Murder mystery and espionage set in Nazi Germany. Clara Vine, the protagonist, is an actress working in Germany and providing intelligence for the British Secret Service, but Clara is not the one who really interests the reader.
What sets the novel apart is the inclusion of Eva Braun, and Clara must get close to Eva as part of her assignment. Although Clara moves the story along, it is the wives and lovers of the German high command with whom she must occasionally interact that provoke a curious fascination.
History doesn't recount much about the wives of those men whose viciousness and inhuman behavior have merited history's contempt, but Magda Goebbels, Margarete Himmler, Emmy Goering and others are also a part of what occurred. What roles did they play? How much or how little did they know and/or approve of or ignore?
And while kept less visible for many reasons--Eva Braun, the girl who became Hitler's mistress and finally married him shortly before their joint suicide, is the object of much curiousity. Of course, everyone knows a little about Hitler's mistress of twelve years, but I had never thought of her as much of an individual, more as a side note to history, and this novel made me curious. It is amazing how many people continued to live such mundane lives as Hitler made and instituted his plans...as millions of people were sent to camps, as almost unbelievable atrocities were committed.
The novel isn't really about the what terrible things happened either in or out of the concentration camps. It is a spy novel, but one that arouses curiosity about how the majority of Germans came to worship Hitler, to accept his ideas, and to continue to live ordinary lives while millions died in horrific ways--and curiosity about the wives and lovers of those men responsible for the most egregious of those crimes against humanity.
The Scent of Secrets is historical fiction that sent me in search of more information.
Smithsonian documentary, In Search of Eva Braun--narrated by Leonard Nimoy
Eva Braun's home movies
Read in May. Review scheduled for Sept. 7.
NetGalley/Random House
Historical fiction/Espionage. Sept. 15, 2015. Print length: 448 pages.
We had a book about Eva Braun in our LFL for awhile, not sure what happened to it. The spine had a big swastika on it and it made us a big uncomfortable. This book looks interesting.
ReplyDeleteThe main thing I liked about it was the way it showed some of the early moves made by the party and the role of the wives. Of course, I was fascinated by the documentary by Nimoy and the what the home movies revealed about Eva Braun and how Eva and other women spent their time. So frivolous, so seemingly unaware of the horrors taking place. It did not affect them....
DeleteI have this series (it's a series, right?) on my radar and in fact, I believe I have Black Roses in my library book bag right now! I can't wait to try it. It sounds fascinating and unlike anything I've read about World War II so far.
ReplyDeleteYes, although I didn't realize it was a series when I read it back in May. What I liked more than the storyline was that the author made me think about details of life that I hadn't read about before, the role of the wives of the high command, etc. Eva Braun's interest in cosmetics and perfume are included as part of the story, as well as other particulars I was unaware of. Thynne takes little domestic details into account and layers the more serious aspects on top.
DeleteNow that I realize the book is part of a series, I will have to read more--who knows what else I will learn? :)
I echo Jenny; I don't think I've read anything like this but it sure sounds fascinating. Most war books I read focus much on the male protagonists and/or the war settings so this is something new to me.
ReplyDeleteIt is a different way to look at the time period. Looking at it through the eyes of the women, and often the women who were supportive (with varying degrees of enthusiasm) of the Third Reich. Like you, my reading about this period has frequently been from a male perspective or from the victim perspective. Now, I'm curious about the rather ordinary people who became monstrous and the women who married them.
DeleteIt's an unusual viewpoint to take on WWII, but I think that's what intrigues me. Thanks for posting about this book. I don't read a ton of spy books, but I like them when they're good. And I like that this one shows the war from a slightly different side.
ReplyDeleteThat is exactly what intrigued me about this novel--that the author took a little sideline and looked at the distaff side of Germany.
DeleteThis sounds like a fascinating read, Jenclair. I'm always interested in reading books that explore why so many people followed Hitler, and then add to it a look at the women in the lives of the leaders of the Nazi party and I'm doubly interested. I am adding this one to my wish list.
ReplyDeleteWatching the Eva Braun documentary and her home movies...strangely compelling. How ordinary people fall into such strange circumstances. The novel's plot was OK, but the little things she mentioned about the real people made me so curious!
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