This powerful debut, set in the aftermath of WWII, echoes true events. Kurtzman’s mother, aunt, and grandmother were Holocaust survivors who spent two years in Vienna in a DP camp, struggling to get visas. Facts behind the fiction—revealed in the author’s note—are disturbing and inspiring.

My favorite part of THE LOST BAKER OF VIENNA is a huge plot spoiler, but I can say this: there’s suspense, mystery, horror, heartbreak, love, and joy. Above all else, this timely novel is a testament to the resilience of the human spirit.

The story opens in contemporary North Carolina with a food writer called Zoe. She is bereft after her grandfather dies. A Holocaust survivor, he was her only living relative. But she discovers papers amongst his belongings that raise questions about what happened to her family after the war. Her quest to uncover the truth leads her to modern day Vienna and a world famous, reclusive baker.

From then on, the story moves seamlessly between Zoe and her great aunt Chana.

Chana arrives in Vienna in March 1946 with her teenage brother and widowed mother. A courageous young woman, she hasn’t abandoned her dreams of being a baker, even if those dreams belonged to her before life—before the ghettos, before the murder of her beloved father (a baker), before the hell she endured in a concentration camp. Now her priority is keeping her family safe and getting visas for America.

Meyer, a handsome black-market dealer, finds them jobs in a hotel. The work is decent, and they get free meals, but Vienna is a war-ravaged city. Danger lives on the streets and antisemitism is strong.

Even so she settles into a routine of work, trips to the American embassy, and a growing affection for the hotel’s assistant pastry chef, Elias. Disguised as a young man, she slips out at night to bake her father’s recipes with him. Meanwhile, she crosses paths constantly with Meyer. He offers the protection of marriage—but within a criminal network.

She’s attracted to both men: the one who understands her dreams, and the one who needs a bodyguard. But who can she trust when war has changed everyone? And how much will she sacrifice for her family?

Only one thing is certain: her passion for baking is the true light in the darkness.