‘A diminutive of Alexander. I told Jim Vanderberg all about Sasha Heine. There was a time in 1930 when he and Geli spent a little time together. The dates are just possible. But we will never know, will we?’

Lydia smiled. ‘No, we will never know – but I think I know which father I would prefer for her.’

‘It doesn’t matter. Klara is who she is – and I love her as though she were my own daughter.’

*

An hour later, as the moorings were loosened and the tugs began to pull the liner away from the pier, Klara and Romy leant over the railings, smiling and waving to Lydia and Johnny, who were waving back even more vigorously.

Johnny and his mother watched until the figures of the two Germans became indistinguishable from the crowd of passengers at the rail. Then Lydia walked to the edge of the dock, removed the silver locket from her handbag and let it slide through her fingers into the dark, oily depths.

Acknowledgements

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I am indebted to the fabulous team at Zaffre for their superb professionalism, particularly my publisher Kate Parkin, whose encouragement and kindness always sustains me when the going gets tough. It also gives me pleasure to pay tribute to my agent Teresa Chris; her steadfast support and advice – and sometimes just a chat about the weather, tennis and the state of the world – keeps me vaguely sane. My thanks, too, go to a very fine friend named Jon Zackon, who is a treasure chest of knowledge – and who has helped me in more ways than he probably realises.

None of what I do would be possible without the practical help and dedication of my brilliant wife Naomi – as well as all the other members of my family and friends.

About the Author

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Rory Clements was born on the edge of England in Dover. After a career in national newspapers, he now writes full time in a quiet corner of Norfolk, where he lives with his wife, the artist Naomi Clements Wright, and their family. He won the CWA Ellis Peters Historical Award in 2010 for his second novel, Revenger, and the CWA Historical Dagger in 2018 for Nucleus. Three of his other novels – Martyr, Prince and The Heretics – have been shortlisted for awards.

Also by Rory Clements

Martyr

Revenger

Prince

Traitor

The Heretics

The Queen’s Man

Holy Spy

The Man in the Snow (ebook novella)

Corpus

Nucleus

Nemesis

Letter from the author

Dear Reader,

To research Hitler’s Secret, I walked the broad avenues of Berlin and Potsdam in Germany and explored the lakes and rivers that divide the two towns. I drove northwards via Oranienburg, then on to the forest of Schorfheide and finally made my way to Greifswald and the Baltic coast.

It was a pleasant journey through some lovely towns and gorgeous countryside. But it was not without reminders of the way things were in the Nazi years between 1933 and 1945.