophie" and he just keeps on getting better. This book captured my attention from the very beginning, and with its combination of mystery and history was impossible to put down. Liam and Catherine are asked by their friend Tony to help his aunt Gabi in Tuscany who is being evicted from her longtime home and vineyard. Gabi has what she believes to be a valid deed to the property but she is being sued by a large corporation who is presenting what they believe to be the valid deed. When trying to research the history of the place they find the relevant documents missing, and the registry clerk dead. Gabi can't talk about the past but is vehement in trying to protect "Ada's vines". She sends Catherine a journal written by Ada Baumgarten, a Jewish violinist who fled to Italy during the Holocaust. Catherine and Liam must pull together all the different strings that make up this conundrum to help Gabi retain her home. Both the present day story and the historical one are thoroughly engrossing and I was riveted to the book from the first page to the very end.

This is one of the many stories that needs to be remembered, needs to be told, and definitely needs to be heard