What Will Save Us by Claire Seeber #whatwillsaveus @claireseeberauthor @valleypress @lendalpress #bookreview

 

Three spies. One Mission. Three agendas – and everything to lose.

On the eve of war, Anna takes a post in London as a nanny to a family with Nazi ties, hiding her desperate search for the baby she was forced to give up. 

Karl plays both sides of the Secret Service, hunting a double agent while haunted by a past he cannot forget. 

Elise is drawn back into the shadows she once escaped. 

Set across Britain, Germany and Austria, What Will Save Us is a thrilling, intimate tale of ordinary men and women, whose messy, broken lives end up changing the course of history.

What Will Save Us by Claire Seeber was published on 15 October 2026 by Lendal Press / Valley Press. My thanks to the author who sent my copy for review. 

Some books entertain us and some make us think, and others that get right our your skin. What Will Save Us by Claire Seeber does all three of those things. I practically inhaled the book.

It's a sweeping, beautifully created story of espionage, betrayal, love, loss, and most importantly,  about people and the extraordinary lengths they'll go to for those they love.

The story begins in Austria in 1937, and we are  introduced to Anna, a young woman whose desperate actions bring her to the attention of Karl, a man working for both British and German intelligence. What follows is a dangerous journey into a world where nobody can be entirely trusted, loyalties are constantly changing and the consequences of making the wrong decision are terrifying.

What I really loved was that, despite the enormous historical events unfolding around them, Anna and Karl are the always the heart of the story. They are both complex and they have both suffered. They also both carry secrets, and are driven by very personal motivations. They are vulnerable and they are wonderful.

The author creates the atmosphere of pre-war Europe so convincingly. There's a sense of unease that increases throughout the story,  we are aware of the horrors waiting just around the corner. However,  alongside the tension and intrigue, there is such tenderness in the writing. The emotional story is just as compelling as the espionage.

Knowing that Anna was partly inspired by the author's own grandmother, and that the novel began during an incredibly difficult period in Claire Seeber's life, adds another layer of poignancy. There's a real sense of heart behind these pages.

I love historical fiction that teaches me something while keeping me completely absorbed in the characters' lives, and this certainly delivers. It's ambitious, atmospheric and full of difficult choices, with moments that are genuinely heartbreaking.

What Will Save Us is much so more than a wartime thriller. It's a powerful exploration of motherhood, survival, identity and the long lasting consequences of the past. A moving, memorable novel that will stay will be for a long time. Highly recommended. 

Born in London with a love of all things dramatic, Claire Seeber began her career as an
actress. Soon deciding she'd rather pull strings safely behind the scenes, Claire forged a successful career in documentary television, enabling her to travel the world, glimpsing lives otherwise unseen, also working as a feature writer for newspapers such as The Guardian, The Independent on Sunday and The Daily Telegraph.

She now works as a therapist, but is also a bestselling author of psychological suspense, with her novel Lullaby (Avon, 2007) recognised as one of the foundational works of 'domestic noir'. Her novel The Stepmother (Bookouture, 2016) has sold over 120,000 copies to date. Her 9 novels have been translated into 13 languages; she has been shortlisted for the 2023 Bridport Prize for Short Stories, and her short story 'He Did Not Always See Her' was shortlisted for a CWA Dagger. More recently, The Street Party and The Parents were both published by Bookouture, and reached the Top 5 Kindle Bestseller list.