The Watchmaker's War: A compelling historical novel of revenge and justice, based on the true story of...

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Danny Ben-Moshe

The Watchmaker's War

A compelling historical novel of revenge and justice, based on the true story of Nazi hunters...

Danny Ben-Moshe

$34.99

Paperback

Forthcoming
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English

HarperCollins Publishers (Australia) Pty Ltd
13 January 2026

A new beginning. And old enemy. A perilous choice.

Yakov Holtzman arrives as 'a displaced person' in Melbourne - a destination as far away as it is possible to get from the graveyard that is Europe. He has put behind him the years he spent as a Nazi resistance leader with a band of partisans in the forests of Lithuania - and the family he lost - to join his brother and start a new life as the watchmaker he once was.

Yakov now looks for solace - and love - in the fragmented and traumatised community of Jewish refugees taking root in a new land. But it is not long before disturbing signs of Nazi activity start appearing in the quiet streets the St Kilda community inhabits - swastikas, threats and, worst of all, faces that look like murderous enemies from the past.

Yakov's old instincts are revived and a new mission forms. Who are these people? Why does it seem the authorities are protecting them? And how best can justice - or revenge - be served?

Based on a true story of Nazi hunters in Australia, and war criminals with links to the top of Australia's spy agency, this is a compelling tale of revenge, justice, shame and the lingering trauma of genocide.

PRAISE

'Can we ever really escape the past? A haunting thriller about old enemies, wounded hearts and rough justice. Spellbinding' Michael Visontay, author of Noble Fragments

By: Danny Ben-Moshe
Imprint: HarperCollins Publishers (Australia) Pty Ltd
Country of Publication: Australia
ISBN: 9781460763612
ISBN 10: 1460763610
Pages: 320
Publication Date: 13 January 2026
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Forthcoming

Danny Ben-Moshe is a Walkley Award-winning documentary filmmaker, whose films have screened on leading networks around the world, from the BBC to PBS. Prior to becoming a full-time filmmaker Danny spent over a decade as a professor at Deakin and Victoria universities in Melbourne where he researched issues of cultural diversity in general, and Jewish identity in particular. His first podcast, My Lost Family, featured in Audible's top 10 podcast in its year of release. His documentary Revenge: Our Dad the Nazi Killer, which inspired The Watchmaker's War, debuted in 2023. Danny's work takes him around the world but when home in Australia, he lives in Caulfield North, Melbourne.