The Norwegian Assassin

A Riveting Nordic Family Saga from World War 2

De: Hannah Byron

Narrado por: Virtual Voice

Meet Esther Weiss, a close friend of Lili and Océane from their days at a Swiss finishing school before the war. As we continue the epic saga from 'In Picardy's Fields,' 'The Diamond Courier,' and 'The Parisian Spy,' Esther steps into the limelight with her own gripping story in ‘The Norwegian Assassin’.

Vienna, 1938

Esther's life is meticulously planned, with a bright future alongside her fiancé, Carl Bernstein. But the annexation of Austria by Hitler shatters their dreams. The wedding is indefinitely postponed, and the Weiss family's idyllic existence is upended. Forced to flee north to Oslo for safety, they soon find themselves trapped under Hitler's shadow once again with the Quisling puppet regime in place.

Esther's world unravels further when she returns home one day to discover her entire family has been deported, leaving her with a heart consumed by grief and vengeance. She joins the Norwegian Resistance, using her appearance to procure a false passport that grants her the freedom to exact revenge on those who tore her family apart.

No German or Norwegian fascist is safe when Esther is on the hunt. While her mission gives her a reason to live, it also hardens her heart, creating impenetrable walls around her. Even Tore Ringdal, her protector in the Resistance, struggles to break through.

In a world where love and loss collide, Esther's tale is one of unrelenting courage and determination. Will 'The Norwegian Assassin' find a way to open her heart again amidst the darkness of Norway's wartime struggles?

This spellbinding story of love, loss, and unwavering courage during Norway's darkest times will captivate your heart and stay with you long after the final page. An unputdownable WWII novel that explores the depths of human resilience and the enduring power of the human spirit.

Grabbed Me

This is the fourth book in Hannah Byron’s Resistance Girls series. It had me careening from dread to hope to admiration and horror and empathy, sometimes all in the same chapter.

Esther Weiss, the adored daughter of a venerable Viennese Jewish family, was carefully raised to become a cultured upper class wife. Underneath the veneer, she was surprisingly quick to anger, incredibly athletic, and had a growing feeling of existential dread. She was months away from marrying Carl Bernstein when the Anschluss happened, turning Australia into part of Nazi Germany.

I’m American, and what was happening in Scandinavia in WWII is glossed over in schools, probably because the US Military wasn’t involved in battles there. I learned a lot with this book, and I plan on learning more.

While I LOVE the book, the narration was not great. It’s an automated voice, and it can be horribly inconsistent. After 4 books in the series I’ve gotten used to it, but there are jarring mispronunciations that sometimes yank me out of the story.

Great story bad narrator

it's unfortunate that good authors have to use AI for their narration this book would have been much better with a human narrator. too many mispronunciations that humans would not have committed.