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Library Journal Review
A debut novel by an 80-year-old man writing as a young girl? Sounds implausible, but Zacharius, founder and CEO of Kensington Publishing, manages to pull it off somewhat. The story revolves around Mia Levy, a musically talented, middle-class Jewish girl whose life is changed forever by World War II. Separated from her parents and rebellious brother, Mia must learn to rely on herself in order to survive. She becomes, among other things, an unwilling wife, a prostitute whose tools of the trade include whips and chains (inflicted with hatred on high-ranking German soldiers), and a spy for the Allies. One drawback is the stilted language. Zacharius also isn't very successful at writing about teenage angst, but he improves when the central character becomes an adult. This book won't appeal to everyone, but readers who enjoy spy thrillers and/or historical thrillers will like it. Recommended for all public libraries. Marika Zemke, West Bloomfield Twp. P.L., MI Short stories (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publishers Weekly Review
Many within the publishing industry and some without will recognize the author, for he's the near legendary founder of numerous houses and imprints including Kensington, Zebra and Arabesque-and at age 80, is publishing his first novel. But it's what's between the covers that counts, and Zacharius has written a romantic tale of a young Jewish woman's struggle with the Nazis that will entrance many readers. The novel divides into three sections, following, respectively, the destruction of the life of privileged young Polish Jew Mia Levy as the Nazis invade Poland and, eventually, send her family to Treblinka, even as she takes refuge with the Resistance and escapes to America; Mia's sojourn in Brooklyn, where she falls in love with a young musician, then is recruited by American military intelligence; and her return as a spy to Europe, where she joins a brothel catering to high-ranking Nazis and takes her revenge. The longest, strongest section is the first, distinguished by Zacharius's meticulous recreation of Polish Jewish life under early Nazi occupation-scenes set within Jewish ghettos are harrowing and unforgettable. The American sequence offers welcome respite from the previous horrors. The final section occasionally slides into luridness, as Mia works as a dominatrix binding and whipping Nazis, but here and throughout, the narrative will sweep readers along with its large passions and clever plotting; also worthy is the author's ability to narrate convincingly from the POV of a young woman. This is one of this year's more unusual and captivating debut novels. (Sept.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Booklist Review
Through the truth of one young Jewish woman's viewpoint, this searing first novel covers a huge sweep of Holocaust history even as it offers an intimate view of the personal-survivor experience. It could be 10 novels, but the clear, gripping first-person narrative is a breathless read. Mia Levy, a rich, gorgeous teenager in Lodz, Poland, and later a music student in Paris, is transported by the Nazis to Treblinka with her family. Pushed off the train by her father, she joins the partisans in the Warsaw Ghetto, escapes to Switzerland, and gets a visa to visit relatives in New York. Once in the U.S., she falls in love with a musician, never thinks of her past, never talks about her family, and tries to fit in in an America that doesn't want to know. After Pearl Harbor, though, she is recruited by the French Resistance to work in a Paris brothel, where she services sadomasochistic Nazi officers and extracts secrets for the Allies. After the war, her family dead, her home in Lodz stolen, she flees to Palestine. The historical detail is authentic, and the passionate story takes you with her, so drawn into her world that you are shocked to discover what you knew about her past and that she has made you forget. The Paris espionage story is absolutely compelling, especially the shock of who is betraying--and killing--whom. Only the hint of the lovers' reunion may be too hopeful. Daughter, pianist, fighter, killer, refugee, whore, lover: What does survival mean? --Hazel Rochman Copyright 2004 Booklist
