The Lost Mother - by Catherine Hokin (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

She looked at the empty cradle where her baby had been. Her heart felt tattered and empty, like the hollow streets of Berlin after its people began to live in fear.

Berlin, 1934. Homes once filled with laughter stand empty as the Nazi party's grip on the city tightens. When Anna Tiegel's beautiful best friend catches Reich Minister Goebbels' special attention, an impulsive act to save her brings Anna under his unforgiving scrutiny. First, she loses her job, then slowly, mercilessly, she finds her life stripped away. After her father is killed by the Nazis, Anna's final hope is to escape to America with her boyfriend Eddy, but when she reaches his apartment on the agreed date, she finds it deserted. Alone and pregnant, the future feels terrifying, but she must try to protect the life inside her.

Rhode Island, 1957. Peggy Bailey stares in shock at the faded photograph of two laughing women which her beloved adoptive mother struggled to pass on to her before she died, whispering 'It was inside your baby blanket when we brought you home'. As Peggy continues to stare, she realises that she has seen one of the girls before, in the most unlikely of places... Bursting at the realisation, she embarks on a mission which takes her across America to find the truth behind her heritage. Nothing, however, could prepare her for the tragic story her actions uncover...

A poignant and beautiful World War Two story about survival and a mother's enduring search for her child against all the odds. A heart-breaking read for fans of The Tattooist of Auschwitz, We Were the Lucky Ones and The Alice Network.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 'The best historical fiction book I've read this year! I was awake until the early morning hours finishing it, because I could not put it down! The story was heartbreaking... It held me riveted from the first page to the last.' Goodreads reviewer