Conspiracy of Blood and Smoke (Prisoner of Night and Fog #2)

 Synopsis

In 1930s Oxford, the days are long and pleasant, the people simple and straight-forward. Except for one.

The girl known as Gretchen Whitestone has a secret: she used to be part of Adolf Hitler's inner circle. More than a year after she made an enemy of her old family friend and fled Munich, she lives with a kindly English family, posing as an ordinary German immigrant, and is preparing to graduate from high school. Her love, Daniel Cohen, is a reporter in town. For the first time in her life, Gretchen is content.

But then Daniel gets a telegram that sends him back to Germany and Gretchen's world turns upside down. When she receives word that Daniel is wanted for murder, she has to face the danger she thought she'd escaped- and return to her homeland.

Gretchen must do everything she can to avoid capture, even though saving Daniel will mean consorting with her former friends, the Nazi elite. And as they work to clear Daniel's name, Gretchen and Daniel discover a deadly conspiracy stretching from the slums of Berlin to the Reichstag itself. Can they dig up the explosive truth and get out in time- or will Hitler discover them first?

Loved

• The history. As I said in the review of Prisoner of Night and Fog, the history and people in this story are fascinating because they're real! Anne Blankman expertly weaves a fictional mystery around accurate historical facts, conspiracies, and dead ends that historians have yet to uncover. Reading the author's note at the end of the book is very interesting because we find out that so much of the story and many of the characters are real and taken straight from historical records.

• The suspense. As with the first book, this story keeps readers flipping pages as Gretchen and Daniel rapidly uncover clues, dodge Nazis, and outsmart Hitler and his men. The ending was so engaging that I completely spaced all the errands I was going to do on my way home from work- I pulled into the drive way breathless from escaping with Daniel and Gretchen, but dismayed at all the packages I was supposed to drop off that were still in my backseat ;)

• The historical mystery. Unbeknownst to me and surely other readers until the author's note, one of the main mysteries of this story was based off an actual unresolved arson fire. There are still many theories surrounding this, and receiving clues of events and people who were actually involved in this event is fascinating because we get to live these events and experience a taste of what it was like to be in Germany during the 1930s.

Didn't Love

• I didn't enjoy this book as much as the first one for two main reasons:
• The mystery in this story wasn't as engaging to me and I didn't care about it as much as the mystery of who killed Gretchen's father in the first book. There were times when I realized I didn't care too much about the clues we were given, but at other times I was completely glued to the story. I just wasn't as consistently engaged in this plot as with the first book.


• Relationship drama. I knew it was coming because hello- can you have a YA without it? *eyeroll* But this was a little better drama than I expected. It didn't seem quite as fabricated and forced as other relationship issues in other YA novels. However, I was still bothered with it and felt it took away from the story.

Content

• Language: 
• A few uses of "damn."
• Uses of God's name in vain.

• Sexual content: 
• A few kisses, just described as his hands in her hair, her hands on his face. Nothing passionate or intense. Characters share a bed, but nothing sexual occurs.
• Some of the secondary characters are prostitutes. Talk of "grappling with strangers in the dark, "taking strolls at night," and other references to their work and customers. Main character stays in a whore house for a while.

• Violence
• Main characters see a lot of death- a few secondary characters are shot and killed.
• Dead body found that had been rotten for a week or so- talk of the stench and deterioration.
• Constant intensity of main characters hiding and running from Nazis- knowing they will be shot if they are found.
• Many references to secret murders and assassinations.
• Plot revolves around the murder of a prostitute who was shot in the head- many references to this event.
• A character is tortured and made to watch others die as he keeps his secret.
• Many innocent people are beaten very violently, some die from injuries.
• Main characters are beaten, threatened, and tortured.


• Other themes:
• Anti-semitism is a major theme. Shown in Hitler's speeches and views throughout the story.


• Lots of cocaine use shown and talked about. Main character spends time in a whore house and all of the prostitutes do cocaine. Talk of being in "stupors" and trying to forget their lives.

Overall Thoughts

Overall, this duology is fast-paced, suspenseful, and gripping. The historical events and people woven on which the plots are based are very well-researched and seem more accurate than some historical fiction. Seeing the German side of the beginning of WWII is a fresh and haunting perspective that we normally don't see in WWII literature. This second book was not quite as intriguing as the first book for me, and I got a little bothered by the relationship drama between the two main characters. But by the end of the story I was completely hooked and had to know what happens. If you're looking for a moving, tear-jerking, or inspiring WWII fiction, try something else. But if you are looking for a unique WWII perspective, an interesting mystery, and edge-of-your-seat intensity, definitely give this duology a try!