***Winner of the Macavity and Bruce Alexander Award!***It’s 1931 in Berlin, and the world is on the precipice of change—the affluent still dance in their gilded cages but more and more people are living under threat and poverty. Hannah Vogel is a crime reporter forced to write under the male pseudonym Peter Weill. As a widow of the Great War, she’s used to doing what she must to survive. Her … survive. Her careful facade is threatened when she stumbles across a photograph of her brother in the Hall of the Unnamed Dead. Reluctant to make a formal identification until she has all the details, Hannah decides to investigate, herself. She must be cautious as Ernst’s life as a cross-dressing cabaret star was ringed in scandal, and his list of lovers included at least one powerful leader in the Nazi party.
She’s barely had a chance to begin before an endearing five-year-old orphan shows up on her doorstep holding a birth certificate listing her dead brother Ernst as his father, and calling Hannah ‘Mother.’ Further complicating matters are her evolving feelings for Boris Krause, a powerful banker whose world is the antithesis of Hannah’s. Boris has built a solid wall preventing anyone from disturbing his, or his daughter Trudi’s, perfectly managed lives—a wall Hannah and Anton are slowly breaking down.
As Hannah digs, she discovers political intrigues and scandals touching the top ranks of the rising Nazi party. Fired from her job and on the run from Hitler’s troops, she must protect herself and the little boy who has come to love her, but can she afford to find love for herself?
Praise for the novel:
“Bold narrator and chilling historical setting…an unusually vivid context, [lets] Hannah report on the decadence of her world without losing her life –or her mind.”– New York Times
“Nails both the ‘life is a cabaret’ atmosphere and the desperation floating inside the champagne bubbles.” – Booklist
“Evocative and hauntingly crafted…a treasure of suspense, romance, and murder. Her ability to spin history into a visceral reality is done with the artistry of a master storyteller.”– James Rollins, New York Times bestselling author of The Seventh Plague
“A compelling and human story that captures brilliantly the atmosphere of Berlin during the rise of the Nazis.”–Anne Perry, New York Times bestselling author of We Shall Not Sleep
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fascinating and informative reading. Highly recommended if you are interested in WWII background.
Good characters and good plot.
Excellent read. Strength in characters, what they had to do to survive in the hard times of pre-war Germany. I want more reads like this one.
As a descendent of a survivor of German Nazis, I wasn’t sure I wanted to read this book but I’m very glad I did. Great story telling and great characters!
I absolutely loved this book. It is an awesome read.
Pre-WWII in Berlin. Good character development.
Can Hannah solve her brother’s murder and find romance in a world about to be destroyed by Nazis? I hope there will be another book in the series so I can find out.
**spoiler alert**
Okay, so I heard about this series over a year ago and I’ve been trying to read it. Finally I got to the point where I didn’t have a book to read so I picked this up at the library. It seemed like it would interest me, being the fact that I like strong independent women and enjoy reading about Nazi Germany. Overall I was pretty happy with this book. The book opens with Hannah Vogel standing in a part of the police station where pictures of unidentified people are posted, hoping family members will claim the body. One of the newest pictures to grace the wall is of her younger brother Ernst, a homosexual who dresses up as women in a night club. Naturally Hannah wants revenge for her brother’s death and goes out to seek it. While doing so she meets the wealthy banker Boris, who is very attractive with a young daughter, Trudi, who is a witness to a trial accusing a man of raping young girls, Trudi being one of the victims. Though Hannah and Boris go through a rough patch at first they soon begin an affair. Meanwhile Hannah finds herself being sucked into the Nazi party’s police force, the SA who are known for their homosexual actions. She learns one of them had a relationship with her brother and the father of this man killed Ernst to protest his son. Who also had a relationship with Ernst? Ernst Rohm, head of the SA and Hitler’s most trusted friend. Seems like Ernst got into a bad crowd. Another thing thrown at Hannah? One day a little boy by the name of Anton shows up in front of her door claiming he’s her son. Of course he actually isn’t, his mother is a prostitute that just died of a cocaine overdose. His father? Hannah’s brother, which makes you raise an eyebrow. Anyways, Hannah takes the child under her window even though she has no desire what so ever to be a mother. Then there is also Lars Lang, the police kommissar, who weather Hannah likes it or not has a huge crush on her even though they just met. The book ends with Hannah having to flee Germany in order to save Anton from Rohm, who no doubt will expose him to brutality. This was a very good and I really enjoyed it. Hannah is a really good character and Rebecca Cantrell did an awesome job. I’m looking forward to reading the second book.
It’s a book with characters which make me keep reading to find out what happens to them.
Wow..I want more. A true historical piece that draws you in with such detail to the surroundings and political turmoil of the period. I was drawn in and captivated by the characters.
Good reminder of history for today’s political climate while also being an interesting and entertaining read.
Love her books. Very true to the period.
Really good