Reviewed by Emma Crowley
After a bombing led to her identity being mistaken, Margarete Rosenbaum has been living disguised as one of the Nazis themselves, for almost the entire war.
But secretly—aided by Stefan, a resistance fighter she’s becoming impossibly drawn to—she is trying to liberate the Jewish workers sent to work on the land she’s inherited, and to sabotage the work of the factory she’s meant to be in charge of.
She knows that every day she is risking her life. But she also knows what she has to do. Because it could be her on the other side of the barbed wire fence. And for every person she saves from the Nazis, it’s worth it.
Until she is discovered. And to protect the people she had been helping, she knows she must accept her fate. Even when they send her to the very place she’s hoped to save her prisoners from: Auschwitz… Where no one comes out alive. As the war moves towards its brutal end, will she survive to see Stefan again?
Many thanks to Bookouture via NetGalley for my copy of Daughter of the Dawn to review and to Sharon for having my review on the blog.
Daughter of the Dawn is the fourth and final instalment in the Margarete’s Journey series by Marion Kummerow and what an absolutely fitting end it was to what has been an incredible series from start to finish. Yes, this book is written in such a way that it can be read as a standalone as there are paragraphs which provide just enough background information for readers familiar with the story so far and said information does bring new readers right up to date. But, in my opinion, to truly appreciate what a brilliant series this has been I suggest going back to book one and get to know Margarete and what motivates her. Where has she come from and wat has brought her to this point in what has been a long and difficult adventure.
The journey she has been on is remarkable and she will do anything to keep her Jewish heritage a secret and to protect the Jews in her care who work in her factory. The road she has travelled has been perilous and fraught with danger and the tension, unease and suspicion ramp up significantly in this new book. Things start to occur that I thought would never happen to her, given at some points she seemed almost untouchable and everything was more or less going to plan despite some of the hurdles and bumps that had appeared in the road. With the end of the war within touching distance, but yet the threat of the what the Russians will do once they arrive ever present, you almost think that Margarete is home and dry and that everything she has been through was worth it. But still the author had plenty of twists, turns and surprises to throw in. Some wanted but plenty that weren’t that leaves the reader with their heart in their mouth and wishing desperately that there would be a positive outcome.
The development of the overall story from the first moment we meet Margarete Rosenbaum as she emerges from the rubble of her employers home to where she is now posing as Annegret Huber, the daughter of her former employers who had great wealth, has been fascinating and all aspects of the story have been executed and thought out so well from start to finish. Each book has moved the plot forward without it feeling rushed or far-fetched and always the reader is left with a cliff hanger but now as we reach the finale it’s time for loose ends to be wrapped up and to see what fate has in store for Margarete. Have all her efforts been in vain? Is the game finally up and the worst fate will befall her?
Margarete has been on a brave, tense and emotional journey and the façade she has had to portray for so long is surely starting to wear on her but she is no longer the meek little maid subservient to the whims of a German family. If only the authorities knew that the woman they believe to be Annegret is Jewish and that she is doing everything within her power to keep her identity a secret and at the same time trying to ensure the Jews made to work in the munitions factory on her estate are kept safe from deportation. Most importantly one of those being her Uncle Ernst whom she has discovered working at the factory. Romance is also on the cards for Annegret but to be honest it’s not the main focus of the story and nor should it be but it was nice to see her having some happiness and love in her life even if it too needed to be kept secret.
Within the first few chapters an even more dangerous web is spun and the threat of discovery is even more present. Margarete must avoid becoming stuck in the centre of said web for if this were to occur so many lives would be in great peril and there would be nothing she could do to stop more senseless killing occurring. Katze is the new district leader and he knows an awful lot more than he first lets on. But he is different from other Nazi’s as he has his own personal gain and wish for power at the centre of everything he does. He’s not really interested in the bigger picture. More so he wants to further his own individual aspirations, wants and desires. He wields a metaphorical knife over Margarete’s head and bribery and threats become even more common place in her day to day life. She knows that the conclusion of the war can not be far off so she agrees to Katze’s proposals/bribes but complying with them is not easy and this leads her into an even more treacherous situation than ever before. When worst comes to worst and more money is needed Margarete has no other choice but to travel to Berlin accompanied by Stefan, the man she has fallen deeply in love with. What happened there was traumatic to read and I couldn’t believe what was unfolding before my eyes. I had secretly hoped that the fate for millions of Jews which had already taken place would not occur for Margarete but a betrayal sees her venture down a path she had tried to evade for so long.
Given the blurb mentions Margarete travels to a very dark place where hardly anyone emerges alive from, I expected this part of the story to occur much earlier than it did and also I thought it would be explored in much more depth. The circumstances leading up to such dishonesty and deception were well plotted but I found once said event occurred and this was only at around the 80% mark in the book. Well then everything happened very quickly and it became quite formulaic with significant events being what I thought came across as listed rather than developed in any greater detail. This I felt would have added even more even more depth and allowed the reader a greater understanding of what Margarete was going through and those who were left behind on the estate at Plau am See such as Stefan and Dora. This was the only problem I found with what was a fascinating, excellent story which showed such solidarity amongst those who were persecuted and how so many did so much with so many limited resources.
More often than not I may find issues with a book are never resolved or addressed but it was like Marion Kummerow had read my mind and in her end notes there was ample justification for the lack of detail in the later parts of the book as we reached the climax of the whole series. She felt she couldn’t go there in any great depth as to what could have happened in the place which was hell on earth for so many innocent victims. I can totally understand this and perhaps in future books she may set a story in said camp. I also found it really intriguing that she is planning a future series where some of the characters I have come to know and love will feature. Little tantalising titbits were provided as to what direction this new series will take and all I can say is that I am really excited for what is to come and it’s brilliant that the characters and all the major and minor plots that have run their course here with Margarete’s story will be continued, expanded and developed in a different way. I can’t wait to see what the author has in store for us next. But for now, Margarete’s story has reached its end and I have loved every minute of it despite the tough and at times harrowing subject matter. This last book provided the reader with a fitting ending and having being gripped from the first word of book one the last of book four I am sad to leave the characters behind knowing that there no longer be that anticipation and buzz of a new book. But definitely this was a series that kept you on the edge of your seat as the noose tightens around Margarete and the eventual outcome you are just not sure what that will be. This is historical fiction at its very best and it’s well worth a read.
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