This book is great! Would definitely recommend. Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Have you ever done something you regret? What if what you did affected thousands of people? This war time story follows a war criminal in the after math of the war and gives is insight as to how people continued to suffer after the war ended.

This book tackles what happens to those who bent to the Nazis. Post WW II 1946, Clara Falkenberg, once an heiress to the Falkenberg Iron Work is now on the run trying to hide from those who think she helped the Germans too much. Her nickname “the Iron Fraulein” follows her. She cannot find her best friend and her best friend's son though and is desperate for news. In her hunt, she finds answers she cannot handle. She also finds hope and a chance for redemption if she can not mess it up.
It is interesting to read about a post WW II where the character is meant to be hated based on what could have been done...and realizing some people had little to no chance to break free because if they did, they too would be killed. Clara must struggle with what she did and did not do during the war. Insight as the book progresses shows her struggles and what she was able to do.
Thank you Netgalley for the ARC.

A book that drew me historical fiction taking place in post ww2 Germany.The suffer to of the war on the children the peopke.Wel drawn characters very involving for fans of historical fiction grab this book.#netgalley#harpercollins.

I was approved for this novel on Edelweiss back in the winter and I am circling back to share my review here, too. Not sure whether I was approved on this platform or not. Very much enjoyed the novel.


Set largely against the backdrop of Stunde Null Germany in the British-occupied city of Essen, The German Heiress follows the efforts of Clara Falkenberg, a former heiress to the Falkenberg mines and ironworks, to find out what happened to her dearest friend. At the close of WWII, Clara, knowing that her family's apparent complicity with the Nazi regime would spell disaster, fled Essen under an assumed name and has spent almost two years in Hamlin where, as the book opens, she finds the man with whom she's been involved, is a doctor who sterilized children in the camps at Ravensbruck. Appalled, Clara tries to return to Essen to find out why her friend Elisa has not replied to her letters. She finds a British intelligence officer, Captain Fenshaw, is hot on her trail, seeking to charge her with war crimes, just as her father is charged and awaiting trial in Nuremberg. But Clara is more worried about the fact that her beloved Elisa is missing. Her house has been destroyed, another family is living in its cellar, and her son is also missing. Dealing with her own haunted memories of all that she and Elisa tried to do to shelter the factory's forced laborers, part of Clara almost feels as if she thinks she should be caught if only she knows her friend is safe. She looks back at her parents' choices - her British-born mother was a greater supporter of Hitler than was her German father- and questions why they didn't leave Germany when they saw the rising Third Reich, the pogroms, the influx of forced laborers - and questions everything the Falkenbergs did over the past decade. Her beautiful town of Essen, heavily bombed at the end of the war, is in a chaotic state. For the survivors, there are hard questions about what they did to survive the war and what they will do to survive in its aftermath.

While trying to evade Fenshaw, she meets Jakob, a discharged German soldier who lost his leg in the campaign on the Eastern Front. Following the death of his parents, he is struggling to provide for his younger sisters, including one who is pregnant by a British soldier who left her in the lurch. Jakob makes his living, like so many, on the black market. He, too, is looking for Elisa. Together they try to unravel the truth of what happened to her in March of 1945, and the truth about her teenage son Willy.

This is a tightly written novel of historical fiction that encourages the reader to contemplate the spectrum of resistance in WWII. It also captures the terrible outcome of a regime that encouraged children to report on their own parents.

The audiobook is beautifully narrated by Lisa Flanagan, who captures some of the accents handsomely.

I received a Digital Review Copy and a paper review copy of this novel from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Really enjoyed this glimpse into post WW2 Germany and exploration of guilt by Germans who may not have agreed with the Nazi logic but were swept up with the tide. A truly unique story about industrial Germany that I had never learned about before. History is truly written by the winners and as such, this is a story that hasn’t fully been told before and I appreciate the author’s ingenuity in bringing us a new (forgotten) piece of history.

I enjoyed this book. I like how it took place after WWII had just ended, so it wasn't your typical WWII book. It also was told from the perspective of different people in Germany, so that was very interesting. I would recommend this book for anyone who likes historical fiction. I received a copy of this book from netgalley and the publisher in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to Netgalley and Anika Scott for my copy of The German Heiress for an honest review. This post WWII novel, follows Clara Falkenberg, and her time after the war. She is hiding out from the British, who are occupying Germany and looking for war criminals , after the war. Clara’s family owned the Falkenberg Iron Works and Clara ran the business when her father went to Berlin, for the remainder of the war. This is a fast paced novel and has many interesting characters. Clara, while hiding for Thomas Renshaw, a British Commander rounding up war criminals. While traveling to Ennis to find her best friend and her sun, Clara meets Jacob Relling, who helps her along the way. Clara and Jakob become a team and secrets are discovered and lies are exposed. I couldn’t wait to see how this novel ended and it was well with the wait. The story progressed so well and I was very happy with how it ended. For those who like WWII novels, this book will be great for them. I have recommended it to my friends and rated 4 stars on Goodreads and Barnes and Nobel and Amazon.

If you loved reading The Alice Network & The Lost Girls of Paris, you are going to love this book!!! Another book I could not put down!!!

I read a lot of novels about WWII and always find it very interesting to find one from the German perspective.
The war has been over for two years and the allied forces are busy trying to find war criminals to prosecute. Germany is still in disarray with people struggling to find food and shelter so it's fairly easy to hide from the authorities with a fake identification card. Margarete Muller is the fake name that Clara Falkenberg is using to try to return home. During the war, she ran her family ironworks company and used forced labor and inhumane practices to make cars and planes. As she returns home to find her best friend, she is also realizing how many people she hurt during the war and beginning to question her actions She always felt that she had done her best to protect her workers but the world saw her differently. Was she a cruel inhumane person, only concerned with increasing her family's wealth or was she compassionate and caring and just caught up in family's legacy? This is an excellent novel about someone making a personal journey and trying to make sense of their past while they strive for a better life in the future. It's an extremely well researched novel about love and family, acceptance and betrayal and forgiveness and redemption.

I really enjoyed this one! Set in post WWII Germany it tells the story of Clara who was called the Iron Fräulein during the war and used as a poster child for the Nazi Party. Now 2 years after the war had ended she is hiding from the Americans and looking for her lost friend. I loved that this story was set in Germany after the war and dealt with the issues that so many Germans dealt with. It is easy to just lump all of them into the Nazi Party but in reality that was not the case. I would highly recommend this to anyone who loves a good WWII novel!

Thank you Netgalley and William Morrow publishing for providing me with an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

It’s funny how I tend to be drawn to books having something to do with WWII. Even after I’ve read so many, I still want to know more and read more. I especially am drawn to stories from a perspective that I haven’t read before. The German Heiress tells Clara’s story in post WWII Germany. This is a book that definitely makes you think about one’s motives and perhaps what would you do if this were you? The German perspective isn’t always written about so I found it different and enjoyed Scott’s writing, especially with Clara’s growth as a character and wondering how it would end. Recommend this book!

The German Heiress looks to be a fabulous book, but it just didn't capture my attention. As a book one really needs to be in the mood to read, hopefully I will try again in the future.

This book was so refreshing in its’ addressing of the impact of Hitler’s war on the citizens of Germany. I think we often forget than young men in Germany were drafted to defend their country as were other country’s youth.
This book focuses on a German company that is forced into service for Hitler. It also addresses Russian involvement, which we don’t often see.
Our main character is the daughter of that German company. I must say at the beginning I was not her fan.
Without giving away any plots this was a very good book. I gave it 4 Stars on Goodreads.

When a publicist at Harper Collins sent me an email asking if I'd like to read and review this book I immediately said yes. The cover appealed to me and World War II jumped out of the description making this book a must-read for me.

As soon as I began reading the book I was hooked. The main character, Clara Falkenberg, is complex. There is a mix of hardness to her and vulnerability. I found myself intrigued by her and throughout the course of the book felt myself understanding more and more her and the choices she made.

As for the other characters in the book, I thought Jakob was the perfect balance for Clara. He's her opposite in so many ways yet there are similarities too which made them a great match. I wasn't overly fond of Clara's mother, Anne. The author did a great job of creating different personalities for these characters and making them enjoyable and not so enjoyable.

The author does a fantastic job of telling Clara's story and keeps the story moving at a pace that kept my attention from beginning to end. I was shocked when I reached the end and discovered this was the author's debut novel. This book was written as if the author had several books under her pen. I liked her writing style and will definitely book on the lookout for future books by her.

If you are a fan of World War II novels then don't pass up this book. Well developed characters, a good story, and excellent writing made this book an enjoyable read. Happy reading!!

Well, this is marvellous, what an incredible debut! If I had read this without knowing beforehand that this was Anika’s first book then I wouldn’t have believed it – in fact even now I am still astounded – this is pure class
I have read a lot of books set in this era, n fact I was reading ww2 historical fiction before I found romance, there is something about this era which really captures the imagination especially when it is so flawlessly written like this is.
The majority of the book I have read has been focused more on the allies, the British, the French resistance and what happened during the war itself around Europe, it is so rare to find a book where the reader sees the story through the perception of Germans who were sort of stuck in the middle. I do think that certain aspects of that war have been lost in time, those stories have been left to fade into history – which is understandable with the horrors that happened during that bloody terrible war, but a little sad too that there are innocent voices who haven’t been heard. Thank goodness for gifted authors such as Anika Scott for bringing the voices of the likes of Clara Falkenberg to the ears of the world.
The German Heiress is an amazing book; full of intrigue, drama, danger, surprises, twists and turns, a beautifully constructed and daring plot which keeps you guessing throughout. I can guarantee you will be hooked from page one, and that you may end up reading the entirety of this book in one go. There are some unsettling and uncomfortable moments, but this is a WW2 novel so it’s to be expected.
Clara Falkenberg who was once destined to be the most sought after and wealthiest heiress of the biggest ironworks in all of Germany now is living under an alias after she fled her home and everything she knows as she was discovered sneaking extra rations into to help feed her workers, now she must live in the shadows in fear of her life and of the Nazi’s, she was helped by a friend; Elissa.
The war has been over for the last two years, Clara is no safer than she was before, she has returned to her home to find the truth about her families past, it is once arriving that she finds her much loved friends; Elissa has disappeared which starts off a journey of danger and discovery as she tries to find the answers to her burning questions, find her friends and try to evade capture from a ruthless British officer who thinks she is guilty of war crimes.
Clara is an interesting character, I was in two frames of mind about her though, in one moment I liked her for her bravery and trying to the right thing by feeding extra rations to the workers and then the next she is an untrustworthy war criminal, in those moments I desperately wanted to see justice done for those who couldn’t speak for themselves.
This book really pounds at the emotion, it is a complex mixture of feelings as you read. The plot isn’t taxing, it is very easy to read yet it does pull you in, it’s compelling reading. The writing is solid, there is a lot of research that has been put into this book.
I applaud Anika for writing such a gripping, engaging, thought-provoking and illuminating tale which certainly is set apart from all others that are set in this era. This is a stunning debut, and I know from the quality of this book Anika Scott with have a long and successful writing career and I personally cannot wait to read more from her.
This was a complimentary copy via the publisher, which I voluntarily and honestly reviewed. Thank you, Bianca, at Harper Collins / Willam Morrow

The war was in its last months, the last bloody crescendo. They were all going mad one way or another

In so many historical fiction books on World War II, you have your pick and rightfully so on the Jewish aspect so I always enjoy reading on the German aspect. Maybe it's my German heritage, knowing that it is never always black and white why people do what they do or don't do. Clara is running from her identity and the authorities as the war is ending. She and her father or responsible for war crimes. Clara's father run an iron industry in Essen, Germany. Clara took over when her father was detained by the Allies for war crimes. This prose reminded me of Schindler's list as Clara begin to see the people oppressed. She goes on a journey trying to escape the allies where she meets Jakob a wounded German soldier who is not Nazi material who helps her despite of who she is. He sees something more in Clara that she does not know. Clara is on a quest to find her best friend and her son. It is in this search, she finds something more. Family secrets and the woman she was made to be.

A Special Thank you to Harper Collins Publishing and Netgalley for the ARC and the opportunity to post an honest review.

This is an interesting and different view of WW2 from the vantage point of the German business owners and citizens who were threatened to comply with Hitler’s army.

I had a bit of trouble getting going with this story. I’m not sure if I didn’t like what was happening or if the beginning didn’t flow to me. After I paced my way through those initial pages, the story ramped into high gear. I don’t want to issue any spoilers, but I was overwhelmed to see how the war had such an effect on everyone around. It was incredibly easy for people to be killed simply because someone said they were involved in a crime against the Reich. Businesses were forced to comply and use forced labor. After the war, people were left to live in bombed out houses and were in fear of the people who came to rescue them from the Nazi regime.

I read that this debut novel was meticulously researched. I couldn’t find what our author researched. I do not know if it is based on actual events or simply things that might or could have happened during this time. The writing is engaging and the story keeps you locked in. It’s definitely one that is hard to put down.

Oh, geez. I thought another WWII book with a female protagonist. There are so many coming out I'd almost decided to read no more of them. I am glad I changed my mind. This was excitedly different. Taking place after WWII, Clara is a well-developed character and her attempts to cover her past mistakes make for a exceptional book.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this novel, the writing kept me engaged from start to finish. Normally, I would not read this genre but decided to give it a try and I am happy I did.