Sadly, I just couldn't get into this. I tried twice and gave up twice. It was well written but I just couldn't connect with it.

I received an ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to NetGalley, Random House, and the author Anika Scott.
I really enjoy WW2 fiction and this was an interesting story from a novel perspective. Finding Clara tells the story of Germans involved in the war effort, disenfranchised with Nazism and Faschism, but nonetheless complicit in their own ways. It humanises the German side of the war, something which is often overlooked in other novels.
Enjoyable! 3.5 stars.

A totally unusual take on the casualties of WW2 at the end of the war with allies sweeping up nazi sympathisers and collaborators. Carla struggles to escape the retribution of the allies whilst struggling the even greater guilt of running her fathers business which in effect was assisting the Germans efforts to win. We are taken on a journey of terror and hardship by several individuals all attempting in their own way to survive and come to terms with the outcome. A well written book from an unusual and original perspective. Really enjoyed becoming part of Carlas journey if slightly sceptical at the ending. But that is the joy of fiction in that the writer gives us a cracking good read and follows up with an exciting and thrilling much hoped for ending. Thank you NetGalley for this ARC which was thoroughly enjoyed.

A different view of World War II. This story takes place in Germany in the aftermath of the war, the allies are rounding up war criminals and imprisoning them. One of these is Clara the daughter of a wealthy factory owner who used foreign labour in their factories. Clara uses her wits to avoid capture and once caught manages to escape, she receives help from a crippled black marketer, but this is also her downfall. She is searching for her friend and her son a quest which leads to her ex lover. The descriptions of starvation and numbing cold are chilling.

Found this an intriguing look at how the people of Germany struggled immediately after the war had ended just to survive day to day. Clara was a sympathetic figure and following her story as she tries to find her family and friends, finding out things she couldn’t have imagined as she goes, was an interesting journey.

I would go for 3.5 stars here so levelled up.

At first I was suspicious of this story and the relatability of the protagonist.
Without spoilers, on paper, her basic profile at the beginning of the story is of someone that one would generally find unsympathetic.
I was intrigued if the author would be able to make this work, to engage the reader and swing it round and for the most part, she does. It was quite surprising how well the characters developed and ended up enjoying the book and story though I felt a little bit like it may have been too tidily wrapped up.
It’s definitely not an easy topic or perspective, but enjoyed reading it

3.5 stars

Finding Clara is a World War Two historical fiction set in Essen. The year is 1946 and the story features Clara, the daughter of a German Industrial family. For two years she ran the family iron works in the heart of Germany’s steel and coal producing area during the war.

When the Allies drew closer in 1944 and chaos in Germany loomed, Clara escaped Essen, leaving it all behind. Now she returns, searching for her best friend. However, the Allies are seeking out war criminals and Clara is unsure of what she will discover.

Scott has created a believable picture of post-war Germany and how the people of Essen attempted to survive. In the heart of the Ruhr, Essen had been a target for strategic bombing of the arms factories for much of the war and whole areas were destroyed.

Clara is presented to the reader as a mystery; was she a Nazi supporter or just a victim of circumstance? Scott shows us glimpses of Clara’s life and how she came to be trailed by a top war crimes investigator. Seeing events through Clara’s eyes was refreshing compared to many other books in this genre, but part of me always held back from fully empathising with her. I certainly enjoyed the unravelling of the story around her family, but I was hoping for it to take a darker turn, especially towards the end.

Overall, an interesting direction for a book in a popular genre, but I thought that the story lacked the necessary edgy grittiness of a war related drama.

Clara Falkenburg has an English mother and a German father. During World War ll she runs the family Steel Works in Essen and is known as The Iron Fraulein but she hates the Nazis and tries to help the slave labourers that are brought in to work in the factory.

I nearly gave up on this book after the first few chapters but am so glad that I persevered with it.

A really interesting read about what it says like to be German living in Germany in the aftermath of WW2. There were a while lot of people just trying to survive and the Allies were not all as nice as they try to portray themselves. In amongst this is our hero, the sweetheart of the Nazis, but was she really all bad? Was everyone so bad, or was the fascist machine so big that no one single person could stop it, so working against from within seemed the only option. We have a family scandal, a romance with a black marketer and the British officer trying to capture her at all costs. A good read

Set in the Allied Occupation, a story that looks at the fears, guilt and crises of conscience of ordinary people struggling to accept life following a war that they lost. Harsh physical and mental challenges are both depicted showing that the supposed end of hostilities comes - if ever - long after the fighting stops.

1946 Post War, Essen.

Clara Falkenburg is living under an assumed name. She is being hunted down for was crimes by Captain Fenshaw. Clara decides to look for her best friend, Elsia after returning home to find her city destroyed and Elisa and her young son missing. Clara's father is in prison waiting trial for war crimes. Thenstory touches slightly on her family and there is a shocking secret revealed.

This story revolves around Clara's search for her friend, Elsia and her son. Clara is also trying to elude capture and imprisonment. The story is well written. I liked Clara ut I also found her frustrating. It's also pretty dark in places. This book is different to most post war stories that I've read.

I would like to thank NetGalley, Random House UK, Cornerstone and the author Anika Scott for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.

On the whole I enjoyed this book: it's a fast-paced and entertaining read, and I really wanted to find out what happened. The historical detail and atmosphere of post-Second World War Germany was really skilfully evoked, and I particularly liked the character of Jakob. The characterisation was occasionally a little off and unconvincing, and sometimes things tied up a little too neatly. But I'd recommend if you're a fan of 1940s historical fiction. 3.5 stars

Finding Clara by Anika Scott
This novel set in 1946 is fascinating in that it paints a picture of what life was like for the German people after their defeat by the Allied Forces. Germany is depicted as a devastated nation struggling to survive under the rule of the Tommies. We first meet the main character Clara when she is masquerading as Margarette Muller and is planning to marry the Doctor Blum in order to secure her safety. It is then revealed that his reason for the proposal is that he believes her to be Jewish and thinks that this will stand him in good stead if he is questioned about what he did during the war.
Margarette flees from Hamelin to Essen in order to search for her friend Elisa but is pulled from the train by Captain Fenshaw and it is clear he has been pursuing her for years and intends to bring her to justice. The descriptions of the difficulties which Clara faces in her bid to escape from Fenshaw’s clutches are very powerful as are descriptions of Jakob’s determination to help Clara despite all the difficulties this may cause for him.
It was a wonderful story and I became fully involved in the dilemmas which Clara faced in performing her role in the Falkenberg firm. It gave a clear insight into what life had been like for those on the losing side in this terrible war. I would thoroughly recommend the book and would like to thank Net Galley and the publishers for the opportunity to read the book in return for an honest review.

would like to thank netgalley and the publisher for letting me read this book

we read so many books about the war but i have to admit to not knowing much about after the war and how the germans faired...and i found this book enlighted that knowledge

this is about a german family where the dad was arrested for war crimes and how his daughter took over his factories as her brothers were involved in the war....

clara was wanted for war crimes and her part in the war...but what were her real crimes....even though she became the face for the hated nazis was she really as bad as she was painted....

interesting story line and a couple of times my heart was in my mouth, well worth a read

Post war Germany is not an easy place to be, especially if you want to disappear.

Clara Falkenberg, was once part of an influential industrial family now decimated by war and politics. Clara was left to run the iron works often using forced labour and under extremely harsh conditions.

Now, hiding under a new identity, she struggles to survive.

Chased by the Allies for war crimes can she trust her friends?

I found myself changing my mind about Clara,. A very interesting and strong character it was her outcome which kept me reading.

Recommended

Thank you for my ARC. I really enjoyed this book and will be posting my review on my blog, amazon and Goodreads near to the publication date.

Clara is a woman on the run. She has lived under a new identity but the war is over and her past is about to catch up with her, it’s not long before Clara is caught and the truth of her war years are about to be exposed.

This was an intriguing read. I have read many war time books but mainly from a British perspective. This book was set in Essen and has a German perspective.

Clara was a part of the high standing and powerful Falkenberg family. They ran the ironworks and as the war took hold Clara found herself in charge and nicknamed The Iron Fraulein. Her brothers are dead and her father is under interrogation by the British accused of War Crimes. Now, the time is right for her to return and find her lost friend Eliza but her road is long and fraught with danger.

Captain Thomas Fenshaw is on a mission to locate Clara and bring Justice for the part she played. He will stop at nothing to find her.

I loved the way that this book portrayed Clara firstly as a victim and then as we dug deeper in and the layers started to peel away we were feeling that maybe this character isn’t all that she seems before, all the threads tie up nicely at the end as the story comes to a close.

This book really kept me engrossed all the way through as I needed to know what closure each of the characters had. Would Clara find Eliza and her young son Willy? What happens to Jakob, the injured soldier who is just trying to do the best he can for his two young sisters and who is the real Clara?

I am still unsure as to if I actually liked the character of Clara but she certainly made for a very intriguing read. This was a good read, very dark at times and it was refreshing to have a war time story told from a very different perspective. I really enjoyed this book and would recommend it.

Clara is on the run. As a German heiress whose family was heavily involved in using what was effectively slave labour during the war she is a person of interest to the British. She meets Jakob, an ex soldier who is now a black marketeer and falls for him. Meanwhile her half brother Willy waits in a mine for his mother to return all the while going mad. This is a story about guilt whether it is that of Clara who although anti- Nazi and although she tried to make conditions better for the workers in the family business knows at heart that she didn't do enough, or that of Jakob who betrays her to the British in order to keep his sisters safe.

I struggled to engage with this story. I didn't find Clara a particularly sympathetic protagonist and couldn't relate to her at all. Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the ARC.

My favourite gene on book! I was really looking forward to delving into this and it did not disappoint. This story is an interesting and intriguing account of how German people carried on after WWII. It was well written and a very interesting page turning storyline. The characters also had great depth. A really great read. Thank you NetGalley.

I enjoyed the story of Clara, and especially the German perspective of a WW2.

The characters in the book are believeable and engaging and their relationships, and how the war has affected them, are key themes which I found very enjoyable to read.

Thanks for letting me review this book

1946 Essen Germany.
Clara is on the run from the Allies accused of helping her father in his war crimes. Jakob has survived the war although wounded and is now trying to help his family survive.
Willy is the fifteen year old son of Clara's best friend. But she has been killed by the Gestapo and her son has been in hiding for several years with his pet canary and now refuses to believe the war is over.
Clara needs to make her peace with herself and with what she has has done.