The Noose

The Devil's Bookkeepers #1

by Mark H. Newhouse

How much would I risk to save my wife? Everything.

As the Nazi noose tightens, the Jewish leader of a Holocaust ghetto must do what it takes to save the two-hundred thousand trapped. Written by the son of Holocaust Survivors and based on the historic events of The Chronicle of the Lodz Ghetto (Yale University Press, 1984), this romantic thriller asks what you would have sacrificed to be one of the few to survive.

The first book of the International Award-Winning trilogy will take you on “an emotionally riveting account of life inside the ghetto” (Kimberlee J Benard, 5 Stars Readers’ Favorite). Reviewed as “Anne Frank's Diary for the plight of the Lodz ghetto” (Rita Boehm, Award-Winning Author), read the first chapter of the story that will have you saying, "Never again to anyone..."

AwardsGrand Prize Fiction Series - Chanticleer International Book AwardsFirst Prize - Hemingway Wartime Series - Chanticleer International Book AwardsBook of the Year - Florida Writers Association Association Royal Palm Literary AwardsSelected Reviews

"What Ann Frank's Diary did to put a face to the plight of Dutch Jews in WWII, The Devil's Bookkeepers does for the Jew in the Lodz ghetto," Rita Boehm, Award-Winning Author

"We need this book now more than ever," Wanda Luthman, Award-Winning Author

"...an emotionally riveting account of life inside the ghetto... You cannot read this story and remain unaffected," Kimberlee J Benart, 5 Stars Readersí Favorite

"...a riveting, emotionally charged novel... an amazing accomplishment... This is a must-read..." Louis Emond, English Professor

Genres: World War II, Historical Fiction, Fiction

374 pages, Kindle Edition

Published February 6, 2019

About the author

Born to Holocaust survivors, my novels of love and suspense, THE DEVIL'S BOOKKEEPERS, won THE GRAND PRIZE FICTION SERIES and HEMINGWAY WARTIME SERIES awards in the Chanticleer International Book Awards competition; First Prize Historical Fiction- Eric Hoffer Awards, and Book of the Year and Gold Medal Historical Fiction from the Florida Writers Association. A retired Long Island educator, my award-winning mysteries for children were inspired by my being bullied and abused as a child. I want children to laugh and feel empowered to solve problems without violence and magic. My mysteries feature a boy and half-human girl in a secret sector of the US where humans are the endangered species. WELCOME TO MONSTROVIA; THE CASE OF THE DISASTROUS DRAGON; THE CASE OF THE CRAZY CHICKENSCRATCHES; have all won awards and are a joy to write. My new podcast mystery series, Defenders of Monstrovia, was is a lot of fun and available on Amazon, GoKidGo, IHeartRadio and other podcast outlets. Thank you for reading my books and your kind reviews. I love writing for you.

Reviews

[Sara Estrada · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I first started reading this book I didn’t think it was that interesting. As I got further into the book I changed my mind. The holocaust is one of my favorite subjects, besides true crime and I really recommend this book it’s very informative I think everybody should read it.

[Mary Eve · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Lodz ghetto, sealed off from the rest of the world, received few clues to what was happening to Jews in other places. They believed the Germans when they said deportees from Lodz were being sent to farmlands in the North where they would be given housing, food, and work. They could not imagine that while they worked and lived in the ghetto’s deteriorating conditions, the Nazis were executing their Final Solution.

Mark Newhouse has written a gripping fictional story based on devastating accounts derived from The Chronicles of the Lodz Ghetto, a Jewish ghetto led by Chairman M.C. Rumkowski, the Eldest of the Jews. Rumkowski was supposed to be the savior of the Lodz ghetto. Or was he? Behind closed doors, Rumkowski was called the Devil — no different than a Nazi. This book honors those brave chroniclers of a dark, terrifying beginning-of-the-end. 250,000 Jews lived in the Lodz ghetto from 1941-1944. In the end, less than 5,000 would survive. Let that sink in.

Holocaust biographies, even the numerous historical fiction books based on true accounts, are never easy reads. I cannot wrap my head around the cruelty of mankind — the extent of evil that spread over Europe like poisoned koolaid...and Germans drinking that crap like fiends! How does one man's twisted Mein Kemp become the ideology of an entire nation? The Noose provides a poignant glimpse of daily life inside the Lodz ghetto. Reading of events that occurred on an average day, imagining myself in the same circumstances ... I have no idea how these brave souls survived the barbed wire boundaries, the temperatures, and the lack of food. It's mind boggling. Can you even begin to fathom what Holocaust survivors endured? Mark Newhouse's mother, and step-father, survived the Lodz ghetto. This book is a testament to his mother's strength.



*Available on Kindle Unlimited. Book One of Three.

[Rita Boehm · Rating 5 out of 5]

The numbers had faces - the faces had stories...

What Ann Frank's Diary did to put a face to the plight of Dutch Jews in WWII, The Devil's Bookkeeper does for the Jews in the Lodz ghetto. Both books help the reader in a search to comprehend the incomprehensible, the daily life struggles for normalcy and survival under circumstances most of us can never truly comprehend . A heart wrenching story made even more so in knowing how close it hits home for the author. Well done.

[Pam · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Devil’s Bookkeepers: Book 1: The Noose is by Mark H. Newhouse. This book is based on The Chronicles of the Lodz Ghetto. This novel takes us into the Lodz Ghetto and into the minds and lives of the men who wrote the Chronicles. In telling the story of the Lod ghetto, the author takes us into the ghetto and shows us how it might feel to be enclosed here for years, not knowing what will happen next. Some of the characters like Rumkowski are real and he actually did the things he is seen doing in this book. When he is looked at from our perspective in history, he is seen either as completely right or completely wrong, when in fact, he is just a man trying to survive.
Bernard Ostrowski was an engineer living in the Lodz Ghetto with his wife, Miriam. He was selected by Chaim Rumkowski to join a select group of men to write the record of the Ghetto so the world would eventually know what happened here. He was going to be the only one besides the men to read it and he would approve the entries each night. What was Rumkowski trying to do? Did he want the men to lie? How did he plan for the men to write the truth beneath the eyes of the Nazis? For Ben and the other men involved, this job meant life for themselves and their families. Could he live with himself doing this job? Could he and Miriam actually bring a child into this life? What would become of them?
This is just book one so we are left with lots of questions which hopefully will be answered in Books 2 and 3. This book was rather slow in parts as it seemed that the same thing kept happening each day. Of course, that was what life in the ghetto was like. Maybe there is a purpose for its being slow in parts. Despite the slow parts, this book is very disturbing and haunting in its depiction of the Lodz Ghetto and what happened there. It definitely puts a face on this event in history.

[Veronica Hart · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a unique look at life in the Lodz Ghetto in 1942. A group of Jewish men are assigned by their Jewish leader to keep a daily diary of life in the ghetto. Though the words may never be read, the men are diligent in their pursuit, careful to avoid offending the Germans in control. The story is told from the viewpoint of Benjamin O who is married to a younger woman, Miriam. Because I read both books, The Noose and Book 2: The Noose Tightens, in close sequence, I have muddled where the first book ends and the second begins. It is one long, tragic story. We know a few survived this true event and so the reader can hope for Ben's little family. The daily activities of the residents' lives are meticulously recorded, including the number of deaths and their causes. It is not a fun book to read but it is compelling and well told. Except for the extraordinary amount of typos, this would have rated 5 stars. One hopes the author will have corrected this before the book is released in print form.

[Derek Sanderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very intriguing!!

It took me awhile to get into the plot, but once I did I was hooked. The tension does not hit the reader full force, but rather creeps up and takes the reader by storm! One gets a fascinating look into the lives of the Lodz ghetto leadership, those assigned the crude task of maintaining order, nurturing hope as best they could, and making life and death decisions---quite nearly "playing God", most unhappily, without benefit of divine foresight. All I want now is Book 2 so I can learn what happens!!

[Terry Quinn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having read many works previously about what happened in the Warsaw Ghetto, I was interested in this book's perspective on the experience of those in the Lodz Ghetto. The author presents a fictionalized account based on actual documents gathered from those who lived there. The story progresses more slowly than I would have anticipated. I knew that there were several sequels but hoped that we would be further along in the timeline before the end of this first book. I do plan to read the rest of the books in the series.

[Shirley McAllister · Rating 4 out of 5]

Writing about death

A young engineer lands a job with the administration in the ghetto. He hates the job but must take care of his wife Mariam and his daughter Regina. Every day it gets worse and more people are dying from suicide or gunshots. He wonders when it will end and if he can protect his wife and child from the cruelty of the Nazi's.

[Kathryn Spurgeon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Haunting book

This reads almost like a documentary of the Łódź ghetto during WW2. However, the author personalizes the abundance of facts with an intelligent man who wants to believe, for his own sanity and the love of his family, that the outcome will be good, ie the Jews will not be annihilated by the Germans. This POV makes the story even more chilling and heart breaking.

[Gabby]

Well researched and well written. This book has all the suspense a mystery reader likes and all the history that history readers like. A story of love and betrayal with the life of misery in the Lodz ghetto as the background. This is the first of 3 books and I'm anxious to begin book 2 and see where it leads.
Mark Newhouse has written a page turner that is hard to put down.

[Debbie Trammell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting book

It is a wonder that any of these persons stayed sane with all the horrors around them. I look forward to reading the rest of these books in this series and understanding what their life was like in the Lodz ghetto. Hope is what drove them on.

[Tracy Stocker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great History and Goosebumps!

Based on research from local history and experts! Interesting stories, oral histories and photos. I loved visiting Gettysburg and hope to return again someday to learn about the haunted history.

[Louise · Rating 5 out of 5]

History relived

I read of this horrific history to hopefully recognize if it comes around again. This is a compelling story of the times during WWll that were survived by amazing people.

[Désirée · Rating 5 out of 5]

The premise of this book goes in a different direction than most other Holocaust literature has in my reading experience. Through this novel, we’re given an inside look in the steps leading to the inevitable demise of those involved in the German occupation in Poland, with differing perspectives from characters that either came off as naïve or right on the ball. I’m eager to dive into book 2!

[Barbara J Wicks · Rating 5 out of 5]

A hard sad novel to read

In honor of those who actually lived and died in the truth, I had to read the whole book. It could have been my Russian grandparents who fled in 1904.

[Charlene Krebs · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’ve read a lot of WWII books of late. This one for me was mediocre. The people were interesting but the story not so much. A lot of repetitive back back for with the same storyline.

[Donna Alden · Rating 5 out of 5]

this trilogy is excellent. Hard to put down

[ann betts · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Devils Bookkeepers book I

I have always wondered why the Jewish people wouldnt rebel and fight back against the Nazis. After reading this book I still wonder why

[Missy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sleepless nights

Very good read. Tells the tale of how the Germans actually were able to orchestrate the seemingly impossible horrific deeds of the Holocaust. I lost sleep for a few nights, unable to put it down.