Berlin, 1945

Tadeusz Baumann, a recently liberated Auschwitz inmate, joins forces with the American intelligence service to hunt down Otto Neumann, a high-ranking SS official, who has the blood of thousands of innocents on his hands. Their only hope of finding Neumann is that he might contact his daughter, Gerlinde, before disappearing forever.

However, Gerlinde, a former BDM girl, refuses not only to cooperate but even acknowledge that her father did anything wrong, writing off the OSS agents’ accusations against him as enemy propaganda. Tadeusz and Agent Morris must convince her that the elite Nazi upbringing she had is tainted by evil and horrors beyond her imagination and persuade Gerlinde to cooperate before their quarry makes his final escape.

Germany has been liberated but the battle for the hearts and minds of the people has just begun.

This is a story of Annalise Meissner, a young German Jew with long time ago falsified papers, living a carefree life in pre-war Berlin. A talented ballerina, she comes from a wealthy family and at first doesn’t want to concern herself with the changes her country starts undergoing under the new Nazi regime. However, when the oppressions against the Jewish population begin, she realizes that she can’t be a silent bystander and swears to help her people in any way possible.
She falls in love and gets married to her father's longtime friend, Standartenführer Heinrich Friedmann, who even though he works for SD – the Reich Secret Service – seems to share her views, and soon Annalise learns why. Her new husband turns out to be a counterintelligence agent working for the US government, and together they start a dangerous game against the sinister Gestapo, trying to save as many lives as they can and not to compromise themselves.
But it's not only the persecuted people Annalise wants to save; she meets the leader of the Austrian SS Gruppenführer Ernst Kaltenbrunner who everyone seems to fear, but for some reason Annalise isn't intimidated by the Chief of the Austrian Gestapo and doesn't believe the rumors about his brutality. Gruppenführer Kaltenbrunner isn't hiding the fact that he would love to get this beautiful girl as his mistress, but Annalise, despite the mutual attraction, stays faithful to her beloved husband. However, the risky game she’s playing will soon change everything…

Silver Medal Winner of the International Book Award contest Readers' Favorite in the Historical Fiction category (2017)

This story is dedicated to all the victims of sexual slavery in German concentration camps, who had to endure inhumane suffering under the Nazi regime.
For many years after the atrocities had been committed, both sides – the abusers and the abused – still vehemently denied certain aspects of the Holocaust, and even the victims refused to admit the ugly truth about their incarceration, some out of fear, some out of shame, until several women decided to break an unofficial oath of silence, and brought their stories to life. This book is based on one of those stories.
Emilia is a young Jewish woman, whose life slowly turns into a nightmare as she finds herself facing a dreadful choice: to secure her family’s very existence by offering herself to one of the men who had put her behind the walls with barbed wire, or perish together with the least fortunate ones. Only, the Krakow ghetto and her very first abuser pale in comparison to what is yet to come, as she’s being sent to a place that soon will turn into her own personal hell and that will scar her for life…

Book one in "Women and the Holocaust" series.

Poland, 1939.

A country, torn by the occupation of two unlikely allies - Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union.
On the border of this newly divided territory, a young Wehrmacht Unteroffizier, Werner and a Soviet Military Interpreter, Kira meet and fall in love against all odds.
Both forced into the military against their will, they wish for one thing only - a peaceful life together. Everything is set for Kira to defect and marry Werner...
But the German army invades the Soviet Union, and now the two lovers are forced to fight against each other on the opposite sides of the frontline; trying to keep their humanity as more and more atrocities are committed by both armies. They have to decide if their love is stronger than the devastation surrounding them or succumb to the hate as sworn enemies should.

Partially based on true events, this novel will take you on the unforgettable journey through war-torn countries, where hope can be lost in no-man’s-land, and one will have to go to great lengths not to lose sight of it.

*** Winner of the 2019 International Book Awards Contest Readers' Favorite in the Historical Fiction category ***

“It was very dangerous for him, and he knew it. But his love for me was stronger than fear.” - Ilse Stein

This novel is based on the inspiring and moving love story of Ilse Stein, a German Jew, and Willy Schultz, a Luftwaffe Captain in the Minsk ghetto, who risked his life to save the one he loved the most.

When the last of the Jews’ rights are stripped in 1941, Ilse’s family is deported to a Minsk ghetto. Confined to a Sonderghetto and unable to speak the locals’ language, Ilse struggles to support the surviving members of her family. Befriended by a local underground member Rivka, Ilse partakes in small acts of resistance and sabotage to help her fellow Jews escape to the partisans.
A few months later, after losing almost his entire brigade of workers to one of the bloodiest massacres conducted by the SS, a local administrative officer Willy Schultz summons the survivors to form a new brigade. Ilse’s good looks immediately catch his eye, and he makes her a leader of the new unit and later, an office worker. Soon, an unlikely romance blossoms amid death and gore, moving a Nazi officer to go to great risks to protect not only Ilse but as many others as possible and allowing a Jewish girl to open her heart to the former enemy. Knowing that the ghetto would soon be liquidated, Willy Schultz swears to save Ilse, even if the cost would be his own life.

“We live together, or we die together,” - an ultimate oath of love in the most harrowing setting.

Dark, haunting, but full of hope, “No Woman’s Land” is a testament to the love that is stronger than fear and death itself.

Born and raised in Bensonhurst Brooklyn, Renzo has always been the craziest kid on the block: always first to sink a boat, to steal a car or to egg-bombard an unlucky cop. However, as he grows up, all his “stunts”, fearlessness and great personality attracts the attention of underground rulers of the heavily mob-associated neighborhood. Now Renzo and his friends have to decide for themselves if they want to become a part of the “family”… or create their own Brooklyn Boys “family”, where the first rule is that there are no rules.
Impossible to put down, The Brooklyn Boys Club is like a roller-coaster ride that will open the Italian-American side of New York City to you on a completely different level: you will laugh out loud, you’ll hold your breath and in the end you’ll fall in love with Renzo and his daredevils, who laugh in the face of danger and never play it safe or by the rules.

Second book in “The Austrian” series, which continues to follow Ernst’s fate. As the new blood-shedding war breaks out, as rumors start spreading about the atrocious actions of the government that he swore his loyalty to, more and more doubts arise in the former ardent SS leader. However, once claiming them, the sinister Nazi regime doesn’t want to let go of its victims so easily, and one has nothing else to do, but pick up a bloody mantle of a former sworn enemy to continue his ugly work…
Once again, in his cell in Nuremberg, Ernst recalls the events of his life that is about to end any day now, slowly coming to terms with his fate, which is stronger than him, and preparing to die. Only, a loyal friend still refuses to give up on his attempts to save the condemned man’s life…

“Has it ever occurred to you, Johann; the fact that we’re fighting on the wrong side?”

Austria, 1938

On the verge of the most devastating war of all times, four young men found themselves sharing a room in a flying school dormitory. A bohemian Berliner, a Flieger-Hitlerjugend member, a prodigy pilot, and a butcher’s son, with nothing in common but their love for the Luftwaffe and the freedom the sky has to offer. The bond they develop is put to the test by what might be a stronger adversary - war itself. Over the English Channel, in the dusty skies of Africa, on the brutal Eastern front, they will discover where their loyalty lies, and what true bravery means.

“It’s Großdeutsches Reich, soldier. When one has a family at home, it doesn’t leave him many chances for the revolt.”

As the war progresses, Willi and Johann grow more and more disillusioned with the regime they’re protecting with their lives. An SS unit appearing on their base to claim one of their own; bits of conversation revealing the truth about the extermination program accidentally overheard during the official reception - the pieces of the puzzle are slowly coming together, but it’s too late to do anything but fight to the bitter end, whatever it may bring.

Set during one of the bloodiest wars in history, “Of Knights and Dogfights” is the story of the shattered illusions of youth, tyranny and freedom, friendship and love guiding one out of the darkest hell of Soviet captivity.

"War Criminal's Widow" is book 3 in the series "The Girl from Berlin." As soon as Annalise, a counterintelligence agent working for the American OSS office, thinks that all the dangers are finally behind, swept away by the protective hand of her high-ranking lover – the Chief of the RSHA Ernst Kaltenbrunner – she has to face an even bigger challenge. With both fronts approaching her quickly collapsing Germany, she has to make a fateful decision: to run from the allied prosecution together with the father of her unborn baby, the man, who the allies consider one of the major war criminals and who they can’t wait to bring to justice; or to stay with her husband Heinrich and accept a generous offer from the OSS – a new and free life in the United States…

Reviewed by Deborah Lloyd for Readers' Favorite

Ellie Midwood continues her thrilling The Girl From Berlin trilogy with War Criminal’s Widow. As the Nazi regime is struggling to prolong its grip in Europe, the story of Annalise, her husband Heinrich, and her lover, Dr. Ernst Kaltenbrunner, the Chief of the Reich Main Security Office, continues. Annalise and Heinrich are German, working as counterintelligence agents for the American OSS office within the enemy organization. The Third Reich, while often viewed as a formidable organization where all members embraced one goal, is portrayed in a different light in this book. The personal misgivings and individual goals of the officers of the Third Reich lend to an understanding that even such a malevolent force is comprised of conflicted individuals, sometimes doubting its own organization’s goals. Finally, the war is over, Annalise and Heinrich’s last days in their native homeland are harrowing, while an escape is planned by the appreciative American OSS office.

Learning more about the inner workings of the Nazi regime within the triangular relationship of three main characters is certainly an engaging and intriguing process. The Girl From Berlin: War Criminal’s Widow by Ellie Midwood is a suspense-filled, page-turning historical novel with many twists and turns. Ms. Midwood is able to develop complex characters and shows that few people are all-good, or all-evil, especially when living in unusual circumstances. However, when the war ends, the consequences of previous actions remain. This is a thought-provoking novel about a very difficult time in the last century. It is not always an easy read, but it will certainly give the reader much to contemplate.

France, 1940

The German army has marched into Paris. Three siblings, three very different people leading very different lives, find themselves face to face with new occupants of their city, and none of them can guess what the occupation has in store for them, and how it will change their lives once and for all.

Giselle Legrand, a renowned novelist and a socialite, encounters an unannounced guest in her apartment – a newly arrived chief of the Gestapo, Sturmbannführer Dr. Karl Wünsche, who is intended to billet there and who soon starts making rather unwelcome changes in Giselle’s lifestyle. Strong-willed and defiant, Giselle gets involved with one of the first Resistance cells, refusing to submit to the newly established authority despite the developing relationship between the two.

Kamille Blanchard, a new widow of the war left alone with a small daughter, is dreading the approaching army. However, she never expected that she could find love in the arms of an officer, who appears at her door as soon as the German army marches in. But will Kamille be able to trust a former enemy when he has to choose between his feelings and the duty for his country?

Marcel Legrand, a former history student and a deserter, fearing the capture by the Germans has no other choice than ask for the help from the ones he used to fear and avoid – the mysterious communists, who call for an uprising and freeing their country from the Nazi plague.

Soon, the fates of all three siblings will become intertwined in a dangerous knot, all of them, fighting for the same goal: a liberated France.

"Gruppenführer’s Mistress" is book two in the series “The Girl from Berlin,” which continues to follow Annalise’s story. Caught up in a dangerous game between the Allies and Nazi Germany Secret Service – the RSHA – she’s torn between staying faithful to her husband and yielding to the demands of her American superiors and starting a romance with the unpredictable Chief of the RSHA Ernst Kaltenbrunner, who she finds herself attracted to more and more every day…

Reviewed By Jack Magnus for Readers’ Favorite

The Girl from Berlin: Gruppenführer's Mistress is the second book in Ellie Midwood's historical fiction series, The Girl from Berlin. Annalise realizes that she is playing a very dangerous game when she asks for Gruppenführer Dr. Kaltenbrunner's assistance in exacting revenge on her boss, Reinhard Heydrich, but she's mad with grief over his complicity in the suicide death of her brother Norbert and the resulting miscarriage of her and her husband's first child. While the leader of the Austrian SS has an evil reputation as a monster and a sadist, Dr. Kaltenbrunner has always been oddly gentle and attentive with her. And while he's initially taken aback at the audacity of her request, he agrees to start the process that will result in Heydrich's death.

Ellie Midwood's World War II historical fiction novel, The Girl from Berlin: Gruppenführer's Mistress, is an outstanding and enthralling tale recreating the lives of Annalise and her husband as they work for the American Secret Service in the guise of loyal Germans working in the Reich Main Security Office. The depth of the author's research and her expertise on the subject of Nazi Germany is evidenced on every page of this thrilling and suspenseful tale. I would urge new readers to begin with the first book in the series, Standartenführer's Wife, to get the full impact of this most impressive series. Gruppenführer's Mistress is impeccably researched and beautifully written, making the workaday world and intrigue surrounding Annalise and Heinrich's lives feel real, and the psychological thriller aspect of Annalise and Ernst Kaltenbrunner's growing attraction to each other is masterfully played out. While the title does let prospective readers know that there is definitely romance, some of which is steamy, in this novel, The Girl from Berlin: Gruppenführer's Mistress is historical literary fiction at its finest. It's most highly recommended.

“Absolutely adored this! Incredibly moving. I had tears welling up and my heart was racing. Did not want to put it down… I felt like I was actually there, I could practically hear the orchestra in the room with me.” Goodreads Reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Based on the unforgettable true story of Alma Rosé, The Violinist of Auschwitz brings to life one of history’s most fearless, inspiring and courageous heroines. Alma’s bravery saved countless lives, bringing hope to those who had forgotten its meaning…

In Auschwitz, every day is a fight for survival. Alma is inmate 50381, the number tattooed on her skin in pale blue ink. She is cooped up with thousands of others, torn from loved ones, trapped in a maze of barbed wire. Every day people disappear, never to be seen again.

This tragic reality couldn’t be further from Alma’s previous life. An esteemed violinist, her performances left her audiences spellbound. But when the Nazis descend on Europe, none of that can save her…

When the head of the women’s camp appoints Alma as the conductor of the orchestra, performing for prisoners trudging to work as well as the highest-ranking Nazis, Alma refuses: “they can kill me but they won’t make me play”. Yet she soon realizes the power this position offers: she can provide starving girls with extra rations and save many from the clutches of death.

This is how Alma meets Miklos, a talented pianist. Surrounded by despair, they find happiness in joint rehearsals, secret notes, and concerts they give side by side––all the while praying that this will one day end. But in Auschwitz, the very air is tainted with loss, and tragedy is the only certainty… In such a hopeless place, can their love survive?

This devastatingly heartbreaking yet beautifully hopeful tale proves that even in the darkest of days, love can prevail––and give you something to live for. Fans of The Choice, The Tattooist of Auschwitz and The Orphan Train will lose their hearts to this magnificent tale.