Conspiracy of Blood and Smoke

by Anne Blankman

Overview

Acclaimed author Anne Blankman returns to the shadowy and dangerous world of 1930s Germany in this thrilling sequel to Prisoner of Night and Fog, perfect for fans of Code Name Verity.

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 in England, posing as an ordinary German immigrant, and is preparing to graduate from high school. Her love, Daniel, 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?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062278869
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	02/27/2024
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	416
Sales rank:	588,771
Lexile:	HL790L (what's this?)
File size:	835 KB
Age Range:	13 - 17 Years

About the Author

Anne Blankman is the acclaimed author of Prisoner of Night and Fog, which received a starred review and a Flying Start from Publishers Weekly. When Anne was twelve, she read Anne Frank's diary and has been haunted by World War II ever since. The idea for Conspiracy of Blood and Smoke came to her after she read about a real-life unsolved street assassination from January 1933, which was the inspiration for Monika Junge's murder. To research this book, she studied a wide range of sources, including biographies, memoirs, social histories, psychological profiles, old maps, photographs, and video footage.

Anne lives in southeastern Virginia with her husband, Mike, her young daughter, Kirsten, and, of course, lots and lots of books.

Editorial Reviews

Will leave the reader breathless with each unpredictable plot twist.” — Voice of Youth Advocates (VOYA) (starred review)

“Blankman once again expertly crafts a powerful story full of mystery, intrigue, romance, and edge-of-your-seat terror and suspense.” — School Library Journal

“Suspenseful and clever...The tight interweaving of Gretchen’s journey with historical events lends a sense of the genuine-and results in the fascinating experience of following a quest readers know is doomed to fail.” — Kirkus Reviews

“Bold and brave” — Booklist

“Heart-stopping drama…brilliant storytelling and characterization.” — Romantic Times

Praise for PRISONER OF NIGHT AND FOG: “I’m in awed envy of the daring with which Anne Blankman plunges into her difficult and sensitive subject matter. It’s terrifying and incredible to think how much of this story is true.” — Elizabeth Wein, award-winning author of CODE NAME VERITY

Praise for PRISONER OF NIGHT AND FOG: “PRISONER OF NIGHT AND FOG seamlessly blends the fascinating, terrifying facts of Hitler’s rise to power with a gripping murder mystery. Gretchen is a brave and believable protagonist, and readers will become engrossed in her struggle to uncover the truth. I can’t wait for the sequel.” — Michelle Cooper, award-winning author of the Montmaray Journals series

Praise for PRISONER OF NIGHT AND FOG: “A nail-biting visit to Adolf Hitler’s inner circle in the early days of the Nazi party’s rise to power.” — Jennifer Armstrong, author of In My Hands: Memories of a Holocaust Rescuer (with Irene Gut Opdyke)

Praise for PRISONER OF NIGHT AND FOG: “Completely engrossing” — Publishers Weekly (starred review)

Praise for PRISONER OF NIGHT AND FOG: “An interesting perspective on a well-trod era.” — Kirkus Reviews

Praise for PRISONER OF NIGHT AND FOG: “Haunting and captivating” — School Library Journal

Praise for PRISONER OF NIGHT AND FOG: “A winning gamble” — Booklist

From the Publisher

Praise for PRISONER OF NIGHT AND FOG: “A nail-biting visit to Adolf Hitler’s inner circle in the early days of the Nazi party’s rise to power.

Jennifer Armstrong

Heart-stopping drama…brilliant storytelling and characterization.

Romantic Times

Will leave the reader breathless with each unpredictable plot twist.

Voice of Youth Advocates (VOYA) (starred review)

Praise for PRISONER OF NIGHT AND FOG: “I’m in awed envy of the daring with which Anne Blankman plunges into her difficult and sensitive subject matter. It’s terrifying and incredible to think how much of this story is true.

Elizabeth Wein

Praise for PRISONER OF NIGHT AND FOG: “PRISONER OF NIGHT AND FOG seamlessly blends the fascinating, terrifying facts of Hitler’s rise to power with a gripping murder mystery. Gretchen is a brave and believable protagonist, and readers will become engrossed in her struggle to uncover the truth. I can’t wait for the sequel.

Michelle Cooper

Bold and brave

Booklist

Bold and brave

Booklist

03/01/2015
Gr 8 Up—Using false identities, Gretchen Whitestone and Daniel Cohen barely escape to England as the Nazis come to power in Germany. Gretchen, now Gisele, is living with Dr. Whitestone and his family, finishing high school with the goal of becoming a psychoanalyst. Meanwhile, Daniel is frustrated working for a society column that publishes meaningless news, yearning for the work he did back home. Living in safety, they can't help but feel powerless as they hear of the terrible events unfolding in Germany. Then Daniel receives a disturbing telegram that forces him to return despite the risks. When Gretchen receives news that Daniel is wanted for murder, she knows she must face her greatest fears in order to save him. As the Nazi net tightens it grip around the pair, they find allies in the most unlikely of places. This leads to information that will not only clear Daniel's name but could taint the credibility of Hitler and the Nazi party. In the sequel to Prisoner of Night and Fog (HarperCollins, 2014), Blankman once again expertly crafts a powerful story full of mystery, intrigue, romance, and edge-of-your-seat terror and suspense. The well-researched plotlines are fascinating, while the multidimensional cast of characters drive the story. Readers will root for Gretchen and Daniel as they place themselves in danger while fighting to uncover the truth. VERDICT A captivating historical fiction title with an author's note for reference.—Donna Rosenblum, Floral Park Memorial High School, NY

School Library Journal

2015-01-10
A former intimate of Adolf Hitler returns to prewar Germany to save her beloved, all while fighting the rising power of the Nazi Party. In this sequel to Prisoner of Night and Fog (2014), 18-year-old Gretchen returns to her native land in 1933, as the Nazis become ever more firmly entrenched in German politics. Gretchen and her Jewish beau, Daniel, seek the truth about the (real-life) Reichstag fire in order to discredit Hitler and the National Socialists. If only they can prove Hitler is lying about the arsonists, surely they can prevent him from gaining a stranglehold on German politics. The tight interweaving of Gretchen's journey with historical events lends a sense of the genuine—and results in the fascinating experience of following a quest readers know is doomed to fail. As Gretchen winds ever closer to the inevitable confrontation with her formerly loving "Uncle Dolf," it becomes increasingly unclear what she can salvage from the rising horror of Nazism. Mixed in with the bleak reality are adventure-novel goodies to maintain the pace: organized crime, prostitution and cocaine. Gretchen's too inwardly focused to see danger in Hitler's rise beyond the risk to herself and her friends, but Daniel provides rare if vital perspective. Suspenseful and clever, intertwining historical truth with action-packed shootouts. (author's note, bibliography) (Historical fiction. 13-16)

Kirkus Reviews