The Devil's Breath Paperback – July 30, 2021

In author Tom Hogan’s first fiction book, Left for Alive, the setting is the beautiful coast and forests of Northern California. His latest novel, The Devil’s Breath, is set in a much grimmer place, the Auschwitz death camp during the height of the Nazi Final Solution during World War II. Marketing reviews for the book indicate that it is a murder mystery. But how, one might wonder, could a murder mystery set in Auschwitz possibly engage and hold a reader’s interest? We all know the end of that bigger story at Auschwitz; we’ve seen the black-and-white grainy film and photos of the bodies or the gaunt looks of the survivors, the barbed wire, the stacked luggage, the ovens. Murder on a mass scale, and the mystery perhaps is how so many people could be enlisted and participate in such a crime. How could any single story involving murder in that setting stand out or not seem trivial? But Hogan adroitly accomplishes the task, creating realistic characters and an intriguing plot. Two of the characters in the novel are based on historical figures, Rudolf Höss, the commander at Auschwitz, and his deputy, Karl Fritzsch, who suggested the use of Zyklon B for gassing inmates at Auschwitz. While Hogan doesn’t imbue those historical figures with any empathy for the inmates (they are not known to have actually had any), his characterization provides believable depth to what otherwise are names in history books. The two main fictional characters, Shimon and Perla Divko, are well-conceived, survivors of the Warsaw Ghetto and then inmates at Auschwitz. With crisp, witty, and frictionless prose, Hogan moves the story along to a surprising ending. Along the way, Hogan effortlessly plumbs the humanity---and inhumanity---of a dark setting and era in history. But the singular brilliance of Hogan’s effort is that such weighty issues don’t bog down the reader in being carried along in a great page-turner of a book. Just as Left for Alive was a “fun read” of a story that also examined important cultural and societal issues, The Devil’s Breath is a great read at different levels. Don’t hesitate to get this superb book; it’s a wonderful, and richly rewarding, read.

If you’re looking for a novel that checks all the right boxes, The Devil’s Breath by Tom Hogan is for you. It’s got characters that speak and behave like real, fully formed people. It’s got a compelling plot that will keep you enthralled from one page to the next. It’s got drama, suspense, pathos, a surprise ending, and—believe it or not, considering the setting—humor.About that setting: Yes, the novel takes place inside the Auschwitz concentration camp during the Holocaust. Whatever image you have of that setting, The Devil’s Breath will blow away your preconceptions. The novel both confirms your worst fears and provides fresh insights into Auschwitz, from the perspective of both the Nazis who ran it and the camp’s victims and survivors.Hogan is a superb writer. He’s able to inform and educate while simultaneously entertaining, and to convey the humanity of the world he’s created and the characters within it. That’s a lot to tackle, and Hogan delivers, gloriously.

The author takes a harrowing, horrific time in history much written about, but successfully adds unanticipated mystery and suspense. This twist and the author's ability to set the stage and build characters, complex and intriguing, keeps the reader engaged, thinking and longing for hopeful resolution, which always excites a mystery fan.The read, while vigilant in recording true atrocities of the time, also purposefully acknowledges the tenacity of the people to do all one can to survive and stll continue to love and trust in a world of abject loss.The plot is fast paced and immersive. Blending history and fiction, also masterfully, made reading about the horrors of camp life more palpable for those who may not have the stomach for the brutality of the times.All in all, 'The Devil's Breath' is a highly recommended and captivating read.

I am a history buff and that includes the history of WWII. I read “hard history” interspersed with historical novels, biographies, and personal accounts to flesh out important times and provide perspective. I tend to shy away from chronicles of the Holocaust because they often describe the most visceral horrors in painful detail. But a good friend recommended the Devil’s Breath. I read it, am glad I did, and can recommend it to anyone. Yes, it describes some of the horrors but goes beyond those and gives you an unexpected view of the diabolic extermination system and the people involved. The book is very well written. The plot and characters are intricately woven and surprising especially given the environment in which the plot is carried out. It is a surprisingly good read.

Being a mystery fan and interested in WW2 Germany I was of course curious upon learning of The Devil's Breath. This is an extremely unique book, a mystery inside Auschwitz, investigated by two prisoners- a police detective and his investigative journalist wife. There's a very in-depth and interesting look into the camp, and, as evidenced by the bio, the author is obviously well versed in the subject. I appreciated the use of German titles as it adds to the authenticity. The story contains several flashbacks, some of which slightly interrupt the flow of the story, but others well-placed, delivering information at the opportune time and adding to the suspense. Although it takes awhile to get to the actual mystery and investigation (besides the prologue teaser) the plot moves along nicely. A very impressive historical mystery.

Historical Fiction is my favourite genre to read because you can learn so much about a period while engrossed in a story. Written by a former university lecturer of Holocaust and Genocide Studies, I expected detail, but was impressed by how sensitively this was achieved for a fictional story within such a setting. Whilst there was no skipping the horrors of the killing machine that was Auschwitz, nothing was added to sensationalize what was happening within the wire. Everything served the purpose of the story; a mystery with the highest of stakes and intriguing characters on both sides.The setting and the obstacles in the way of prisoners Perla and Shimon Divko as they go about solving a single murder amongst murder on such scale can be hard to read. I had to put it down occasionally and come back to it. But Tom’s writing style is so enveloping - it is one of those books that you soon lose perspective of as a reader and get thoroughly immersed in.