The German Heiress

A Novel

By: Anika Scott

Narrated by: Lisa Flanagan

“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.

Really engaging

Great listen, kept me so interested I couldn’t stop! Very interesting well read! Thank you

Compassion for a Nazi Industrial Slaver

Well written, well told, not deep but a clever story, and unfortunately the characters are likable enough, for better or worse, that you find yourself championing a war criminal, a Nazi supporter. Even if her beauty, ignorance, or rather a blind eye, and sometimes compassion suck the reader in to create her as a heroine, nonetheless, she is former lover of an ss officer, and heiress to a Nazi work camp at an ironworks factory that she ran during wartime, and she was the one who escorted them from cattle cars, she claimed ignorance to the true happenings. The role of the British Officer whose job it was to hunt her as a war criminal, was written so well, your mind makes him the enemy. A book supporting Germany during war time may be a good read, but it doesn't mean it should ever have been written from this perspective. There's no heroine here. I am annoyed at myself for liking this book, and allowing its storytelling to suck me in to a place where a caring thought is given towards a death machine.

Incredible reader!

Love the story and the reader did amazing! Very fun voices and lots of historical facts in this story!

Great book and narration

Great attention to detail, enthralling story! Characters and plot well developed. Kept me listening over 2 days to finish the story.

I didn't want it to end

Beautifully crafted tale had me longing to know what happened next with every page turn.