I really struggled with this book. To Be fair, I really wanted to like it. The premise is very interesting - a journalist travels to post war Germany to write articles about life there. While there, she stumbles on a serial killer... historical fiction AND a thriller.

Unfortunately, it's not until the book is about 75% done that the thriller bit gets interesting.

And the historical fiction part doesn't really get into the stories of the poor. You just hear quick snippets of it, which I thought was a shame because it was such an opportunity to hear these stories through the investigation of this journalist.

I'm glad I read it, but I wouldn't really recommend it to anyone else.

Thank you to NetGalley for my free ARC in exchange for an honest review of the book.

The Hidden Storyteller by Mandy Robotham is a post WWII historical fiction novel set in Hamburg Germany.
Georgie Young is a British reporter sent in for 2 weeks to survey the conditions of the city a few years after the end of WWII and report back. She crosses paths with Meta, a 16 year old orphan living on the streets, Zofia, a young woman who made it out of Dachau and is searching for her sister, and Harri, a detective who is trying to catch a serial killer. These characters all connect and their separate stories intertwine. Georgie becomes an amateur sleuth of sorts helping the small police force solve the murders happening in their city. The ending wraps up with a nice and tidy bow for everyone involved.
What I like about historical fiction novels is that I usually learn something I didn’t already know. This one was no exception, really showing the gritty despair of Hamburg after the war and how the people of Germany were suffering even years later. However, I felt this was pretty light on the historical facts and I learned a little, but not a lot. It leaned heavier on the serial killer story and the characters personal stories. I didn’t find the relationships that developed over the two week span to be very believable nor interesting and even the serial killer storyline was too simplistic to be very interesting.
This seems better suited as a YA novel to be honest because the details all seemed very simple without a lot of depth so I would suggest this read for WWII historical fiction lovers and YA readers. Thank you to NetGalley and Harper360 for my ARC.

This was a really well done historical fiction novel, it had everything that I was looking for from a war-torn Germany. The characters were everything that I was looking for and thought it worked with the time-period overall. Mandy Robotham has a great writing style and enjoyed how realistic it was.

This is a well-written murder mystery set in post-WW II germany. The location is Hamburg, right after the war. Destruction is everywhere and, it just so happens, a serial killer is on the loose. The setting, and premise is not unique but, in the hands of Mandy Robotham the novel beomes well-worth reading.

As an ARC reader diving into "The Hidden Storyteller" by Mandy Robotham, I found myself immersed in a hauntingly vivid portrayal of post-war Germany. As the authors narrative skillfully weaves together the devastation of a bombed-out Hamburg with the resilience of its inhabitants. Georgie Young's return to a country she fled during the war sets the stage for a captivating exploration of loss, redemption, and the lingering shadows of secrets.

What struck me most was the authors ability to evoke the atmosphere of the time period, painting a picture of a city struggling to rebuild amidst the rubble. The characters, particularly Georgie and Detective Harri Schroder, are intricately drawn, each grappling with their own demons as they navigate the murky aftermath of war.

The mystery at the heart of the novel adds an extra layer of intrigue, drawing me deeper into the narrative as Georgie and Harri race to uncover the truth behind a series of gruesome murders. But it's not just the whodunit aspect that kept me turning pages; it's the way Robotham uses the investigation as a lens through which to explore the complexities of guilt, betrayal, and the human capacity for both good and evil.

Overall, "The Hidden Storyteller" is a gripping and thought-provoking read that left me eagerly anticipating Mandy Robotham's next offering. Fantastic read. I can't wait for the next one. Thank you for the opportunity to read and review.