Miss Graham's Wartime Cookbook
“A murky business, getting murkier by the minute. Ratlines. That’s what the Americans call them. Aptly named. Stretching from here to South America, a conduit for Nazi vermin, organized either by the SS old comrades or the Americans.”
Miss Graham’s Cold War Cookbook is a book I knew I was going to read from the minute I read the synopsis several months ago. Lucky for me, I received an advanced reader copy and was able to dive into this courageous tale of two strong women looking to make a difference in post-World War II, and I wasn’t able to put it down!
In 1945 the war has ended and the rebuilding in Europe has begun along with the secret tug-or-war for high ranking Nazi commanders, doctors, scientists, engineers, etc. Mainly the Americans, Soviets and British are looking to advance their own ambitions and look to further capitalize from the gains made during Hitler’s rule and through the despicable programs set forth by his regime. In America it was known as “Operation Paperclip.” Rather than bringing those to justice in the courts for the heinous crimes they committed, the American government (and other governments) secreted these individuals into their country under false identifications and put them to work as just another ordinary citizen.
“There’s less and less appetite for bringing these people to justice. Too time-consuming and expensive. The new policy seems to be to use them against the Russians or let them slither away. All the War Crimes stuff is being ‘discouraged.’”
This is were we meet Edith in post war London. Edith is a school teacher who is looking to contribute to the reconstruction of the world around her, and, on the side, likes to collect recipes and share them in local publications under the name Stella Shelling. Because Edith is fluent in German and a school teacher, she is quickly hired as part of a program to help bring schools back online in Germany, and this is where the twists and turns begin. Before Edith can even leave London she is asked by two divisions of British Intelligence to help find her past lover, Kurt Von Stavenow, former Nazi doctor who headed horrific scientific experiments involving euthanasia on human beings throughout Germany’s reign.
Now, Edith’s spying job is not easy, simple or even straightforward. One division of British Intelligence headed by Edith’s cousin Leo wants Kurt and other Nazi members for their own devices. The other division, helped out by Edith’s long time friend, Dori (spy and ex-resistance leader) are looking for Kurt, because he holds the keys to information Dori needs in order to find out what happened to the girls she sent into occupied France as part of a spy ring during the war. Then, the Americans enter the arena and complicate things even more for Edith. She must decide what information to share with whom, and the twists and turns in her journey are still just beginning.
The storyline moves at a constant clip and keeps you drawn into the lives of both Edith and Dori as they search for their own truths. Both characters are two of the most memorable historical fiction characters I’ve come across in a while: feisty, damaged, tough, vulnerable and heroic. I fell in love with the purity of Edith, and cool, inscrutable Dori. I became entangled in their lives as they were forced to deal with several harsh realities and heartbreaks. Rees further pulled me into the story with feeling and description of the true destruction, hopelessness and depravity during this time throughout Europe, but specifically in Germany. She did a wonderful job capturing a period in time not often written about in literature.
I’m so glad that I got a chance to read this eye opening story. I’m a fan of well-written and atmospheric stories of espionage, particularly set during World War II. The dual timeline between Edith and Dori’s past and present worked superbly and I was equally invested in both women's stories. It was one of those books that I didn’t want to end. The research, time and energy Rees put into the narrative and its extraordinary characters had me up reading this book late into the night and rushing home from work so I could dive back into the suspense and lives of Edith and Dori. The author’s notes at the back were also particularly interesting, giving a little more insight into the true events of the time. Celia Rees is an author I’m going to be looking out for from now on.
If you love historical fiction and loved The Alice Network, A Woman of No Importance and/or The Nightingale, you will truly love this book.
Thank you William Morrow and NetGalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.
