The German Girl

Monika Ritter #1

by Eoin Dempsey

Sometimes, the deadliest enemy lies within.

It is 1942, and war is raging in Europe. Monika Ritter is in New York with her husband, Michael. Haunted by memories of her childhood in Germany and her father’s death at the hands of the Nazis, she longs to do her bit against Hitler’s rampaging armies. When Michael joins the new Army Air Force as a bomber pilot, Monika takes advantage of an invitation she receives to join the OSS, a fledgling group of spies with the mission to turn the war by gathering the most vital asset of all—information.

As Michael begins to fly missions in B-24 bombers over Europe, Monika attends a top-secret training camp in the Maryland forest. After graduating, she is sent on a mission to infiltrate a clandestine ring of Nazi saboteurs dispatched from Germany to attack the American war machine on home soil. Soon, she will uncover a plot that could shift the entire momentum of the war in the Nazis’ favor. Racing against time and a dangerous adversary, Monika will have to foil a deadly plan that could change the face of the war forever.

THE GERMAN GIRL is the first novel in a new series by the #1 Amazon bestselling author of WHITE ROSE, BLACK FOREST, and THE MAUREEN RITTER SERIES. Download it and discover Eoin Dempsey’s books today.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, War, World War II, Germany

244 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 26, 2024

About the author

Eoin Dempsey was born in Dublin, Ireland in 1977. He grew up in the beautiful Dublin suburb of Dalkey, where he and his friends would jump into the icy waters of the Irish Sea (during summertime) to prove their manliness. Eoin had a fantastic time attending Blackrock College, where he played rugby (poorly) and did his best to coast his way through. Eoin’s first ambition was to play rugby for Ireland. Due to a lack of talent, he soon abandoned that goal for the more reasoned path of the rock star. He played in bands through his teens and well into his twenties before harsh reality came calling, and his dreams of being the next Keith Moon faded.

Eoin made the ill-reasoned decision to study business in university and was accepted into University College Dublin to study Commerce in 1995. While Eoin did attend college, studying wasn’t his priority there.

He met his beautiful wife, Jill, while traveling to the USA in 1997, though it would be several years before he managed to break her down and they got together as a couple. It was during Eoin’s second stint in the USA, which he spent with his brother in New York City, that he decided to start writing a novel, for the express purpose of impressing women. This effort was met with mixed success. Eoin finished his first novel a year later. The over hundred and fifty rejections he received from publishers didn’t discourage him. He pinned them to his wall. After spending a year in Australia, where he was fired from many jobs, including picking red and green peppers and toiling for scallops miles out to sea on a fishing trawler, he returned home and decided to write again. Another novel followed while he phoned it in at a number of jobs in financial services in Dublin.

By this time Eoin had managed to convince Jill, the girl he’d met in the USA years before to move over to Dublin. She did so in 2004. It was the best negotiation he ever undertook. They were married in 2007. Jill’s more brilliant negotiating skills led Eoin to move to her hometown of Philadelphia in 2008, just in time for the economy to collapse. The plan to live with her parents for a few weeks turned into eighteen months, as Eoin struggled to retain employment in a fractured economy. It was during this time that he wrote FINDING REBECCA, which would go on to be his first published novel and be translated into fourteen different languages.

Eoin and Jill have three beautiful sons, Robbie, who was born in 2015, Sam, born in 2017, and Jack who came in 2019. Eoin enjoys playing with them and marveling at how much more talented they are at the sports that he loves, particularly golf.

Reviews

[Lizzie McNally · Rating 4 out of 5]

great book, i thoroughly enjoyed it

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another clear winner for Eoin Dempsey! In this book, the focus is on Monika Ritter, the wife of Michael, and the year is 1942. When Michael joins the Army Air Force, Monika is also determined to do her part in the war. When offered a job with the fledgling OSS, she jumps at the chance to train as an agent. From this point, the story takes off and you won't want any interruptions until you finish the book. I found the descriptions of Monika's OSS training both fascinating and infuriating as she battled misogyny at every turn.
I look forward to reading the next one in the series and I hope I don't have long to wait.

[Meghan Buchman · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted to like this book. I really did. World War II settings are my jam! I love stories from this era. Sadly, this one fell flat. Started out somewhat promising then just petered out. It didn't have the intrigue it was set up to have and was extremely predictable. While reading it, I kept thinking to myself, is this a YA novel. Nothing wrong with YA novels but the writing seemed juvenile. Definitely, a read at your risk story.

[Jane Flanagan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gripping story

It is a gripping story with believable action,
great settings and solid characters. I recommend this book to all WW II readers.

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Eoin Dempsey and have read everything he’s written. This is not one of my favorites. It’s still a great read but not my fave. I had somewhat similar feelings with the Maureen books at times and wonder if I just don’t like him writing as a young woman????

[Lisas_Bookshelf Acosta · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really well written- felt like I was really there! Some spots felt repetitive which is the only reason it wasn’t a 5 star.

[catherine Riffice · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gave an interesting picture of what it was like to be a German against Hitler during WW 2 was a great read full of action!

[Dottityndell · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting read but the ending was abrupt and dull.

[Pam · Rating 5 out of 5]

Monika Horn was just sixteen when her father, Gustav, was taken by the Gestapo because he was a trade unionist. It had just been Monika and her father since her mother died when Monika was twelve. He had been arrested when she was fifteen but released after three days. The other trade unionists he knew had not been as lucky and had disappeared. This time, Gustav was not as lucky. He was sent to Dachau and shortly after, Monika received notification of his death. She was all alone in a world that was going crazy. Her beliefs were diametrically opposite to those of the Nazis so she had to be careful. However, she had a new goal, to kill Goebbels. She began a job of dancing with high Nazi officials so she could be taken to events where he might be present. This wasn't to be. She ended up being chased along with Michael Ritter and his sister. Together, they escaped Germany and made their way to America. Here, she fell in love with Michael and married him.
Being in America wasn't easy for her. She could speak English; but with a heavy German accent. Thus she was shunned by many and others made her feel unwelcome. All she had was Michael and his family who had also escaped from Germany; but without their wealth. His father still had connections though.
One evening, shortly after the Bombing of Pearl Harbor, Michael and Monika were to join his father and stepmother at an event to sell war bonds as guests of a friend of his, Bill Hayden. Before Michael and Monika left home, they had heatedly discussed Michael's wish to join the Air Force to help fight the Nazis. As a German, he felt he needed to do something to help get rid of Hitler. After dinner, Bill asked Michael and his father to think about joining his new department to help the war effort. It was just getting started and it was called OSS. Michael turned him down as he had already joined the Air Force and his father said he no longer had any connections in Germany that would be of help to Bill and he was also retired. However, Monika expressed her definite interest in learning more about his new department. Bill told her to think about it and call him. Monika knew she didn't need to think of it, she was determined to join his ranks. The day Michael left for training, Monika set out to convince Bill to let her join the OSS. It didn't matter in what capacity he needed her, she just wanted to help. Thus begins the book series of Monika and Michael Ritter and what they did during World War II.
The book is excellent. By the time you finished the first three chapters, you will be hooked on the book and series. It is exciting, adventurous, romantic, and sad at the same time.

[Richard · Rating 5 out of 5]

The German Girl

Michael and his new wife Monika are settled in New York as USA is pulled into WW II.
These characters are from previous books by the author and Michael’s past included
a move to Germany with his family to have a better life during the depression in the USA.

When Hitler came to power his family eventually moved to New York
and Monka moved from her native Germany with Michael.
Michale and Monika were married and in their early 20’s when the USA enter the war.


Michael ends up in the US Airforce and Monika takes a position in the OSS to help her new homeland.
The story that unfolds is riveting and quick paced. This is an action-packed historical novel, and a page turner from the beginning.

I could not stop reading the book.
I am a slow reader but sped through this novel with hours of treasured reading.

The author’s power to make the lives of these characters become real is incredible.

While it is not a book written as a continuance of the prior series,
it does help to read Eoin’s prior books that these characters first appeared in.

Eoin has written a great epic series of books on the Ritter family in prior to this book.
This book is beyond any of my expectations!
Eoin is terrific at painting an historical picture of the WW II’s times with his words.

[Ave Jeanne Ventresca · Rating 4 out of 5]

Readers of historical fiction recognize Eoin Dempsey for his riveting, numerous, award-winning novels, revealing experiences and insights during WWII. So if you are a Dempsey fan, this new series will be of interest to you!
The German Girl takes us back to 1942’s war in Europe. The two main characters are husband and wife. The husband serves his country by joining the Air Force. Women at the time commonly served their country as fund-raisers or factory employees. But readers will be pleased to read that this wife does not do what’s expected of her and hooks up with a group of spies who are working to locate Nazi saboteurs.
Plots that bounce back and forth with the undertakings of husband and wife are both engaging and exciting. The author’s vigorous dialogue, dazzling webs of tension, and descriptive phrases urge the reader onward.
My reservation about giving this novel a stamp of gold is its lackluster, predictable chapters towards the ending. It felt like the author rushed these fanciful scenes and didn’t afford readers the attraction and surprise they needed. However, The German Girl is just the first in Dempsey’s new series, and readers will undoubtedly want to read more!

Thanks are extended to the author and BookFunnel for an advance review copy.

[Kat · Rating 4 out of 5]

Eoin Dempsey is one of my favorite writers of WW2 historical fiction and I have really enjoyed his long series covering the Ritter family taking place starting in 1930’s Berlin all the way through the war years.

THE GERMAN GIRL is the first in a series of books that will cover Monika and Michael’s part in WW2. Monika and most of the Ritters are living in New York at the start of the war, and Monika is having a difficult time being so far away in a relatively safe place when Germany is being overrun by Hitler’s forces and she can’t do anything to stop it. Michael shares his plans to enlist and when she is presented the opportunity to join the war effort using her German skills, she takes it.

I really liked the alternating chapters between Michael learning to fly bombers and Monika entering spy training. Each of the books in this series have been a bit different and shown us a slightly different side of the war, and Monika’s piece is especially fascinating as she’s sent to infiltrate a suspected spy ring on US soil. Some really cool stuff! I can’t wait to see what is in store in book two, which I’ve already downloaded. 4/5 stars.

[Michelle Schulten · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received an advanced readers copy of this book. Where to begin???? Eoin Dempsey is a magnificent writer. It doesn't matter his subject, whether it is the history of his homeland in Ireland, the trials - tribulations - and horrors of WW II, or the Klondike gold rush....he always hits the mark. The German Girl was nothing short of wonderful, engaging, and completely engrossing. I couldn't put it down. I rarely ignore the world continually for two days to read a book. But Eoin seems to make that happen. This book being the beginning of a new series, ties everything together and brings the war to America's front yard. His characters are magically created to grab onto your soul, so much so that if you have read the previous series it is easy to fall into place with the story and the characters and feel like you are right there with them. If you haven't read the previous series I'm sure this will start you on a wonderful journey!

[Lori · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not disappointed

It's In 2 months since I finished the second Ritter series. When I started this series on Monica Renner, I was unsure if this was the series I had finished a couple of months ago. It didn't take long for me to realize this was a new series. I had forgotten some of the details from the two previous series since, but Dempsey's effortless reminders flowed very smoothly in his storyline. I was captivated and engrossed almost instantly. I love his writing. I love his knowledge of History. I love in-depth characters who come to life with the e's of his Words.

Don't hesitating in reading this series. He will now be disappointed. I know I have never been disappointed by any of his novels. Looking forward to the second in this series on Monica Ritter.

[Cindy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you to the author for the ARC. All opinions are my own. Michael is Seamus’ son and Monika is his wife. This is the beginning of their story and although it could stand alone, if you start with The Lion’s Den, you will better understand the characters and what they have been through during WW II. In this story, Michael is off to fly bombers for the US. Monika, of German heritage, begins working for OSS as a spy for the US. Each face their own problems as they pursue their dangerous paths and work to defeat Hitler. Highly recommend this series and look forward to reading more about Michael and Monika.

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Book 1 of 3 is German Girl by Eoin Dempsey. Monika was born in Berlin and lived with her father, a union leader, until the Gestapo came one night and took him away. She never saw him again. In this book, she is married to Michael Ritter and living in New York. It is 1942. The war has come to the USA and he wants to sign on to fly bombers. Monika decides to take up an offer from the Defense Department’s new spy organization. She is trained at the new facility and sent to Bern, Switzerland. I recommend reading the first series about the Ritters so you get the background on how this American family wound up in Berlin. It is a good story about WW II. The author writes well. Book 2 is available and Book 3 will be out in September.

[VICKIE · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love reading Dempsey’s historical fiction. In this series, Monica, a German, falls in love and marries Michael, an American. They both have lived in Hitler’s Germany and leave to live in America. But they want to do their part to help defeat Hitler. Monica becomes a spy and her story is fascinating. The job is dangerous and being a woman makes it twice as hard. The book is very suspenseful and I look forward to reading more in this series.

[Carey Mundy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am a huge Dempsey fan and this new series about Monica Ritter was excellent. We met her in his previous series and this follows her life now in America in WWII. Her husband has enlisted in three Air Force and is serving in England but her German language skills enable her to be picked up by the OSS. It is there she foils a German plot that could have a huge impact on the war. Looking forward to book 2!

[Judy McCormick · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was one of the best written books I have read with my Kindle Unlimited membership (even though still found some things that needed to be corrected grammatically!) I have been quite disappointed that all the best-selling books I want to read cost money with this membership in addition to the monthly fee I already pay.

This author did a good job of writing a gripping, believable story, full of content and details that contributed to the quality of the book.

[Mary O'Connor · Rating 5 out of 5]

The German Girl

This excellent, gripping tale of young Monika Ritter, wife of athlete Michael Ritter is a story of determination and willingness to make a difference fighting for good to honor her fallen father. This page turner story is loaded with vivid descriptions of her training, her undercover work, and ultimate actions of bravery above and beyond orders make this one of my most favorite of Dempsey's creations. 5 plus stars

[Robert E Curtis · Rating 5 out of 5]

intriguing Novel!

Excellent and engaging, the characters come alive in the hands of the author. The story held my attention and it was hard to put it down! Can’t wait to begin Book 2 in the Monika Ritter Series! This is my first time reading Eoin Dempsey, but certainly won’t be the last with an author who crafts his story telling so realistically!

[Ronald · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great story on the home front during the war!

The German Girl had me totally engaged in the story. It involves Nazi infiltrators in America and how they were identified and rooted out. The story is filled with suspense and action, and kept me reading, wanting to know what was going to happen next. I very much recommend The German Girl.

[Margaret Wray · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mr Dempsey , please stop getting me enthralled in your books. I need to sleep! Seriously another gripping book which has you by the first chapter. The characters are brilliant and brave in their quest to rid Germany of the Nazis. Now onto book 2

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

I won a Kindle copy of this book in a giveaway.

This book is a true page turner, I stayed up til 2am to finish it! I love how strong and determined Monika is, an unexpected war hero. I felt like I was living this story, Eoin is brilliant storyteller and I can't wait to read more of his works.

[Gail Tavis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed

I enjoyed reading this first book in the series. Going through all the things Monika went through to become an agent was interesting. I am looking forward to read the next book in the series.

[Pat · Rating 4 out of 5]

Eoin Dempsey does a fabulous job sharing a story of heart breaking times of the Nazi take over. He holds your heart and your interest with this 3 part series including The American Girl, The Forger then The German Girl. All excellent.

[GERALYN MORALES · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love the books by Eoin Dempsey, this one didn't hit home for me. it was interesting but predictable. slow to build up the typical characters. not sure i will read the rest of this series but I will read this author again.

[Nickie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Historical fiction about a German woman married to an American and living in the US during WW2. The story was fine but did not always seem historically accurate. It looks like there is a whole series of books and adventures that she goes on after this book.

[Peggy Anthony · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed reading the book. As I read it I was reminded of many other reads and movies with similar stories to the point where I thought I already read this book. It was not a page turner for me. Nice to read a story where the female character saves the day.

[Carol Giacoletto-Brooks · Rating 5 out of 5]

As always Eoin Dempsey has written a thrilling informative book.