The Keeper of Hidden Books by Madeline Martin -2023 -413 pages

 The Keeper of Hidden Books  by Madeline Martin -2023 -413 pages

This is the third novel by Madeline Martin I have had the extreme pleasure of reading.

In December of 2021 I read The Last Bookstore in London by Madeline Martin, set in London during the Blitz years of World War Two. I loved this deeply moving vivid account of the impact of Germany's bombing of London on a small Bookstore.

Last year I read her The Libraian Spy set during World War Two in Paris as well as Lyon and Lisbon. Paris is occupied by the Germans. Portugal is neutral but in danger of being invaded. People come from all over Europe to Lisbon hoping to get a visa to go to America

The Keeper of Hiden Books is set primarily in Warsaw during World War Two.  Like her other books, much of the plot action centers around the

 work of the Central characters in a library. 

Poland was the first country taken over by Nazi Germany. The Germans did all they could to destroy the culture of Poland, banning and destroying many of the books in the libraries of Warsaw.   

"The Keeper of Hidden Books is yet another expertly researched and inspiring work of historical fiction from Madeline Martin. As Zofia Nowak and her young friends fight for their fellow Polish and Jewish citizens during the horrific German occupation, they witness again and again the power of friendship and literature in even the darkest times. With her direct, brave and thoughtful manner (so wonderfully reminiscent of Jo March), loyalty and love for her Jewish best friend, and touching first love with a fellow resistance fighter, Zofia is destined to capture readers' hearts everywhere--rarely have I loved or admired a character more. A heart-pounding, illuminating, and very important addition to the canon of WWII fiction."–Natalie Jenner, bestselling author of The Jane Austen Society and Bloomsbury Girls

I found myself caring deeply about some of people in The Keeper of Hidden Books.  Others, including all the Germans I hated.  Martin vividly brings to cinematic immediacy the way life in Warsaw keeps getting worse for the Poles and especially anyone Jewish.  

I do not want to give away much of the plot other than to say at times I was scared for the Central characters and at times elated.  I admit to enjoying death scenes of Germans and especially one collaborator.  OK and I howled over the way two tyrannical German female librarians died.

I loved this book.  Martin includes an account of her research and Warsaw history.

"Madeline Martin is a New York Times, USA Today, Publisher’s Weekly, and internationally bestselling author of historical fiction and historical romance with books that have been translated into over twenty-five different languages.

She lives in sunny Florida with her two daughters (known collectively as the minions), two incredibly spoiled cats and a man so wonderful he’s been dubbed Mr. Awesome. She is a die-hard history lover who will happily lose herself in research any day. When she’s not writing, researching or ‘moming’, you can find her spending time with her family at Disney or sneaking a couple spoonfuls of Nutella while laughing over cat videos. She also loves to travel, attributing her fascination with history to having spent most of her childhood as an Army brat in Germany." From the author's website.