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The Typewriter and the Guillotine: An American Journalist, a German Serial Killer, and Paris on the Eve of WWII
Not yet published
Expected 20 Jan 26The "irresistible" (Susan Orlean) untold story of a trailblazing Paris correspondent for The New Yorker, who sounded the alarm about the rise of fascism in Europe while becoming enmeshed in the sensational case of a German serial killer stalking the streets of the French capital on the eve of WWII.
In 1925, the Indianapolis-born Janet Flanner took an assignment to write a regular ‘Letter from Paris’ for a lighthearted humor magazine called The New Yorker. She’d come to Paris to with dreams of writing about “Beauty with a Capital B.” Her employer, self-consciously apolitical, sought only breezy reports on French art and culture. But as she woke to the frightening signs of rising extremism, economic turmoil, and widespread discontent in Europe, Flanner ignored her editor’s directives, reinventing herself, her assignment, and The New Yorker in the process.
While working tirelessly to alert American readers to the dangers of the Third Reich, Flanner became gripped by the disturbing crimes of a man who embodied all of the darkness she was being forced to confront. Eugen Weidmann, a German con-man and murderer, and the last man to be publicly executed in France—mere weeks before the outbreak of WWII. Flanner covered his crimes, capture, and highly politicized trial, seeing the case as a metaphor for understanding the tumultuous years through which she’d just passed and to prepare herself for the dangers to come.
The Typewriter and The Guillotine offers the personal and professional coming-of-age story of an indomitable journalist set against a glamorous, high-stakes backdrop—a tightly-coiled drama full of romance and intrigue.
In 1925, the Indianapolis-born Janet Flanner took an assignment to write a regular ‘Letter from Paris’ for a lighthearted humor magazine called The New Yorker. She’d come to Paris to with dreams of writing about “Beauty with a Capital B.” Her employer, self-consciously apolitical, sought only breezy reports on French art and culture. But as she woke to the frightening signs of rising extremism, economic turmoil, and widespread discontent in Europe, Flanner ignored her editor’s directives, reinventing herself, her assignment, and The New Yorker in the process.
While working tirelessly to alert American readers to the dangers of the Third Reich, Flanner became gripped by the disturbing crimes of a man who embodied all of the darkness she was being forced to confront. Eugen Weidmann, a German con-man and murderer, and the last man to be publicly executed in France—mere weeks before the outbreak of WWII. Flanner covered his crimes, capture, and highly politicized trial, seeing the case as a metaphor for understanding the tumultuous years through which she’d just passed and to prepare herself for the dangers to come.
The Typewriter and The Guillotine offers the personal and professional coming-of-age story of an indomitable journalist set against a glamorous, high-stakes backdrop—a tightly-coiled drama full of romance and intrigue.
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Expected publication January 20, 2026
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About the author
Mark Braude
5 books46 followersMARK BRAUDE is a cultural historian and the author of KIKI MAN RAY: ART, LOVE, AND RIVALRY IN 1920S PARIS (W.W. Norton, Summer 2022), THE INVISIBLE EMPEROR: NAPOLEON ON ELBA FROM EXILE TO ESCAPE (Penguin Press, 2018), and MAKING MONTE CARLO: A HISTORY OF SPECULATION AND SPECTACLE (Simon & Schuster, 2016). His books have been translated into several languages.
Mark was a 2020 visiting fellow at the American Library in Paris and was named a 2017 NEH Public Scholar. He is the recipient of grants from the Robert B. Silvers Foundation, the Canada Council for the Arts, the de Groot Foundation, and others. He has been a postdoctoral fellow at Stanford University’s Center for Spatial and Textual Analysis (CESTA) and a lecturer in Stanford’s departments of Art History, French, and History.
Mark was born in Vancouver and went to college at the University of British Columbia. He received an MA from NYU’s Institute of French Studies and a PhD in History and Visual Studies from USC. He has written for The Globe and Mail, The Los Angeles Times, The New Republic, and others. He lives in Vancouver with his wife and their two daughters.
Mark was a 2020 visiting fellow at the American Library in Paris and was named a 2017 NEH Public Scholar. He is the recipient of grants from the Robert B. Silvers Foundation, the Canada Council for the Arts, the de Groot Foundation, and others. He has been a postdoctoral fellow at Stanford University’s Center for Spatial and Textual Analysis (CESTA) and a lecturer in Stanford’s departments of Art History, French, and History.
Mark was born in Vancouver and went to college at the University of British Columbia. He received an MA from NYU’s Institute of French Studies and a PhD in History and Visual Studies from USC. He has written for The Globe and Mail, The Los Angeles Times, The New Republic, and others. He lives in Vancouver with his wife and their two daughters.
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
October 13, 2025
I have to admit that I was not sure that I wanted to read The Typewriter and the Guillotine, a non-fiction book which tells stories of two people in Paris at the outbreak of WWII, Janet Flanner (the “Typewriter”), an American who wrote letters about the French for The New Yorker magazine, and Eugen Weidmann (the “Guillotine”), a German serial killer. I loved the cover and the description of the book but was not drawn in by the title. The deciding factor to invest the time to read it for me was my love of Erik Larson’s “The Devil in the White City”, a book which also blended two separate stories which shared a time and place.
I enjoyed this book but not to the extent to which I had hoped. While I did enjoy reading about both main characters, I found Weidmann’s part of the story more interesting than Flanner’s. The fact that significantly more of the book is devoted to Flanner only left me disappointed that the mix was not more 50/50. Also, as their two stories were only slightly connected, I wondered if I might have enjoyed two standalone books more than this combined one.
One thing I enjoyed was getting to learn about life in Paris just before the start of the war, when Flanner found herself writing about politics more and arts and culture less. The author does a good job of describing what she went through and the danger in which she might have found herself.
I do believe the book was well-researched. I’d recommend it for people interested in learning about the WWII time frame and how the rise of Hitler was witnessed by people of neighboring countries. I’m concerned that people interested in true crime stories might find themselves wishing that there was more discussion of Weidmann.
Thanks to Grand Central Publishing and NetGalley for providing me the opportunity to read The Typewriter and the Guillotine. The above opinions are my own.
I enjoyed this book but not to the extent to which I had hoped. While I did enjoy reading about both main characters, I found Weidmann’s part of the story more interesting than Flanner’s. The fact that significantly more of the book is devoted to Flanner only left me disappointed that the mix was not more 50/50. Also, as their two stories were only slightly connected, I wondered if I might have enjoyed two standalone books more than this combined one.
One thing I enjoyed was getting to learn about life in Paris just before the start of the war, when Flanner found herself writing about politics more and arts and culture less. The author does a good job of describing what she went through and the danger in which she might have found herself.
I do believe the book was well-researched. I’d recommend it for people interested in learning about the WWII time frame and how the rise of Hitler was witnessed by people of neighboring countries. I’m concerned that people interested in true crime stories might find themselves wishing that there was more discussion of Weidmann.
Thanks to Grand Central Publishing and NetGalley for providing me the opportunity to read The Typewriter and the Guillotine. The above opinions are my own.
October 11, 2025
This was an interesting non-fiction about an American journalist in Paris documenting Paris, London and Germany pre WWII and the story of a serial killer. It reads a bit like Devil in the White City by Erik Larson. The early parts of the book focus on the gay, fun Parisian life and slowly get darker as war approaches. The author clearly did a huge amount of research and captured the sentiment of people living in Europe at the time through the journalist’s true reporting in The New Yorker. Juxtaposing the serial killer story seemed a bit forced. The killer was German and because of the politics at the time, ties were made to the conflicts of fascism, communism and democracy. It seemed a bit odd to me to keep switching from one story to the next, leaving both a bit under-served. Some parts of the book moved swiftly while others dragged. Because the journalist left Paris before the war started in earnest and returned after liberation it felt like a huge gap. The author took on a bit much I felt. Is it a biography of the journalist and her journey as a writer, a reporting of prewar Europe in terms of culture and politics, or a story of murder and crime. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it felt forced. So I give this 3.5 stars.
Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC. All opinions are my own.
Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC. All opinions are my own.
October 18, 2025
I received this ARC from NetGalley and the publisher, Grand Central Publishing, for an honest review. This book is filled lots of post WWI and pre-WWII history surrounding an untold story a “trailblazing” New Yorker writer, Janet Flannery, who sounded the warning of the rise of Hitler and fascism. She lived in Paris during the heady times of the mid-1920s hobnobbing with the likes of Ernest Hemingway and the Murphys of F. Scott Fitzgerald fame and chronicling the devastating effects of WWI. Leaping into the 1930s, through German contacts she was able to experience the Nuremberg rally and the 1936 Olympics. It was her three piece New Yorker expose of her times in Germany that alerted America to a creeping danger. It was during this time that she also became gripped by a disturbing series of crimes by a German national who became the last man to be publicly executed by guillotine (that execution was in 1977 until capital punishment was ended in 1981). She covered the trial and execution. This was fascinating book. My only criticism is that I think rather than separating the two stories (Flannery and the killer), it might have just been better to intertwine the murder coverage as part of what is really a biography of Janet Flannery. Learned a lot and would recommend.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
2.5 ⭐️
The Typewriter and the Guillotine tells the story of two people in France and Germany during the 1930s to 1940s. Janet Flanner, a reporter for the NewYorker, living in Paris and Eugen Weidmann, a German man.
While I found the book interesting, I enjoyed the parts about Weidmann more than the ones about Flanner. The parts about Weidmann seemed, to me, more interesting than the parts about Flanner. Flanner's parts of the book seemed to drag in a lot of places. I could tell that Braude did a lot of research for the book.
Overall, the book was interesting, but it lacked something.
Tentative Publication: January 20, 2026
Thanks to Netgalley, General Central Publication, and Mark Braude for the E-ARC of the book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
#Netgalley #GrandCentralPublishing #MarkBraude #TheTypewriterandtheGuillotine
The Typewriter and the Guillotine tells the story of two people in France and Germany during the 1930s to 1940s. Janet Flanner, a reporter for the NewYorker, living in Paris and Eugen Weidmann, a German man.
While I found the book interesting, I enjoyed the parts about Weidmann more than the ones about Flanner. The parts about Weidmann seemed, to me, more interesting than the parts about Flanner. Flanner's parts of the book seemed to drag in a lot of places. I could tell that Braude did a lot of research for the book.
Overall, the book was interesting, but it lacked something.
Tentative Publication: January 20, 2026
Thanks to Netgalley, General Central Publication, and Mark Braude for the E-ARC of the book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
#Netgalley #GrandCentralPublishing #MarkBraude #TheTypewriterandtheGuillotine
December 31, 2025
99 books. 1 to go. What do I choose?
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
A journalist sees a killer as a metaphor for coming war
Janet Flanner, one of many Americans who travelled to Europe in search of a richer and more cultured life, arrived in Paris in the 1920's with her lover Solita Solano. She wanted to be A Writer and was enthralled with her life as an expat, although she would come to make her name in a different way than she had originally envisioned. She did publish a novel but she was not another Ernest Hemingway nor a Gertrude Stein (although she socialized in the same circles and knew them both); she was offered the job of writing a column on life in France for a new magazine, The New Yorker, which she accepted as much for its promise of steady pay as anything else. Her tone was to be light and ironic, and the subject matter mostly gossip and fashion at the start. But as the 20's became the 30's and political upheavals in Germany, Russia and Spain took center stage Flanner would find it difficult to not include (at least indirectly) what she was seeing as the politics of communists, fascists and Nazis loomed menacingly over the horizon. During these same years, German born Eugen Weidmann was also living in France and pursuing his own career path....as a serial killer. He was a troubled child, sent away from home when his actions reflected badly on his family, did time in prison and emerged determined to emulate the Chicago mobsters about whom he had read. He decided that kidnapping wealthy tourists would be a great way to make money but quickly found that murder was his preferred métier. He was caught, tried and publicly executed in June of 1939 just before World War II exploded across Europe. Flanner would report on the sensational crimes and trial for the New Yorker, seeing it as a vehicle through which she could show her readers the coming danger from Germany and the turmoil in which France and much of Europe found itself.
There are two stories being told in this work of non-fiction, the biography of a woman writer for what would become an influential magazine and that of a good looking but sociopathic young man who took numerous lives before being caught. I found both stories to be interesting but was puzzled as to why the author tried to combine their stories between one cover. Yes, they take place during the same period of time and in the same place, and yes Janet Flanner did write about Weidmann in her column, but the crossing of their paths was rather brief. Author Mark Braude clearly did a tremendous amount of research into both people and brought to life an interesting time in French history, but ultimately I wished that he had picked one or the other and wrote the whole book about that single person. Flanner was a successful magazine columnist working for a storied magazine nearly from its conception; she left behind her Midwestern upbringing and her mother and sister in order to pursue her passion for writing as well as her love for other women. She travelled to Germany as Hitler rose to power, observed his impact on the German people and noted his talent for spectacle. In short, there was plenty of material for a full biography just on her. Do the same people who would find her story interesting also find true crime as compelling? I'm not sure that is the case, and other reviews I have read seem to express a strong preference for one over the other. That said, there is enough interesting material here that I found it a worthwhile read (although it did drag on a bit in sections), a 3.5 ⭐️ rounded up to 4, and I think it appeal to readers of Erik Larson, Simon Winchester and Sonia Purnell. My thanks to NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for allowing me access to the book in exchange for my honest review.
Janet Flanner, one of many Americans who travelled to Europe in search of a richer and more cultured life, arrived in Paris in the 1920's with her lover Solita Solano. She wanted to be A Writer and was enthralled with her life as an expat, although she would come to make her name in a different way than she had originally envisioned. She did publish a novel but she was not another Ernest Hemingway nor a Gertrude Stein (although she socialized in the same circles and knew them both); she was offered the job of writing a column on life in France for a new magazine, The New Yorker, which she accepted as much for its promise of steady pay as anything else. Her tone was to be light and ironic, and the subject matter mostly gossip and fashion at the start. But as the 20's became the 30's and political upheavals in Germany, Russia and Spain took center stage Flanner would find it difficult to not include (at least indirectly) what she was seeing as the politics of communists, fascists and Nazis loomed menacingly over the horizon. During these same years, German born Eugen Weidmann was also living in France and pursuing his own career path....as a serial killer. He was a troubled child, sent away from home when his actions reflected badly on his family, did time in prison and emerged determined to emulate the Chicago mobsters about whom he had read. He decided that kidnapping wealthy tourists would be a great way to make money but quickly found that murder was his preferred métier. He was caught, tried and publicly executed in June of 1939 just before World War II exploded across Europe. Flanner would report on the sensational crimes and trial for the New Yorker, seeing it as a vehicle through which she could show her readers the coming danger from Germany and the turmoil in which France and much of Europe found itself.
There are two stories being told in this work of non-fiction, the biography of a woman writer for what would become an influential magazine and that of a good looking but sociopathic young man who took numerous lives before being caught. I found both stories to be interesting but was puzzled as to why the author tried to combine their stories between one cover. Yes, they take place during the same period of time and in the same place, and yes Janet Flanner did write about Weidmann in her column, but the crossing of their paths was rather brief. Author Mark Braude clearly did a tremendous amount of research into both people and brought to life an interesting time in French history, but ultimately I wished that he had picked one or the other and wrote the whole book about that single person. Flanner was a successful magazine columnist working for a storied magazine nearly from its conception; she left behind her Midwestern upbringing and her mother and sister in order to pursue her passion for writing as well as her love for other women. She travelled to Germany as Hitler rose to power, observed his impact on the German people and noted his talent for spectacle. In short, there was plenty of material for a full biography just on her. Do the same people who would find her story interesting also find true crime as compelling? I'm not sure that is the case, and other reviews I have read seem to express a strong preference for one over the other. That said, there is enough interesting material here that I found it a worthwhile read (although it did drag on a bit in sections), a 3.5 ⭐️ rounded up to 4, and I think it appeal to readers of Erik Larson, Simon Winchester and Sonia Purnell. My thanks to NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for allowing me access to the book in exchange for my honest review.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
I read a free advance digital review copy provided by the publisher via NetGalley.
American Janet Flanner went to Paris in the 1920s and spent the interwar years writing the famed Letter From Paris column in the New Yorker (among other things), and was a part of Paris’s famed literary set. Though she definitely didn’t disclose this to the folks back home, she lived with another woman and had a long-term affair with a third woman. She hoped for fame as a novelist, but her efforts in that direction weren’t positive. Instead, her Letters and profiles of European figures, like an early three-part profile on Hitler, made her name in the US and Europe. Though she’d intended to focus on the arts, her work increasingly was taken up with the political; not surprising considering the ferment of the time. She also returned to Europe after the war and continued her New Yorker column for many years.
While focusing on politics and the arts, Flanner became as intrigued as most French people with a serial killer operating in and around Paris. That serial killer, we learn in other chapters of this non-fiction story, was a young German war veteran and small-time criminal named Eugen Weidmann. The Weidmann chapters trace his story from the end of his World War I service through his crimes, his trial, and his execution.
The choice to meld a historical biography with a true-crime story will remind many readers of The Devil In the White City. Though this should be equally interesting, it doesn’t reach that level. While the true-crime story is compelling, it doesn’t become much of a factor in the book until almost halfway through, and overall it takes up such a relatively small part of the book that it seems incongruous. While Flanner wrote about the case several times, there are only brief references to that, making any connection between Flanner’s story and Weidmann’s feel tenuous at best.
Janet Flanner’s story should be fascinating, but her chapters drag at times. I’m not entirely sure why, but I think it’s that Braude is at too much pains to display all of the research he did about her and her experiences, and the result is a bit bloated and flat; the times and places don’t come alive. It’s still an interesting story, but at times a bit of an effort to get through.
2.5 stars, rounded to 3.
American Janet Flanner went to Paris in the 1920s and spent the interwar years writing the famed Letter From Paris column in the New Yorker (among other things), and was a part of Paris’s famed literary set. Though she definitely didn’t disclose this to the folks back home, she lived with another woman and had a long-term affair with a third woman. She hoped for fame as a novelist, but her efforts in that direction weren’t positive. Instead, her Letters and profiles of European figures, like an early three-part profile on Hitler, made her name in the US and Europe. Though she’d intended to focus on the arts, her work increasingly was taken up with the political; not surprising considering the ferment of the time. She also returned to Europe after the war and continued her New Yorker column for many years.
While focusing on politics and the arts, Flanner became as intrigued as most French people with a serial killer operating in and around Paris. That serial killer, we learn in other chapters of this non-fiction story, was a young German war veteran and small-time criminal named Eugen Weidmann. The Weidmann chapters trace his story from the end of his World War I service through his crimes, his trial, and his execution.
The choice to meld a historical biography with a true-crime story will remind many readers of The Devil In the White City. Though this should be equally interesting, it doesn’t reach that level. While the true-crime story is compelling, it doesn’t become much of a factor in the book until almost halfway through, and overall it takes up such a relatively small part of the book that it seems incongruous. While Flanner wrote about the case several times, there are only brief references to that, making any connection between Flanner’s story and Weidmann’s feel tenuous at best.
Janet Flanner’s story should be fascinating, but her chapters drag at times. I’m not entirely sure why, but I think it’s that Braude is at too much pains to display all of the research he did about her and her experiences, and the result is a bit bloated and flat; the times and places don’t come alive. It’s still an interesting story, but at times a bit of an effort to get through.
2.5 stars, rounded to 3.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Thank you to NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for this advance ARC in return for an honest review.
The Typewriter and the Guillotine juxtaposes Janet Flanner, an American Lesbian writing "Letters from Paris" for the New Yorker Magazine, with the plight of a German serial killer, Eugen Weidmann, who was the last person to be publicly executed in France by guillotine. Written in the style of The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson, somehow author Mark Braude manages to make the descriptions of Flanner's Paris ( and later Europe as WWII approaches ) even more boring than Larson's descriptions of the in-fighting between the Architects of the Chicago World's Fair.
What intrigued me the most about this book was the portions given over to the reign of terror of Weidman, of whom I had no knowledge before this under taking. As interesting as these passages were, they were very short compared with the long chapters describing Flanner's various paramours and letters with her Editors. By the time Braude gets to the precipice of WWII Flanner's exploits wear thin as the writing style lets the reader down.
When reading the blurb, I had been hoping this would delve more into the romantic Paris of ex pats like Hemingway, Fitzgerald, Dos Passos, Picasso, and Man Ray. Instead we are treated to the group led by Gertrude Stein and Alice Toklas. The story bogs down as Flanner apparently has several female lovers over this time period, bouncing from one to another, and rather than focusing on the turmoil of Europe in the face of Hitler and the Nazi onslaught, we are focusing on which woman she is going to choose over the other.
I would have liked to know more about Weidmann and his effect on the French sensibility and even more about how the Nazi's tried to find as much information about the executed German after they occupied Paris. This would have been far more interesting than will Flanner choose Natalia Murray, Solita Solano or Noël Haskins Murphy to spend her life with. She was obviously a talented writer, contemporary of Hemingway, and a witness to history, but I would have liked to hear more about the latter than her romantic dalliances.
It pains me to give this 3 stars, but I am constrained from giving it 2 1/2 stars which it deserves.
The Typewriter and the Guillotine juxtaposes Janet Flanner, an American Lesbian writing "Letters from Paris" for the New Yorker Magazine, with the plight of a German serial killer, Eugen Weidmann, who was the last person to be publicly executed in France by guillotine. Written in the style of The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson, somehow author Mark Braude manages to make the descriptions of Flanner's Paris ( and later Europe as WWII approaches ) even more boring than Larson's descriptions of the in-fighting between the Architects of the Chicago World's Fair.
What intrigued me the most about this book was the portions given over to the reign of terror of Weidman, of whom I had no knowledge before this under taking. As interesting as these passages were, they were very short compared with the long chapters describing Flanner's various paramours and letters with her Editors. By the time Braude gets to the precipice of WWII Flanner's exploits wear thin as the writing style lets the reader down.
When reading the blurb, I had been hoping this would delve more into the romantic Paris of ex pats like Hemingway, Fitzgerald, Dos Passos, Picasso, and Man Ray. Instead we are treated to the group led by Gertrude Stein and Alice Toklas. The story bogs down as Flanner apparently has several female lovers over this time period, bouncing from one to another, and rather than focusing on the turmoil of Europe in the face of Hitler and the Nazi onslaught, we are focusing on which woman she is going to choose over the other.
I would have liked to know more about Weidmann and his effect on the French sensibility and even more about how the Nazi's tried to find as much information about the executed German after they occupied Paris. This would have been far more interesting than will Flanner choose Natalia Murray, Solita Solano or Noël Haskins Murphy to spend her life with. She was obviously a talented writer, contemporary of Hemingway, and a witness to history, but I would have liked to hear more about the latter than her romantic dalliances.
It pains me to give this 3 stars, but I am constrained from giving it 2 1/2 stars which it deserves.
December 2, 2025
Fledgling writer Janet Flanner headed off to Paris to escape her mundane middle class life. She succeeded a bit more wildly than she imagined. When she arrived in 1925, Europe was still recovering from WWI and an unstable Germany already threatened the shaky peace. This is a fascinating, and quite frankly terrifying, journey to go on with Flanner considering it mirrors our current political climate.
As a history fan, I adored that this book covered an in-between time. We have a plethora of WWII books and a good amount of WWI, but the time in the middle is mostly ignored. This portion of Flanner's life was both pivotal to her development as a writer and correspondent and to the transition of Europe from one war to another.
There were some interesting facts I think could have been explored a bit deeper. For instance, Janet is a nice common name. Her mother's name is Mary. Her sister's name is Hildegarde. Talk about a break in pattern. What is that about? Everything that was discussed was more service level with Flanner when I really wanted a deeper dive.
At first I enjoyed the back and forth between Flanner chapters and Eugen Weidmann, the murderer featured in the subtitle, chapters. I expected some sort of intersection where the two met and the story really found its purpose. But that never happened. Flanner did report on the murder trial, but only briefly as her focus was elsewhere. I'm not sure why the author chose to combine these two disparate storylines when they would have been more successful as two separate books.
Overall, I quite enjoyed this glimpse into a woman's life from a century ago as she struggled with a changing world. As she watched war approaching yet again, she said multiple times in her many letters home, "I don't understand men." So relatable. Some things never change.
As a history fan, I adored that this book covered an in-between time. We have a plethora of WWII books and a good amount of WWI, but the time in the middle is mostly ignored. This portion of Flanner's life was both pivotal to her development as a writer and correspondent and to the transition of Europe from one war to another.
There were some interesting facts I think could have been explored a bit deeper. For instance, Janet is a nice common name. Her mother's name is Mary. Her sister's name is Hildegarde. Talk about a break in pattern. What is that about? Everything that was discussed was more service level with Flanner when I really wanted a deeper dive.
At first I enjoyed the back and forth between Flanner chapters and Eugen Weidmann, the murderer featured in the subtitle, chapters. I expected some sort of intersection where the two met and the story really found its purpose. But that never happened. Flanner did report on the murder trial, but only briefly as her focus was elsewhere. I'm not sure why the author chose to combine these two disparate storylines when they would have been more successful as two separate books.
Overall, I quite enjoyed this glimpse into a woman's life from a century ago as she struggled with a changing world. As she watched war approaching yet again, she said multiple times in her many letters home, "I don't understand men." So relatable. Some things never change.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
3.5 stars
This was a wonderful book about the trailblazing female correspondent, Janet Flanner. Her personal life and how she watched the rise of Hitler. Theoretically this was also the story of Eugen Weidmann, a German serial killer. In many ways, this book felt very similar to Erik Larson's Devil in the White City, with a grand global story offset by a smaller story of a killer. But, I had the same issue here. The stories weren't balanced and I was drawn more to the historical story rather than the murders. I never felt the connection between the two storylines. Sure, Janet reported on him a bit, but it was such a minor part of her story, and he never interacted with her at all. The chapters about him where shorter, less frequent, and felt more like interruptions in the story of Janet's life. I really enjoyed learning about her, her friends, and their lives in Europe. I might have enjoyed it even more if Eugen's story didn't interrupt.
Thanks to NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for a copy of the book. This review is my own opinion.
This was a wonderful book about the trailblazing female correspondent, Janet Flanner. Her personal life and how she watched the rise of Hitler. Theoretically this was also the story of Eugen Weidmann, a German serial killer. In many ways, this book felt very similar to Erik Larson's Devil in the White City, with a grand global story offset by a smaller story of a killer. But, I had the same issue here. The stories weren't balanced and I was drawn more to the historical story rather than the murders. I never felt the connection between the two storylines. Sure, Janet reported on him a bit, but it was such a minor part of her story, and he never interacted with her at all. The chapters about him where shorter, less frequent, and felt more like interruptions in the story of Janet's life. I really enjoyed learning about her, her friends, and their lives in Europe. I might have enjoyed it even more if Eugen's story didn't interrupt.
Thanks to NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for a copy of the book. This review is my own opinion.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
This book personifies the adage that truth is stranger than fiction. One one hand, you have the story of Janet Flanner, a journalist who started the Letters from Paris series for the newly created New Yorker magazine. As time goes on her work morphs from lighthearted to war correspondence from the heart of Paris in the lead up to and through WW II. On the other hand there is the story of Eugen Weidmann, a psychopath who murders his way through Paris and other places. The two people come together as Flanner investigates his story and follows his trial.
If I didn't know that this book was non-fiction, I would have thought that it was an incredibly creative story, and wondered how the author came to create it. But it's fact, and it's spellbinding. It's a really in depth look at the time and the people in an increasingly stressful and dangerous time. Definitely a must read!
If I didn't know that this book was non-fiction, I would have thought that it was an incredibly creative story, and wondered how the author came to create it. But it's fact, and it's spellbinding. It's a really in depth look at the time and the people in an increasingly stressful and dangerous time. Definitely a must read!
November 15, 2025
In the vein of “Devil in the White City”, this non-fiction story centers on two quite different events happening in the same city. A female journalist goes to Paris in 1925 to write articles for a new magazine called The New Yorker (which people question if it will make it). She’s trying to keep her “Letter from Paris” articles non-political, but as the years go by, the things going on in Germany with this very scary man named Adolf Hitler make that more and more difficult even as she feels the French seem to be putting their head in the sand and not acknowledging what’s happening.
Meanwhile a very different story is also playing out in Paris and that story centers on a young German man who goes on a killing spree.
Meanwhile a very different story is also playing out in Paris and that story centers on a young German man who goes on a killing spree.
October 28, 2025
In the beautifully entwined narrative, a queer icon of letters is brought to life against the backdrop of Europe on the brink of fascism. Flanner comes into her own amidst love affairs, fabulous parties and growing insidious shadow, one mirrored by a serial killer born out of the nazi regime. The book deftly weaves these stories together, letting the growing tension of the time mirror the escalation of violence both from our killer and between political adversaries. In the middle is an intrepid reporter finding her voice. A brilliant read that unexpectedly overlaps with our current political climate.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
2 stars
The Typewriter and the Guillotine is a historical, nonfiction true crime book, set just before The Second World War. I ended up DNFing this book at about 40% because the writing style was not for me. I just felt like it was taking way too long to get to the meat of the story, even at the point where I stopped reading. It was a bombardment of facts, names, places and I was overwhelmed with so much and it just bled altogether. I lost interest in the story and what was happening. That all being said, while this book was not my preference, I do believe that others will enjoy it.
I received an advanced ebook,via Netgalley. This review is my own honest opinion.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC!
So, upon looking further into this, I think it's a little darker than I'd anticipated, so I think I'm going to pass for now. I'll probably come back to it eventually, but right now I'm so busy I pretty much only read before bed, and I don't think that's such a good idea with this book. I'll pick it up when I'm a little older!
So, upon looking further into this, I think it's a little darker than I'd anticipated, so I think I'm going to pass for now. I'll probably come back to it eventually, but right now I'm so busy I pretty much only read before bed, and I don't think that's such a good idea with this book. I'll pick it up when I'm a little older!
December 16, 2025
What starts as a letter for what would become The New Yorker quickly has that same writer sharing the events that lead up to WWII. As Janet writes to her American audience to warn them of the dangers of the rising Third Reich, Paris is has a serial killer on the loose. Full of Drama, history & intrigue this is one untold story you don’t want to miss!
Review of advance copy
Mark Braude’s knack for taking the reader back in time
has not wained as he moves into a new genre (if you can call it that when adding murder and mystery to his historical truths).
Loved the deep dive into characters (not easy when shackled by true defendable research) and the whodoneit theme, so popular in today’s media.
Good read for vacation or cozying up this winter.
has not wained as he moves into a new genre (if you can call it that when adding murder and mystery to his historical truths).
Loved the deep dive into characters (not easy when shackled by true defendable research) and the whodoneit theme, so popular in today’s media.
Good read for vacation or cozying up this winter.
October 31, 2025
very intriguing
November 15, 2025
Very engrossing and interesting. Worth your time.
Review of advance copy
Cinematic, spooky, and super entertaining! I loved the balancing of the two stories, and really enjoyed learning more about Janet Flanner. Couldn't put it down.
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