The Fortune Teller of Berlin
WW2 Germany. Prior to hostilities and fearful of Hitler’s growing menace, Edith Creutzen flees Berlin for the relative safety of Paris, where her best friend Teresa lives. Edith is a skilled fortune teller, protégée of the late Erik Hanussen, the Führer’s previous clairvoyant. When France succumbs to occupation, the Germans approach her to replace Erik as the Führer’s ‘private consultant’, all expenses paid. British SOE, also aware of her presence via the French resistance, for whom Teresa’s partner Xavier is a fighter, become eager to recruit her to influence Adolf’s military decisions. She is conflicted; refuse, stay safe and protect her family or, knowing beloved mentor Erik was murdered by the Reich, collaborate in a coded-message network and take her revenge against Hitler himself. It’s a huge ask, but Edith bravely accepts the challenge, literally facing up to the volatile dictator.
Civilian and military daily life under the Nazi regime is at the forefront in this superb spy thriller, with alternating first- and third-person accounts, plus cameos from real people, e.g. writer Robert Graves, to whom Teresa relates the entire story over drinks at a Spanish villa in 1973. The depth of intrigue is compelling, overflowing with detail, as the various factions attempt to out-think each other. The impending threat of tortuous revenge as Edith’s deceit unravels is truly alarming, worsened because she and her SS officer escort are irresistibly attracted, leading to a wonderful twist and the tensest of denouements. An excellent read indeed.
