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Ronald H. Balson

Biography

Ronald H. Balson

Ronald H. Balson is an attorney, professor and writer. His novel THE GIRL FROM BERLIN won the National Jewish Book Award and was the Illinois Reading Council's adult fiction selection for their Illinois Reads program. He is also the author of AN AFFAIR OF SPIES, DEFENDING BRITTA STEIN, ELI'S PROMISE, KAROLINA'S TWINS, THE TRUST, SAVING SOPHIE and the international bestseller ONCE WE WERE BROTHERS. He has appeared on many television and radio programs and has lectured nationally and internationally on his writing. He lives in Chicago.

Books by Ronald H. Balson

by Ronald H. Balson - Fiction, Historical Fiction, Historical Thriller, Suspense, Thriller

Nathan Silverman’s idyllic childhood in Berlin is soon marred by increasing levels of bigotry against his family and the rest of the Jewish community. After his uncle is arrested on Kristallnacht, he leaves Germany for New York City with only his mother’s wedding ring to sell for survival. While attending an evening course at Columbia in 1942, Nathan notices a recruitment poster on a university wall and decides to enlist in the military and help fight the Nazi regime. The Allies are racing to develop a nuclear weapon before the Nazis, and a German theoretical physicist is hoping to defect. The physicist was a friend of his father's, and Nathan's mission is to return to Berlin via France and smuggle him out of Europe.

by Ronald H. Balson - Fiction, Suspense, Thriller

Ole Henryks, a popular restaurateur, is set to be honored by the Danish/American Association for his many civic and charitable contributions. Ninety-year-old Britta Stein levels public accusations against Henryks by spray-painting “Coward,” “Traitor,” “Collaborator” and “War Criminal” on the walls of his restaurant. Mrs. Stein is ultimately taken into custody and charged with criminal defacement of property. She also becomes the target of a bitter lawsuit filed by Henryks and his son, accusing her of defamation and intentional infliction of emotional distress. With the help of her investigator husband, Liam Taggart, attorney Catherine Lockhart must reach back into wartime Denmark and locate evidence that proves Mrs. Stein's innocence.

by Ronald H. Balson - Fiction, Historical Fiction

1939: Eli Rosen lives with his wife, Esther, and their young son in the Polish town of Lublin, where his family owns a construction company. As a consequence of the Nazi occupation, Eli’s company is Aryanized, appropriated and transferred to Maximilian Poleski, an unprincipled profiteer who will keep the Rosen family safe if Eli will manage the business. 1946: Eli resides with his son in a displaced persons camp in Allied-occupied Germany hoping for a visa to America. His wife has been missing since the war. One man is sneaking around the camps selling illegal visas. Might he know what has happened to her? 1965: Eli rents a room in Albany Park, Chicago. He navigates unfamiliar streets and dangerous political backrooms, searching for the truth.

by Ronald H. Balson - Fiction, Historical Fiction

An old friend calls Catherine Lockhart and Liam Taggart to his famous Italian restaurant to enlist their help. His aunt is being evicted from her home in the Tuscan hills by a powerful corporation claiming they own the deeds, even though she can produce her own set of deeds to her land. Catherine and Liam’s only clue is a bound handwritten manuscript, entirely in German, and hidden in its pages is a story long-forgotten. What became of Ada Baumgarten? How is she connected to the conflicting land deeds of a small Italian villa? As they dig through the layers of lies, corruption and human evil, Catherine and Liam uncover an unfinished story of heart, redemption and hope --- the ending of which is yet to be written.

by Ronald H. Balson - Fiction, Historical Fiction

When his uncle dies, Liam Taggart reluctantly returns to his childhood home in Northern Ireland for the funeral --- a home he left years ago after a bitter confrontation with his family. But when he arrives, Liam learns that not only was his uncle shot to death, but that he had anticipated his own murder. In an astonishing last will and testament, Uncle Fergus has left his entire estate to a secret trust, directing that no distributions be made to any person until the killer is found. As his investigation draws Liam farther and farther into the past he has abandoned, he realizes he is forced to reopen doors long ago shut and locked.

by Ronald H. Balson - Fiction, Historical Fiction

Lena Woodward has lived a comfortable life among Chicago Society since she immigrated to the US and began a new life at the end of World War II. But now something has resurfaced that Lena cannot ignore: an unfulfilled promise she made long ago that can no longer stay buried. Driven to renew the quest that still keeps her awake at night, Lena enlists the help of lawyer Catherine Lockhart and private investigator Liam Taggart. She begins to recount a tale, harkening back to her harrowing past in Nazi-occupied Poland, of the bond she shared with her childhood friend Karolina. But there are questions that must be answered about what is true and what is not, and what Lena is willing to risk to uncover the past.

by Ronald H. Balson - Fiction, Historical Fiction

Elliot Rosenzweig, a respected civic leader and wealthy philanthropist, is accused of being a former Nazi SS officer named Otto Piatek, the Butcher of Zamosc. Although the charges are denounced as preposterous, his accuser, Solomon, encourages attorney Catherine Lockhart to bring Rosenzweig to justice, revealing that the true Piatek was abandoned as a child and raised by Solomon's own family, only to betray them during the Nazi occupation. But has Solomon accused the right man?