The German Woman — Paul Griner

“A gritty, unsentimental story of love and loyalty played out across Europe during the two World Wars . . . Fans of Graham Greene or Alan Furst will want to take a look.” -- Publishers Weekly

This riveting novel introduces us to Kate Zweig, the beautiful English widow of a German surgeon, and Claus Murphy, an exiled American with German roots -- two lovers with complicated loyalties. In 1918, Kate and her husband were taken for spies by Russian soldiers and forced to flee their field hospital on the eastern front, barely escaping with their lives. Years later, in London during the Nazis' V-1 reign of terror, Claus spends his days making propaganda films, and his nights as a British spy worn down by the war and his own numerous secrets.
 
When Claus meets Kate, he finds himself drawn to her, even after evidence surfaces that she might not be exactly who she seems. As the war hurtles to a violent end, Claus must decide where his own loyalties lie, whether he can make a difference in the war, and what might be gained by taking a leap of faith with Kate.
 
The interwoven strands of Paul Griner's plot offer up “[an] unsentimental and realistic look at the fallout of war” -- both physical and emotional (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel). Louisville's Courier-Journal called The German Woman “Griner's masterpiece” and praised the novelist as someone “who can take you absolutely anywhere, never wastes a sentence, and, most impressive of all, understands the beating heart of a woman.”