The book that I am now reading is a good companion to that series. "The Paris Architect" by Charles Belfoure is a novel taking place in World War II Paris during the occupation.
The story deals with a young, talented architect who suffers from a lack of commissions during the Nazi occupation. He then receives an offer to design hiding places for Jews that the Nazis would never discover. The architect has no great sympathy for the Jews, but he finds it impossible to turn down the lucrative deal.
The author is himself an architect specializing in historic restoration. He has written a couple of non-fiction books about architecture, but this was his first attempt at fiction. His lack of experience shows. I went to a website to look at readers' reviews of the book to see if my opinion was shared by others. Indeed, there were quite a few who described his writing style as "wooden" or "clunky". And many wrote that the author's characters were not well developed and often lacking in motivation.
On the positive side, the plot is unique and well constructed so far, and it gives the reader a good look at life in Paris during that period. Although the book suffers from lack of style, it is a fast moving page-turner that has, up to now, kept my interest. I recommend it with reservations. Just don't expect a work of literature.
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