Cover Image: The Paris Notebook

The Paris Notebook

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Member Reviews

A unique and special historical fiction book that I loved! Danger, suspense, romance and thrills. The danger is thrilling and I felt like jumping into the story to try to protect the characters that I came to genuinely care about.

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Katja Heinz lives in Hamburg with her Mother, her father having died after a horrific 'accident'. In order to take care of her Mother, Katja needs to find a job that pays better than the one she currently has.

After applying for a different role at the University's clinic for neurological disorders she is offered a job by Dr. Viktor as his assistant. Dr. Viktor knew her late Father and believes that Katja can help him transcribe and translate clinical notes for a top secret, high profile patient.

Katja must get the notes safely to Paris to try and get them published without being discovered...

I don't want to say too much more, but I really loved this book and I look forward to reading more from this author.

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Katja is now suffering the effects of the war and now she has to find a job to be able to survive not knowing she was about to work for some nazi that will make her transcribe many things that she was not supposed to know or understand, some classify papers that can easily make her life a living hell.

Katja soon will learn that she is typing some notes about a patient who was treated during ww1, learning everything about the mental health of such a patient, understanding now how terrible Hitler's mental health was for the world and his agenda.

Katja is now in Paris where she met Daniel Kennan a man who had a tragic past, but at the same time, she feels very attracted to making her life so different.

The Paris Notebook was a stressful read for me I was always waiting for the other shoes to drop or for someone to find out what Katja was doing or the notes Dr. Viktor was writing

I did enjoy so much this book, it is not my first book by Tessa Harris, I really enjoy her writing and her way to bring what you think will be easy to read but there is always an element that will keep you wanting to learn more.

The Paris Notebook was read with great characters to discover.

Thank you, NetGalley and HQ, HQ Digital, for the advanced copy of The Paris Notebook in exchange for my honest review.

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The story felt very plausible to me and in fact the author mentions the truth behind Hitlers medical records in the afterword,
A fab read that felt really real and I will certainly be reading more Tessa Harris books.

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This book was interesting to read and kept you on your toes the whole time. If you enjoy World War II historical fiction, this is a great choice! The leading characters were very likeable and you could not help but root for their cause, even if it took almost everything they had to get there.

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A twisty historical tale which keeps you turning the pages. I enjoyed this book even of the ending felt a bit rushed.

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Oh boy was this good. A new take on a WW2 story that was both unexpected and interesting. I’m very much looking forward to more by this author

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Another WWII fiction that was just too much for me. I wanted to like this one but it fell flat. Didn't like the characters and I was bored.

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Katja Heinz lives in Hamburg with her mother. Her father was not a fan of the Nazis and wrote a book that got banned by them. After a horrible “accident” he died and this sent her mother into a depression. Katja must now take care of her and need a job that pays better than the one she has.


She applies to a job as receptionist at The University of Hamburg’s Clinic for Neurological Disorders and doesn't get it, but she gets a call back to see Dr. Viktor. He is a psychologist and he offers her a job as his assistant. She accepts this and she thinks her job is going to be to type his clinical notes but there is another assignment. Dr. Viktor knew her father and he thinks that Katja can help him with a very dangerous task. He treated someone during WWI who had serious mental health issues. When Katja figures out who this person is she understands the seriousness of the task. The person is the leader of the Nazi party and she has to transcribe and translate the clinical notes.


The plan is to take the translated notes to Paris and try to get them published. This is going to be a very difficult task as the Nazis find out about the clinical notes.


I really liked this book a lot. I loved all the characters and I loved that it kept me wanting to keep on reading and wanting to know if they would make it or not. The ending was great.

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I love historical fiction set in World War 2 and this book is another excellent addition to the genre. Set mostly in Hamburg and Paris, it's a gripping, fast paced story with brilliant characters and a fascinating plot. I hadn't read anything by Tessa Harris before this book, and I'll definitely be reading more of her books.
Highly recommended by me.

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A story of love, heartbreak but ultimately a sense of justice. I have read previous novels by this author and this one was up to the same standard. Nail biting, edgy and one I couldn’t put down.

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This is book which I had saved to read when I had both time and the need for a really good read as I enjoy works by Tessa Harris and this genre of writing. The premise of the story is both fascinating and disturbing. It gives rise to thoughts about the idea that if Hitler had continued in power through the 20thC our lives would have been so different. Despite the serious nature of the historical content, there is a romantic thread through the book which seemed a little unnecessary but I suppose lightens the text and adds an extra dimension.

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Thank you to Bookouture and NetGalley for providing me a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

This book utterly hooked me from the description. Carrying the dangerous documents of Adolf Hitler’s psychiatric notes, Katja joins Dr Viktor to unleash these to the world. During the Paris occupation, this couldn’t have been a more dangerous task. The first half of the book kept me on my toes, the twists and turns were unbelievable and I found myself not being able to put the book down numerous times. The inclusion of an Irishman, Daniel Keenan, was fantastic for me to see as the Irish were of course neutral during the Second World War. To understand how various sides came together to try to overthrow Hitler in this daring feat by the resistance was phenomenal!

The only issue I had with this book was the repetitiveness of it. By the second half of the book, it felt as though I had already read some of the scenes as they just seemed to repeat themselves. A lot of the time I wanted to flick past these scenes, but I continued on because of how much the first half pulled me in.

This is perfect for fans of Second World War historical fiction who are looking something a little bit different to the genre.

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Although set during the pre and post WW2, this book was different from other wartime historical fiction. It is more of a thriller with twists and turns drawing you in to it's conclusion. Well written with convincing and sympathetic characters. I wonder if the Paris notebook ever existed in reality? Recommended read.

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This was my first Tessa Harris book! It was a great historical fiction that was fast paced. I enjoyed the story that was based on true events. Compelling novel and unique read!

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This Book makes you realise how lucky we are that Hitler didn't win the second world war. It is full of strong characters who risk everything to make sure a very important document reaches the right hands . It is full of raw emotion but also reminds you that we have leaders in this world who are not far from being like Hitler & who could destroy democracy as we know it . #Netgalley, #Goodreads,#FB,#Instagram, #Amazon.co.uk, #<img src="https://www.netgalley.com/badge/8a5b541512e66ae64954bdaab137035a5b2a89d2" width="80" height="80" alt="200 Book Reviews" title="200 Book Reviews"/>, #<img src="https://www.netgalley.com/badge/ef856e6ce35e6d2d729539aa1808a5fb4326a415" width="80" height="80" alt="Reviews Published" title="Reviews Published"/>, #<img src="https://www.netgalley.com/badge/aa60c7e77cc330186f26ea1f647542df8af8326a" width="80" height="80" alt="Professional Reader" title="Professional Reader"/>.

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I was gripped by this story very early on, as within the first few pages we are in 1939 Germany where everyone who are not pure Aryan are being hauled in by the Nazi’s. It’s devastating and you can feel the tension in the pages.

I love history so reading about Hitler’s psychological notes possibly being shared just at the time the world was going to war was so interesting to me.

I felt the romance was a bit too cliché but nice, and the ending had a bit of a twist to wrap everything up well!

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I am a lover of historical fiction, so the synopsis for this book really intrigued me. In this gripping tale, we meet Katja, a young woman with an intense hatred of Hitler and the Nazi party. She will stop at nothing to get the notebook full of his medical secrets out into the world. She faces so many obstacles along the way, along with the murder of so many of the people in her life. I was invested in this story from the beginning and wanted to see how it played out. I wanted to know the fates of all the characters and if their mission was ultimately successful. This was a story of loss, bravery, love, and hope. If you like historical fiction, this was definitely a good read!

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the e-ARC of this book!

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Thank you to @hqstories for letting me be a part of this #blogtour for Tessa’s latest book. This is the 3rd book of Tessa’s that I’ve read and I’ve honestly enjoyed each one. Historical fiction is my go-to genre and this story is no exception to why I love the genre so much. The plight of Katja leaps off the page, from the love she has for her mother, her fear of the job she’s agreed to do, but also her passion to do the right thing. Of course, the fact that she seeks solace in a bookshop is something I love, but I just love the way Tessa writes, she evokes feeling from each chapter, and from each character she portrays. Many people like Katja and Doctor Viktor existed during wartime, fighting silently for victory, and I don’t think we’ll ever know the true impact these people had on our current world.

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I love historical fiction, it is one of my favourite genres and this is one that I really liked. The pacing was perfect and it had everything that I want in historical fiction. A great read

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