Looking for your next engrossing historical fiction novel? Look no further than Anika Scott's The German Heiress!

The German Heiress
by Anika Scott
Paperback: 384 pages
Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks (April 7, 2020)

“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.

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As always, a copy of this book was provided by the authors in exchange for my honest review. This does not effect my opinion in any way.  

Being cooped up in the house for quarantine means more time for reading--like, SO much more time for reading. (And avoiding anxieties. Er, at least, attempting to by avoiding reality and drowning in fiction. Or is that just me?) Fortunately for readers seeking their next form of escapism, that is still rooted in reality, Anika Scott has us covered with The German Heiress. One glance at the synopsis and I knew I had to read this novel.

When living in uncertain times, there's something very drawing about novels that take place in varied types of uncertainty. Surely, it doesn't always help with the anxieties of our 'now'. But, it does allow us to see different times through different lenses. For me, The German Heiress took me from these times, and thrust me into a more obvious timeline.

Structured in a way that makes the hours fly by, The German Heiress proved to be the right choice. It is beautifully written, clearly well-researched and downright impossible to put down. Emotionally charged and utterly intriguing, The German Heiress is amongst the best of the year's historical fiction.

Unsurprisingly, I was hooked from the very first page and could scarcely find myself able to put it down. The German Heiress hit all the right marks and took me out of the unpredictable nature of the present, and into the familiar tangles of history. (Although, naturally, familiar doesn't necessarily mean comfortable when it comes down to the WWII era setting.)

The German Heiress combines many tropes and archetypes I positively adore in historical fiction.

The possibilities, too, were endless for its potential when it came down to both the era in which it takes place and Anika Scott's highly indulgent, compelling, and intricate, prose. In fact, it is in these traits, that makes me want to shout that The German Heiress is essential reading material for all historical fiction lovers.

In short? The German Heiress was a total hit, for me, and I positively adored this book from start to finish. 

About Anika Scott

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.

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