What a welcome book. Many novels are set in the Second World war, the Cold war or now, the Middle East. there are many books currently plotted around the atrocities of Hitler's camp and the destruction caused by the Third Reich. This book highlights the aftermath of the carnage until 1945. It brings to light the suffering Hitler brought upon his own German people and Europeans. We may not dwell enough on the suffering of these people. In addition it highlights the arrogance and continued idea of superiority of a select number of Germans, members of the SS and other sinister groups, who were not brave enough to surrender and admit their crimes. Those people tried every which way to escape capture and develop a new life , absolved of guilt but continuing to maintain their hate and bigotry.
Celia Rees in an understated way brought all these ideas to the fore in this book. Her characters were handpicked for the roles they played and they did not let us down in their attempts to bring villains to justice.
I really enjoyed the recipes. Growing up in Australia surrounded by German, Polish, Hungarian and Russian people who fled Europe after the second world war, I was exposed to similar fayre. I enjoyed the smells and warmth of those heavy stews. The flavours are as described.
Each individual story of those chasing the Nazis, those fleeing and then all the refugees along the way was captivating.
I would recommend this book as a good introduction to understanding the aftermath of the second world war.

I absolutely loved this book. The light heartedness alongside the intrigue and heartbreak was a different type of novel. for me. First novel by Celia Rees for me but I will certainly be on the lookout for more.

In writing Miss Graham's Cold War Cookbook, Celia Rees has given us an insight in to a period seldom broached by any writer. The immediate aftermath of a world war and how it impacts the disposessed, the enduring allegiances, the new alliances and the spoils to the victor are imaginatively explored. Although sharing the same birth town and without bias, I find Celia's writing style has captured the period in question exquisitely. The story was captivating and with the inclusion of recipes coded from a covert culinary tour, colour was cleverly crafted in to a very black and white era. Whilst black and white in past photographic records, it was grey and very murky in morality, with the victors fighting over the human, depraved, spoils. A salutory tale and one where no country emerges smelling of roses.
Beautifully written, thought provoking and hard to put down.

I really enjoyed this book. The mix of the end of the war, the love story and the cookery element were so beautifully balanced. The poignancy of the plight of the displaced persons set against the arrogance of the SS heightened the story. All in all a beautifully written book that I could not put down and did not want to end. Thank you net galley for the chance to read and review this book

I nearly didn’t select this book to review as I thought it might be peppered with recipes and somewhat of a ‘fluffy’ read. I could not have been further from the mark. Yes, it did have the recipes, and I did read each and every one of them – even though I was not tempted to try any of them; but this was far from the book I expected to read. For a start, the recipes did have a place in the text – perhaps I should say that they enhanced the text and acted as a marker as to time and place in the chronology.

The setting was post World War II and what is known as the Cold War – when Europe had come out of the other side and the face of Europe had changed. The Nuremburg war trials were taking place, and the Treaty of Versailles lad left different zones in a beaten and batttered Germany – overseen by the Russians (no longer our allies), the Americans and the British. We must not forget those working for the newly created Israel and their attempts to smuggle Jews into the British controlled Israel..

Various struggles were taking place: the race to recruit German ‘scientists’ who had information to trade, on weaponry, germ warfare, medicine – all manner of things considered valuable to the Russians, Americans and Britain. Never mind that these people were guilty of war crimes, and inhumanity to fellow man. We also have those desperate to track down these criminals and hold them responsible for their actions. Then we have those employed to give aid and succour to the legions of displaced persons often homeless and starving and to attempt reconstruction of society.

Into this morass we drop Miss Edith Graham a former English school teacher who joins the British Control Commission as an Administrator ostensibly to establishing schools in Germany. However, before she leaves the UK she is recruited as an agent to track down her former lover Dr Kurt von Stavenow and his wife Elizabeth – he had performed medical experiments in the concentration camps.

To add to the cast of characters we have Dori and Adeline two women she knew previously in London, several officers in Berlin and various other spies. To be totally honest – it did get a bit confusing with all the different names but this does not distract from my enjoyment of this text.
In a way, this confusion reflects the confusion of the time and space portrayed – everybody seems to have a different, self-serving, agenda. Nobody was who they said they were – or at least their intentions. Amidst all this chaos Edith shines out – often confused but ultimately wanting to do the best – particularly for those forced to live in the margins, in their own country. But who to trust? Who indeed! I certainly veered from one viewpoint to another, often truly saddened by the reality of what is had been like.

So this little book of recipes – what to make of it. Bloomin’ marvellous – that’s what I say, together with a huge thank you to Celia Rees.

Thank you to the author, publishers and NetGalley for providing an ARC via my Kindle in return for an honest review.

An absolutely wonderful gem of a book, that details the grim life of female spies in post war Germany, and the political fallout of the German defeat. It has a dual timeline, pre-war in England, and then life in the post war zones of occupation in Berlin.
Edith Graham wants to escape the life of a thirty year old downtrodden spinster, looking after her demanding mother and teaching languages in a school for girls. Edith applies to join the Control Commission and go to Germany, to help reboot that defeated country. She soon finds out that the government want her to spy upon the Nazis who are trying to escape to Argentina, and try to recruit the "useful ones" for various nefarious purposes. Edith is introduced to Dori, also a spy, and together they hatch up a plan to send messages back to England using the cover of collecting recipes and coding them( most censors are male and don't read recipes!)
Within these pages are delicious war time recipes from Germany, Poland and other areas that have displaced citizens seeking work. Pine needle tea and potato peelings pancakes, anyone?!! The goulash and other stews fare better, and could be worthy of putting on the oven.
Edith is an innocent abroad, she doesn't know who is to be trusted, and finds out the hard way whom to trust.
There is so much detail in this book, so much brilliant research, I wish I had had this book at school. It is truly heartwarming in some aspects, Edith is concerned for the children, who have suffered so much, and yet, are so resilient to the poverty and life on the streets. Of course, there are those German citizens, who don't think they were defeated and are arrogant to all the occupying nations, who trade freely on the black market, and believe that the fourth Reich will rescue them.
The story rattles along at a good pace. It's full of tension, red herrings and duplicitous events. It is shocking in clinical detail, but comes to a rather satisfying conclusion. A different viewpoint of these horrible times, yet, the hard work and dedication of all these brave spies, who were at risk of capture, torture and execution, deserve to be appreciated.
The art of codes is only now becoming more widely known. I remember reading a book at the age of 12, about the Dutch resistance using young children to run alongside train tracks, waving different coloured tulips, that were arranged in a code, right under the noses of the Germans. Recently, one of my knitting magazines spoke about the use of intarsia, to compose and send messages in carefully constructed scarves and shawls, so inventive! Their knitting skills must have been far superior to my poor efforts.
A great read, deserving of five stars. I will post a review to Goodreads. Thank you for my advance copy.

I really enjoyed this book, the characters were brilliant, wasn't sure who to trust. A great story to tell and a satisfying ending. Some interesting recipes along the way too.

Not my standard genre but I’m so glad I dipped my two into a historical novel. How clever to pass on secrets through recipes. An interesting read and highly recommended

Ok didn’t know much about life in post war Germany and found this really interesting. I liked the idea of using recipes to pass on messages and found the characters interesting

I really loved this book, the characters, the details and the insights into the start of the Cold War, life as a spy, re-establishing Germany after WWII and relationships - both friendships and love-related.

A great cast of characters with a core of steely women as the basis of this book. There were several that stand out but Edith and Dori were my favourites.

Simple writing lets the story speak for itself. It moves fast but the well-drawn characters stand apart as they have very different natures and roles.

I love the use of recipes in this book - it’s not a new idea - I’ve read several over the last year that have recipes running through - but their dual role in this book lends a depth to the stories and to the recipes themselves.

5* really really good! Highly recommended.

Excellent and engaging historical fiction, full of intrigue and surprising warmth. I loved the MC and her very practical outlook. This was a great read.

This was a wonderful historical novelthat I had a great time reading. The way the writer depicted the characters will draw everybody in. Highly recommend this novel.