About this item
Like most gentiles in Nazi-occupied Paris, architect Lucien Bernard has little empathy for the Jews. So when a wealthy industrialist offers him a large sum of money to devise secret hiding places for Jews, Lucien struggles with the choice of risking his life for a cause he doesn't really believe in. Ultimately he can't resist the challenge and begins designing expertly concealed hiding spaces - behind a painting, within a column, or inside a drainpipe - detecting possibilities invisible to the average eye. But when one of his clever hiding spaces fails horribly and the immense suffering of Jews becomes incredibly personal, he can no longer deny reality.Written by an expert whose knowledge imbues every word, this story becomes more gripping with every life the architect tries to save.
About the Author
I'm an American historic preservation architect who discovered writing late in life. After writing non-fiction architectural works, I tried my hand at fiction. I decided to make an architect and architecture the basis of the plots. My first novel was the New Times Bestselling book THE PARIS ARCHITECT about an architect who designs temporary hiding spaces for Jews escaping Paris during World War II. The second was HOUSE OF THIEVES about an architect in Gilded Age New York who is forced to work for a criminal ring to save his son. The third was THE FALLEN ARCHITECT, a mystery set in the world of British music halls in the early 1900s.Mt fourth book, THE FABERGE SECRET is set in the Imperial Russian court of Nicholas and Alexandra and is about a Russian prince whose life is changed after he sees the 1903 pogrom of Jews. He is torn whether to to join the revolution to fight injustice against peasants and Jews.THE PARIS ARCHITECT was a finalist for the Dublin Literary Award in 2015.HOUSE OF THIEVES was a Target book of the month selection.THE FALLEN ARCHITECT was a finalist for the Nero Award in 2019.I still preserve old buildings like the one in the photo. I love cats and Irish Setters and have 3 grandsons.
