Mengele’s Apprentice by Roberta Kagan

This is Roberta Kagans second book in her latest serious “Auschwitz Twins”.

Mengele’s Apprentice is written in three parts. The first part we get to know Ernst Neider, who is a very shy, chubby and not very attractive man. We get to know all about Ernst background, where he grew up, who his parents were, where he studied in university and how he began working with Dr Josef Mengele in Auschwitz.

In the second part of the book, we continue were the first book left off; The Aizenberg family being taken away from their small Jewish Shtetl (village) to the Warsaw Ghetto. This part of the story is told thru Shoshana’s, the oldest daughter of Naomi and Herschel, point of view, she tells us how hard life is in the Ghetto and what they must do to survive.

In the third part of the book we learn about Gisele Lenoir, a fourteen-year-old French girl, who just lost her mother, she sets out on her own. Gisele’s deepest desire is to meet her real father, Josef Mengele. We also learn about another heartless but real character in history, Dr. Marcel Petiot and how he tricked Jewish families offering them salvation from the Nazi’s but really killing them. As Gisele runs away from Dr. Marcel Petiot to Berlin, she meets Ernst and sees a way to fulfill her deepest desire.

I enjoyed this book very much. I also liked how you see the main characters come together at the end of the book. I love how Roberta brings her characters to life in such a realistic way you feel like you are in the book with them. I can not wait for the third book in this serious

I would like to thank Net Galley and The Book Whisperer for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review

Mengele’s Apprentice is a fast paced book set during World War II. The book is broken up into three parts. The first part focuses on a young doctor, Ernst Neider, who saves another soldier's life. That soldier turns out to be none other than Josef Mengele, the doctor who performed horrific experiments on many Jews, Gypsies and other people who were deemed subhuman. Megele gives Ernst a special job as his apprentice in Auschwitz.
The second book focuses on Shoshana Aizenberg, a young Jewish girl living in the Warsaw ghetto. Shoshana is navigating womanhood while living with Nazis around her.
The third book is about Gisele Lenoir, a young French girl who lives with her prostitute mother. Gisele leaves France and goes to Berlin to start a new life.
This is the second book in the Auschwitz Twins Series. I recommend reading the books in order.
I’m looking forward to Book 3 to see how these character’s lives intersect. This is my first book by Roberta Kagan, but it won’t be my last. I recommend this book to mature readers.
I want to thank the author, The Book Whisperer and NetGalley for a complimentary copy of the book. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.

This is the second book in the Auschwitz Twins series. I've noticed at least with these two books that the author starts with a very horrific scene then goes back in time which will lead up to the introduction. It definitely creates a shock value. The writing is very well done the only reason four instead of five stars is that some times it switches perspectives so quickly that it would take me a second or two to figure out to which character. It also ends very abruptly. I was so engrossed in the story and suddenly it was just over. Shoshanna is a wonderfully developed character, I love that she goes for what she wants even when it means leaving everything she's ever known behind. Dr Petoit and Dr. Mengele are just so despicable it was difficult to read at points. That was to be expected though. I look forward to the next book and hoping that the twins and Shoshanna have a good ending after this nightmare.

Another heartbreaking and emotional story about the holocaust by Roberta Kagan. This is a must read series for fans of this genre. I received an ARC edition from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review!

This book is the second in a series and although, the books can be read separately without losing anything, I highly encourage reading the first book in the series as the book series is incredible.

The author gives a chilling account of the horrifying events that occurred during the Holocaust, not only to adults, but to teens, and little children.

It weaves together the every day struggles families faced to survive along with the struggles the youth faced as they entered adulthood and the sad day to day fear and trust issue of the little children.

The list innocence of childhood is heartbreaking as the toddlers, and youth struggled with issues of trust and fear. I wanted to scream and sought to find justice for these innocent babies, youth and young people.

At times I wanted to stop reading, but felt compelled to finish. It is horrifying the conditions these families lived in. Along with the disease and starvation, they lived in constant fear. With little hope for tomorrow, they somehow found mements of stolen pleasure and the hope, and will to survive.

I have read many, many books on the Holocaust, but this series is at the top of my list

A must read!

I keep checking NetGalley for the third book in the series .

A huge thank you to NetGalley and the publisher, The Book Whisperer for granting me an advance copy of this fantastic, wonderful, terrific book in return for my honest opinion.

I was supper exited to read more about this story and this book really follows trough.
I was desperate to know more of what happened to the the characters after the ending of the first one. The characterization is still amazing, every character adds an unique perspective. The changes in the narrator to exemplify different points of views is incredibly done. The mixture of perspectives, contexts and personalities only adds to the plot. The clashing of worlds due to the difficulty of the context is really well exemplified adding and exemplify how the war affected communities. The separation and distrust among people was one of the ways I; which population control was kept, this clearly exemplifies how this worked into the core of every citizen, form prisoners to members of the party. This book is a clear bridge to keep the story going and give important context to characters that will have a clear major role in the next chapter of this story. I was on the edge of my seat in every page. Another thing I really came to like was how female voices are going stronger, specially since unlike the first book we move further away of the close community, giving them room to find their own voice and path. Honestly, this is a great book for any fans of historical fiction.

Mengele's Apprentice is the second book in Roberta Kagan's heart-wrenching Historical WWII series—The Auschwitz Twins. Sheer escapism, beautifully written, I will look for more of this author’s work.
My thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for my advance copy of this title. I highly recommend it.

This is the second book of the Auschwitz twins series. Although I haven't read the first book, I actually enjoyed reading this second book.

The story is divided into three parts--Ernst, The Aisenbergs and a French girl named Gisele. Ernst is a doctor and after saving a man's life up in Russian front, he was assigned to work as an apprentice to Josef Mengele, known as Angel of Death. Shoshanna Aisenberg and her family, after the Nazis invaded Poland the family moved to Warsaw Ghetto. Gisele is a daughter of a prostitute and her beauty seems to be captivating the crawling Nazis in Paris. She was also determined to find more about her father.

Josef Mengele is a real character--for those who are not very familiar about Nazi history, Mengele was a doctor at Auschwitz concentration camp and was known as Angel of Death and feared by many, including the Nazi soldiers who worked at the camp. He conducted many human experiments and his main interest are the twins. I have read true stories of such survivor as well, about Mengele's brutal experiments on the children. After the war, he escaped to South America where he died.

Ernst is a naive type of character. Although he was having nightmares working at Auschwitz concentration camps, he was also at the same time wanted to work along with Mengele. The Aisenberg part was too emotional and heartbreaking to read, the scenes inside Warsaw ghetto and the hunger and poverty that the Jews had to endure inside the ghetto was too unbearable and emotional to read. Reading Aisenberg's part reminded me of the scene from the movie Pianist. Gisele's part was actually very interesting to read and how she endured hardships before moving to Berlin. The author must have done tremendous research into the story, particularly about Mengele and her writing had captivated the readers, making the reader feel like they are part of the story. As always, her ending always leave the reader yearn for more and that made me wait impatiently for the third book to come out soon!

If you are looking for a hearbtreaking, page turning emotional historical fiction, this one is for you--worth five stars!

Many thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC. The review is based on my honest opinion only.

Wow! The ending gives a new meaning to cliffhanger. I loved this book, I read all night couldn’t sleep gill I finished it. I’m looking forward to The Auschwitz Twins.
I had already read some Roberta Kagan’s books but this is The best One, yet!

Historical fiction can be informative and upsetting. Roberta Kagan does it all in this book. WWII brought on despicable things that happened to Jews, gypsies and other groups of people considered undesirable. Joseph Mengele did unheard of experiments on people that were imprisoned in the ghetto. These “undesirable” people would do anything to save themselves and others. I’m looking forward to the next book in the series.

Set during WWII in Europe, Mengele's Apprentice is the second emotionally crushing book in The Auschwitz Twins series by Roberta Kagan. The disturbing evil that is Josef Mengele affects countless people but the focus of this book is on three characters and their links to Mengele. What a fascinating premise! Kagan works her magic yet again, masterfully and beautifully. Her Holocaust research is thoughtful and passionate.

Jewish families are crammed into the Warsaw Ghetto, strangers living with strangers. The staid and traditional Aisenbergs find themselves sharing tight quarters with a very secular couple. Shoshana Aisenberg catches glimpses into life outside her strict home and likes what she sees.

In Berlin awkward but brilliant Ernst becomes a doctor and is wooed by Dr. Mengele to work with him on his special projects. Ernst is flattered and honoured to be selected.

Gisele is orphaned at the age of 14 in Marseilles and is desperate...the Germans have occupied her city and she is completely on her own without financial means. Her young mother told her the identify of her father...Josef Mengele. Working at a brothel is her only option.

Though all in different countries, the characters are linked by the same thread, the effects of a brutal world war. My favourite aspect was learning and thinking more about the character of the barbaric Mengele and what drove him. Compelling angle. Really looking forward to the next in the series!

My sincere thank you to The Book Whisperer and NetGalley for the privilege of reading this raw and beguiling book.

Book #2, in the Auschwitz Twins series

This story is divided in 3 important sections called books

Book #1, chapters 1 to 20

Berlin, Germany 1930’s

Ernst Neider is a shy and unpopular individual his dream was to be a doctor. Coming from a poor family his parents gave him everything to make this come true. At university he made friend with Ancel a Jewish medical student who introduced him to his Jewish friends and to their ways of life.

We read about his life at the university and with his parents. By the time he graduated the war broke out and Ernst was facing a frigid and miserable winter as his troop headed east. Early 1942, he met Josef Mengele who offered him a job at Auschwitz-Birkenau. Ernst didn’t know what was in store for him....The story tells us what awaits him.

Book #2, chapter 21 to 39

1938, life in a large Shtetl then in the ghetto of Warsaw and Auschwitz.

For the Aizenberg family life was a very day affair where men were master and women and children did what they were asked without any question. We follow the family’s ups and downs till the day the Nazi Germany attacked Poland, the fabric of the life as they had known was threatened. Soon German boots moved in, people were rounded and trucks carted them away.

Warsaw Ghetto 1941

No cake walk, the family shared a small accommodation with another family and as we follow them in their day to day life we see the hardship they suffered till the day the Ghetto was emptied.....they were heading for Auschwitz

Book #3, chapter 40 to 70

Marseilles, France, 1940

After the sudden death of her mother, 14 year old Gisele Lenoir was on her own. Before she died her mother told her the name of her father: Josef Mengele. She became desperate to seek him out and her only way was to learn the ways of a courtisane, she learnt this at the brothel where she worked as a maid till one day she needed help and it came by the name of Dr. Marcel Petiot. But for him everything came at a cost.....After Gisele witnessed Marcel’s doing. Escape was her only out. We follow her to Berlin where she soon met Ernst.

By the end all the stories come together and the characters end up at the hands of Mengele.....

Of course this novel offer more than my summary tells...

My thoughts

At first I was captivated by this story. I wanted to learn about this apprentice see what he was going to be involved in. But what really happened in the first book was how he lived and the struggles he faced as a poor, shy and overweight person. I thought the author would expand on his work with Mengele but no it just petered out there. Then to book 2, this was the run of the mill of life in a Shtetl, a Ghetto and on the way to the camp. Since this series is about twins this sidebar may have been an obligation. But this time it seemed more a filler. I did love book # 3, this was an exciting story that could have easily happened but again I wished the author would have expanded here also. By the end, I was left frustrated by not knowing the development and having to wait for book #3... I am hoping it will give more and not be in the style of this one.

I love historical fiction that gives you some knowledge along the way. Although this novel is well-written and moves at a good pace I was highly disappointed to read portion of stories and be left hanging there.

Although Mengele and Petiot were real people here they play character roles. One thing for sure, I am more than curious to learn more these two sadistic men.

This latest may not have been my preferred but it may be yours. It is nevertheless worst giving it a try.

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Doctor Satan

Betrayal of trust, secrets held and the evil of Nazi doctors. If you can't trust the medical field , who can you trust?

This is a three stories that all end in one place...Auschwitz. In some way all the characters are connected to the evil doctor Mengele. An evil and Sadistic Nazi doctor in the Polish concentration camp. In a continuation of the Auschwitz twins saga we connect with these characters as we follow their life and their journey to Auschwitz.

From the twins that see visions of things to come and the evil doctor, to the young girl that becomes a helper to an evil doctor and finally the young doctor that strives to be wealthy accepting a promotion to be an apprentice to doctor Mengele, not realizing he will be working with an evil doctor in a Nazi concentration camp.

This story uncovers horrifying secrets of Nazi doctors and the terror that the Jewish lived with during the holocaust. How ordinary citizens unknowingly became involved in horrific events and found themselves in the most dangerous situations.

The characters were wonderful and true to life. The story is sad and horrifying in spots. It is also enduring in the love the families show for each other and the friendships built. This is a wonderful book three to the series.

It was a good read and I would recommend it.

Thanks to Roberta Kagan for writing another great book, to The Book Whisperer for publishing it and to NetGalley for providing me with a copy to read and review.

This is a great sequel to the first book and I can’t wait to read the third! The story is sweet, heart-breaking, and hard, with a lot of sorrow.

I have mixed feelings about this book. The author does a good job of portraying one of the most psychopathic and evil men to ever live. But having three characters in a book with different stories can be difficult to pull off. The book was a little chaotic because of this. The author is well-versed in this time period and that shows through her writing. I didn't "feel" the romances between the characters, but again, the most interesting parts where at the concentration camps. Not many WWII fiction books really deal with Mengele's character, so I applaud the author for not shying away from this.