Welcome! I’m happy to be joining TLC Book Tours for the blog tour of The German Heiress by Anika Scott.  Thank you to the author and publisher for the review copy.

Genre:  Historical Fiction

Published: April 7, 2020

Source: TLC Book Tours

---

My Thoughts:

Reading Historical Fiction has taught me so much about WW2 and the lives of the people who lived it. The German Heiress was a fast moving spy thriller that involved a woman on the run from her family’s past, after the end of the war. Clara was an interesting heroine since many books focus on the evil actions of the Nazi soldiers and not on the Germans who didn’t condone or support the violence and cruelty. Jakob was a black marketeer who helped Clara as she is trying to find her friend two years after the war and his role was integral to the plot. He had a choice to make and his bravery and strength of character really stood out. I was most impressed with the way the author made the reader think about the confusion and moral dilemmas these people faced as so many German towns were destroyed. I also have to compliment the vivid descriptions of the cold and bleak streets of Essen, Germany. It was easy to empathize with the survivors who were starving and homeless after the war. I would recommend this debut title for readers of historical fiction who might be interested in a unique and different perspective.

Publisher Description:

“Meticulously researched and plotted like a noir thriller, The German Heiress tells a different story of WWII— of characters grappling with their own guilt and driven by the question of what they could have done to change the past.” —Jessica Shattuck, New York Times bestselling author of The Women in the Castle

For readers of The Alice Network and The Lost Girls of Paris, an immersive, heart-pounding debut about a German heiress on the run in post-World War II Germany.

Clara Falkenberg, once Germany’s most eligible and lauded heiress, earned the nickname “the Iron Fräulein” during World War II for her role operating her family’s ironworks empire. It’s been nearly two years since the war ended and she’s left with nothing but a false identification card and a series of burning questions about her family’s past. With nowhere else to run to, she decides to return home and take refuge with her dear friend, Elisa.

Narrowly escaping a near-disastrous interrogation by a British officer who’s hell-bent on arresting her for war crimes, she arrives home to discover the city in ruins, and Elisa missing. As Clara begins tracking down Elisa, she encounters Jakob, a charismatic young man working on the black market, who, for his own reasons, is also searching for Elisa. Clara and Jakob soon discover how they might help each other—if only they can stay ahead of the officer determined to make Clara answer for her actions during the war.

Propulsive, meticulously researched, and action-fueled, The German Heiress is a mesmerizing page-turner that questions the meaning of justice and morality, deftly shining the spotlight on the often-overlooked perspective of Germans who were caught in the crossfire of the Nazi regime and had nowhere to turn.

Purchase Links

HarperCollins | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

About The Author

Anika Scott was a journalist at the Philadelphia Inquirer and the Chicago Tribune before moving to Germany, where she currently lives in Essen with her husband and two daughters. She has worked in radio, taught journalism seminars at an eastern German university, and written articles for European and American publications. Originally from Michigan, she grew up in a car industry family. This is her first novel.

Find out more about Anika at her website, and connect with her on Facebook and Twitter.

---

Did you enjoy this post? Please take a few seconds and click to retweet! [bctt tweet=”Book Review | The German Heiress by Anika Scott #thegermanheiress @williammorrowbooks @tlcbooktours #orangecountyreads”]

This post may contain affiliate links, which means I receive compensation if you make a purchase using this link. Thank you for supporting this blog and the books I recommend! I may have received a book for free in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

---

Follow OrangeCountyReaders on Goodreads, Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. Support Us on Ko-Fi and Amazon. And please, feel free to leave a comment!