Reviewed by Emma Crowley
1933, Berlin. Ten-year-old Hanni Foss stands by her father watching the celebrations marking Adolf Hitler as Germany’s new leader. As the torchlights fade, her safe and happy childhood changes forever as Reiner, the father she adores, is corrupted by his new position as commandant of an infamous concentration camp…
Twelve years later. As the Nazi regime crumbles, Hanni hides from her father on the outskirts of Berlin. In stolen moments, she develops the photographs she took to record the horrors of the camp – the empty food bowls and desperate faces – and vows to get justice for the innocent people she couldn’t help as a child.
But her carefully constructed new life is threatened when Hanni discovers a body hidden in a bombed-out building, and meets Freddy, the tortured young detective in charge of the case. Could the fierce emotion in his brown eyes distract Hanni from her quest for atonement?
Or will Reiner stop her himself? Because on the day she plans to deliver her damning photographs to the Allies, Hanni comes face to face with her father again. Reiner Foss has a powerful new identity and he makes it clear just how dangerous it will be to expose him. Now she faces a devastating choice, between the past which haunts her, and the chance of a future with Freddy…
Many thanks to Bookouture via NetGalley for my copy of The Commandant’s Daughter to review and to Sharon for having my review on the blog.
I’ve read everything that Catherine Hokin has written and have always enjoyed her books so it was a no brainer for me to read The Commandant’s Daughter. I was expecting another historical fiction book set during World War Two, of which I have read so many books of this nature and yes I got that but so much more. I was really pleasantly surprised with the direction this book took and it has gotten me excited about this genre again when I fear I was in danger of having gone overboard and read just too much about this topic.
I thought that this was a complete novel in itself but I only discovered as I read the end notes that this is the first book in a planned series of four following Hanni and Freddy as they navigate through the shadows of World War Two into a more hopeful future. What set this book apart from all the rest out there was that the story took on a totally different direction which I had not been expecting in the slightest. It became a mystery/crime thriller detailing a series of murders that occur in the devastated city of Berlin in the year proceeding the war. I’ll admit crime/mystery wouldn’t really be my genre of choice, It’s only on the very rare occasion that I dip into this sort of book. Had I known The Commandant’s Daughter was like this I dare say I perhaps wouldn’t have chosen to read it but I would have missed out on a intriguing and gripping read packed full of mystery but also some romance. But it’s also about how two characters deal with the fallout from the war but as they come from opposing sides the connection they feel can’t be acted upon.
The Commandant’s Daughter really gets you thinking; Can people change sides given their heritage is so entrenched with what occurred during the war? Is it fair to tarnish everyone with the same brush? Can love blossom against the tide of opposition and strong held opinions and beliefs? Can revenge be enacted in a just way? The answers to these questions are not given in this book but I am sure they will be explored over the course of the books that are to follow in this series. I feel this is perhaps Catherine Hokin’s most ambitious book yet and the fact the story will stretch over four books makes me keen to see how the central storyline will be developed and managed in the future. This book provided the reader with a really strong start and the themes explored were dealt with and crafted well. I feel there has to be another storyline running concurrently alongside the main plot but will it be another murder mystery again? Who knows but I will certainly be reading the next instalment as soon as it is published.
The book took quite some time to find i’s rhythm as I felt it jumped around a lot before settling and we got down to the real nitty gritty of the story. I had thought I would be reading about Hanni’s experiences as the daughter of an SS officer during the war who also sent so many innocent people to the extermination camps and the so called ideal that was Theresienstadt which turned out to be the place from hell. Instead we are introduced to Hannelore, who later changes her name to Hanni, as she is a young girl attending a party hosted by her father as Hitler has just been announced as leader of the Nationalist Socialist Party in 1933. Hanni doesn’t like the changes in her father. She can’t break any rules as someone is always watching you and the tight unit she has with her mother and grandmother is all that she can cling too given her father Reiner is now a stern officer who will not hear a bad word said about what is unfolding and how Germany is changing. A chance meeting with Jewish photographer Ezra Stein as he waits to take pictures of a parade from the balcony of where the party is taking pace changes Hanni’s life forever. A love for photography is inspired although her future subject matter will haunt her forever. She knows the face being presented to the German people is very different from the truth and the horrific realities on the ground.
The book jumps forward and at first I found this disconcerting as I was prepared to read of Hanni’s experiences in the war but when I came to realise the focus would be on the aftermath of the war and how the city of Berlin was divided up between the Soviets, British and American’s I was able to settle down and get to grips with the main body of the story. Hanni had promised herself that when the war was finally over and if she was still standing that she would find her voice and share the stories that needed to be told, she would no longer be quiet. Instead she would share that she was opposed to the war and she would try and bring those who carried out such atrocities to justice. Primarily, her father is her target. One would think how can you go against your flesh and blood especially as you yourself would be viewed as being on the German side and aware of everything that went on? But this shows what a remarkable character she was, that she was willing to bare the wrath of Reiner and expose him. This would not be easy and danger lurked at every corner. The tension oozed from every page as you never knew what was around the corner for Hanni. You felt every bit of her fear and anguish but you were desperate for her to right so many wrongs in any way she could. Resolution was not found in this first book and I doubt it will be until the very end but I would love to be proven wrong in regard to this stance.
I’ve mentioned Freddy several times so where does he come into the story? It’s when Hani is in an abandoned building and discovers a body left in an unusual way and marked that she meets him. He is the detective that will investigate the case and the others that follow. Freddy is Jewish but changed his second name. He is still grappling with what happened to his family during the war and the fact that he comes into close contact with many SS officers and their families makes you really appreciate the genius of his character. He wrestles with his emotions and can’t keep them contained especially when the motives for the murders become clear. Is there actually a good reason for what is happening? How can Freddy push his own emotions to the side and solve the case?
You feel an instant connection between Freddy and Hanni but know it can’t be acted upon given their backgrounds. As Hanni is employed by the police for her photographic skills she is drawn ever closer working side by side with Freddy. She longs desperately to tell him who exactly she is given he has been so open with where he has come from and what he has been through. They truly are so near but so very far apart and you just wish that two people who have feelings for each other could act on them and see in what direction things may go in but given all the recent history you are wary whether this will happen. Hanni wants more than a working relationship with Freddy but will the burden of keeping secrets whilst at the same time trying to seek revenge on her father prove all too much?
The synopsis for The Commandant’s Duaghter read like it was one book but in fact delving between the pages it proved to be a totally different read. Despite the tough subject matter and all the descriptions of what happened at Theresienstadt and what Freddy had experienced too I found this to be a brilliant read. Yes, we may have known who the murderer was and the reasons for his actions and normally this would spoil a book but Catherine Hokin really made this work. Her writing and the carefully constructed plot and the motivations and reasons for everything were there for a well selected reason. Every point she made, every scene and all the brilliant characters present were so well formed and backed up and made for a read with assured tension and plenty of crafty twists. I hope we won’t be left waiting too long for book two as things were left on a cliff hanger and I can’t wait to get back and read more about Hanni and Freddy and what is ahead for them.
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