Smorgasbord Book Promotions 2023 – New Book on the Shelves – #WWII #Netherlands – The Girl From Huizen by Paulette Mahurin

Delighted to share the news of the latest book by Paulette Mahurin set in WW2 and The Netherlands – The Girl From Huizen

About the book

The German occupation of the Netherlands brings with it food shortages, harsh treatment for resistants and deportation of Jews. The changes dramatically affect Rosamond Jansen’s life on her family’s farm on the outskirts of Huizen. When she finds herself under constant surveillance and oppressive treatment in her government typist job and the Nazis deport her best friend, her resentment turns to fear and a deepening hatred. Verbal cruelty, belittlement and emotional turmoil take their toll on her until a man arrives at the farm who, along with her uncle from Amsterdam, enlist her father into resistance work. When her father does not return home, Rosamond, too, is drawn into resistance activity. As more people disappear from her life, her involvement goes deeper, bringing her to a villa in Huizen where a woman named Madelief has a secret. As Rosamond becomes close to Madelief and the secret is revealed, her life starts to unravel.

Based on actual events at the villa, The Girl from Huizen tells the story of how Rosamond, working with Madelief, dared to defy the SS and their collaborators. But this is no ordinary Resistance versus Nazi story, rather it is a story of a shocking and unexpected unfolding where flames of tension ignite the page, as loss and grief consume and drive the girl from Huizen. It is a powerful story about the trusting friendship between two women. Ultimately The Girl from Huizen is a homage to the brave resistance members who risked everything to fight against Nazi oppression. Their efforts saved thousands upon thousands of lives.

One of the early reviews for the book

Heather Hansen 5.0 out of 5 stars Riveting Story- Must Read!!!  Reviewed in the United States on May 3, 2023

The Girl From Huizen captured me from the first pages when Roz, the protagonist sat among a group of women in a typing pool, sweating under the oppressive Nazi leadership. The Netherlands had been occupied for a couple of years and the Dutch were suffering from lack of food and witnessing their Jewish friends and neighbors being deported. Roz, and eighteen year old, grows up fast as her friend turns up missing one day. That loss is followed by another and another until she is swept up in revenge and joins the resistance where she helps to rescue Jewish children in her family’s farm wagon. The story is intense and fast moving but picks up even more action when Roz connects with a heroic woman in a villa with a secret (no spoilers).

As the SS and Dutch collaborators close in on Roz and the women in the villa the secret is revealed and the book moves at a very fast clip. Just when everything seems to be closing in on the women in the villa something unbelievable happens, something I hadn’t expected and didn’t believe was real until I researched the facts the author presented in the book. Viola, truth be told, this is a remarkable hard to put down story. One of Paulette Mahurin’s best. 

Read the reviews and buy the book: Amazon US – And: Amazon UK

Also by Paulette Mahurin

Profits from Pauline’s books go to help rescue dogs from kill shelters.

Read the reviews and buy the books: Amazon US – And : Amazon UK – follow Paulette : Goodreads – Blog: The Persecution of Mildred Dunlap on WordPress – Twitter: @MahurinPaulette

About Paulette Mahurin

Paulette Mahurin is an international best selling literary fiction and historical fiction novelist. She lives with her husband Terry and two dogs, Max and Bella, in Ventura County, California. She grew up in West Los Angeles and attended UCLA, where she received a Master’s Degree in Science.

Her first novel, The Persecution of Mildred Dunlap, made it to Amazon bestseller lists and won awards, including best historical fiction 2012 in Turning the Pages Magazine. Her second novel, His Name Was Ben, originally written as an award winning short story while she was in college and later expanded into a novel, rose to bestseller lists its second week out. Her third novel, To Live Out Loud, won international critical acclaim and made it to multiple sites as favorite read book of 2015. Her fourth book, The Seven Year Dress, made it to the bestseller lists for literary fiction and historical fiction on Amazon U.S., Amazon U.K. and Amazon Australia. Her fifth book, The Day I Saw The Hummingbird, was released in 2017 to rave reviews. Her sixth book, A Different Kind of Angel, was released in the summer of 2018 also to rave reviews.

Semi-retired, she continues to work part-time as a Nurse Practitioner in Ventura County. When she’s not writing, she does pro-bono consultation work with women with cancer, works in the Westminster Free Clinic as a volunteer provider, volunteers as a mediator in the Ventura County Courthouse for small claims cases, and involves herself, along with her husband, in dog rescue. Profits from her books go to help rescue dogs from kill shelters.

 

Thank you for dropping in today and it would be great if you could share the news of Paulette’s new book. Thanks Sally.