Ronald H. Balson – författare

The gripping tale about two boys, once as close as brothers, who find themselves on opposite sides of the Holocaust

When Liam reluctantly returns to Northern Ireland he learns that not only was his uncle shot to death, but he’d anticipated his own murder. In an astonishing last will and testament, Uncle Fergus has left his entire estate to a secret trust, directing that no distributions be made to any person until the killer is found. Did Fergus know, but refuse to name his killer? Was this a crime of revenge, a vendetta left over from Northern Ireland’s bloody sectarian war? Or is it possible that the killer is a family member seeking Fergus’s estate? Otherwise, why postpone distribution to the heirs? Most menacingly, does the killer now have his sights on other family members?As his investigation draws Liam further and further into the past he had abandoned, he is forced to reopen doors long ago shut. Now accepting the appointment as sole trustee of the Fergus Taggart Trust, Liam realises he has stepped into the center of a firestorm.

An old friend calls Catherine Lockhart and Liam Taggart to his famous Italian restaurant to enlist their help. His aunt is being evicted from her home in the Tuscan hills by a powerful corporation claiming they own the deeds, even though she can produce her own set of deeds to her land. Catherine and Liam’s only clue is a bound handwritten manuscript, entirely in German, and hidden in its pages is a story long-forgotten…Ada Baumgarten was born in Berlin in 1918, at the end of the war. The daughter of an accomplished first-chair violinist in the prestigious Berlin Philharmonic, and herself a violin prodigy, Ada’s life was full of the rich culture of Berlin’s interwar society. She formed a deep attachment to her childhood friend Kurt, but they were torn apart by the growing unrest as her Jewish family came under suspicion. As the tides of history turned, it was her extraordinary talent that would carry her through an unraveling society turned to war, and make her a target even as it saved her, allowing her to move to Bologna—though Italy was not the haven her family had hoped, and further heartache awaited.What became of Ada? How is she connected to the conflicting land deeds of a small Italian villa? As they dig through the layers of lies, corruption, and human evil, Catherine and Liam uncover an unfinished story of heart, redemption, and hope—the ending of which is yet to be written.

Theodore “Teddy” Hartigan is the scion of a wealthy Washington, D.C. family, settled into a comfortable job at the State Department and a placid diplomat’s career. Then in 1938, as Hitler’s inexorable rise continues, he is assigned to the US Consulate in Amsterdam.Teddy’s job is to process visa applications, and by 1939, refugees from Nazi-conquered Poland, Austria, and other countries are desperate to secure safe passage to America. As Hitler sweeps through France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Denmark, and Holland, the screws tighten and law after virulent law is passed to threaten the lives of Jews. When Teddy and his girlfriend Sara are introduced to an orphaned girl named Katy, who has been abandoned on the grounds of a nursery school, they agree to adopt her. But Teddy realises that he holds the key to saving lives, whether five, fifty, or five hundred - and makes the dangerous decision to join with underground groups and use his position at the Consulate to rescue those with no other avenue of escape.Powerful and dramatic, National Jewish Book Award winner Ron Balson’s A PLACE TO HIDE explores the deeply-moral actions of an ordinary man who resolves, under perilous circumstances, to make a difference.

By the end of 1943, nearly all of Europe’s Jewish population had fled, been deported, captured, or killed by Hitler. Only Hungary, and its almost 900,000 Jews, remained free from Hitler’s subjugation. That changed in March 1944, after the Nazi defeat at Stalingrad, as an avaricious Hitler conquered Hungary and declared his plan for mass extermination of the Jewish people. With the notorious Adolf Eichmann supervising the process, Nazis began rounding up Hungary’s Jewish population.In this dramatic new novel, The Righteous, Theresa Weissbach, a professor at the University of Michigan, hasn’t heard from her parents in Budapest for over a year. Her best friend, Julia Powers, recently awarded a Distinguished Service Medal for her OSS service in occupied Holland, joins with her to locate and rescue Theresa’s family. Julia and Theresa forge relationships with Swiss Vice Consul Carl Lutz, Swedish businessman, Raoul Wallenberg, and others in the underground resistance. Their skills and connections enable Julia, Theresa, and their colleagues to take enormous risks in an effort to save thousands of innocent lives.Authentic, suspenseful, and deeply moving, The Righteous continues Ronald H. Balson’s exploration of World War II and the heroic actions of those who resisted Hitler’s Master Plan.

Eli’s Promise is a masterful work of historical fiction spanning three eras: Nazi-occupied Poland, the American Zone of post-war Germany, and Chicago at the height of the Vietnam War. Award-winning author Ronald H. Balson explores the human cost of war, the mixed blessings of survival, and the enduring strength of family bonds.1939: Eli Rosen lives with his wife Esther and their young son in the Polish town of Lublin, where his family owns a construction company. As a consequence of the Nazi occupation, Eli’s company is Aryanized, appropriated and transferred to Maximilian Poleski, an unprincipled profiteer who peddles favours to Lublin’s subjugated residents. An uneasy alliance is formed; Poleski will keep the Rosen family safe if Eli will manage the business. Will Poleski honour his promise or will their relationship end in betrayal and tragedy?1946: Eli resides with his son in a displaced persons camp in Allied-occupied Germany hoping for a visa to America. His wife has been missing since the war. One man is sneaking around the camps selling illegal visas; might he know what has happened to her?1965: Eli rents a room in Albany Park, Chicago. He is on a mission. With patience, cunning, and relentless focus, he navigates unfamiliar streets and dangerous political backrooms, searching for the truth. Powerful and emotional, Ronald H. Balson's Eli’s Promise is a rich, rewarding novel of World War II and a husband’s quest for justice.

Chicago, 2018: Ole Henryks, a popular restauranteur, is set to be honored by the Danish/American Association for his many civic and charitable contributions. Frequently appearing on local TV, he is well known for his actions in Nazi-occupied Denmark during World War II — most consider him a hero.Britta Stein, however, does not. The ninety-year-old Chicago woman levels public accusations against Henryks by spray-painting “Coward,” “Traitor,” “Collaborator,” and “War Criminal” on the walls of his restaurant. Mrs. Stein is ultimately taken into custody and charged with criminal defacement of property. She also becomes the target of a bitter lawsuit filed by Henryks and his son, accusing her of defamation and intentional infliction of emotional distress.Attorney Catherine Lockhart, though hesitant at first, agrees to take up Mrs. Stein's defense. With the help of her investigator husband, Liam Taggart, Lockhart must reach back into wartime Denmark and locate evidence that proves Mrs. Stein's innocence. Defending Britta Stein is critically-acclaimed author Ronald H. Balson's thrilling take on a modern day courtroom drama, and a masterful rendition of Denmark’s wartime heroics.

Nathan Silverman grew up in Berlin in the 1920s, the son of a homemaker and a theoretical physicist. His idyllic childhood was marred by increasing levels of antisemitism, and after his uncle is arrested on Kristallnacht, he leaves Germany for New York City with only his mother’s wedding ring to sell for survival.While attending Columbia in 1941, Nathan decides to enlist in the military. To his surprise, he is selected for a special assignment; he is trained as a spy, and ordered to report to the Manhattan Project. There he learns that the Allies are racing to develop a nuclear weapon before the Nazis, and a German theoretical physicist is hoping to defect. The physicist was a friend of his father's, and Nathan's mission is to return to Berlin and smuggle him out of Europe.Nathan will be accompanied by Dr. Allison Fisher, a brilliant young scientist; he travels to her lab at the University of Chicago for a crash course in nuclear physics, then they embark on their adventure. Nathan and Allison soon develop feelings for one another, but as their relationship deepens they move ever closer to their dangerous goal. Will they be able to escape Europe with the defector and start a new life together, or will they become two more casualties of war?An Affair of Spies is an action-packed tale of heroism and love in the face of unspeakable evil, author Ronald H. Balson's most thrilling novel yet.