Fantastic read set in Dubrovnik.

I learnt a lot from the history woven into this novel, which is a moving and yet hopeful story.

I want to go to Croatia now!

1944, a man has to make a heartbreaking choice: to don a hated uniform and try to save Jews or stay safe and protect his own family. 2010, Fran's stepdad dies and she decides to head to Dubrovnik to find out the truth about her biological father...
The Collaborator's Daughter is a dual timeline historical novel set in the recent past and during WW2.
Fran is 65 and struggling with grief and complicated family dynamics. Her mother Dragica left Croatia after the death of her father Branko and headed to England where she remarried. Now with both parents dead, Fran has no one to answer her questions about the past so travels to Dubrovik to search for the truth. She fears that her biological father could be a fascist and responsible for heinous war crimes.
In Dubrovnik Fran meets Jadran and he gives her a new perspective on the past and on her future. She struggles with the thought of a physical relationship or a long distance one, yet she feels more alive than she has in decades. I admit that I tired a little of Fran's soul searching even though I urged her to find happiness. Jadran also has significant emotional baggage which the pair need to address.
The majority of the book is written from Fran's third person viewpoint but there are alternate short chapters from Branko's viewpoint. The historic timeline was just heartbreaking as Branko struggles to survive and does everything he can to protect his family. The author acknowledges that some readers may feel disappointed that there is not more of a balance between the two timelines and I agree that this is how I felt. She says that this is due to the lack of information but I feel that that is exactly what an author could have imagined and included! Branko's storyline was much more emotive for me and I also wanted to know about Dragica's feelings and experience.
The vivid descriptions of the landscape brought the setting to life. The characters interact with their environment and this brings an authenticity to the plot. Other historical events are described in relation to Jadlan's past and the author has done plenty of research on the history and geography of Croatia.
The Collaborator's Daughter is an emotional novel about accepting yourself and moving on from the past.

I enjoyed this novel, it was perhaps a little different to what I was expecting, but an enjoyable read nonetheless.

Following the death of her step father (who she has always seen has her father), Fran decides that the time has come to learn more about her real father. She knows that her Mother loved him very much and was devastated to leave Dubrovnik after the war.

There is little information for her to go on, so she decides to travel to Dubrovnik to see if she can find out more for herself. She is unprepared for, and devastated by the truth. Her Father's name is on a list of Nazi collaborators, and far from dying a hero, he was executed in shame.

Fran isn't sure that she wants to know any more, but she does wonder if there could possibly be more to the story. Should she really write him off without giving him a fair hearing? She decides to investigate further, with the help of a few friendly locals.

It is understood that not everyone wants to talk about the war, even decades later, and even less want to talk about the executions that happened, so getting to the bottom of her Father's story is somewhat problematic for Fran.

Luckily she is a strong individual, who has great relationships with her friends and family, who are there to offer a helping hand to support and guide her through the trickiest of personal journeys.

Told in a dual timeline from Fran's perspective in the present, and her Father's in the past, this is a beautifully written novel, about a country in WW2 that I really knew very little about, despite my fondness for this period in time in historical fiction.

Recommended.

A deep and Intruiging set in Croatia and depicts the troubles from the start of the WW2 and includes the Balkan Conflict . It is told by Fran aged 65 who wants to find out about her birth father and through that emerges the images of the experiences

This is an incredible story that I loved the characters right away! This was such a beautifully written story and I couldn't seem to put it down.

I found this book very captivating, I like reading books set around the World War 2 era, but this book was about a subject that I don't really know about. It was very interesting to read about it.
I also liked the duel time line.
This is a very enjoyable but emotional book.
Thank you to Netgalley and the Publisher for my ARC.

Such an interesting story about a time I have heard a lot about but wasn’t there for. The characters and the prose are engaging and heartbreaking and thought provoking. This story stuck with me long after I was finished reading it.

The Collaborator's Daughter is a fast paced story with a dual timeline between the years 1944 and 2009-2010.

Glyn has researched WW2, the partisans and Dubrovnik. Although there are some short chapters it doesn't take away from the deep sense of history. The writing style is easy to follow, with a mixture of dialogue and description.

The character development of The Collaborator's Daughter gives background information and flashbacks that help the reader to connect with the characters. The characters are interesting and realistic.

Branko is unable to join those who have fought for his country at the front line due to an injured leg. He is given the task as a messenger by the mayor. He is often conflicted about his time at Lopud and his part in the Jewish camp there.

After the passing of her step-father Fran became interested in reading Croatian blogs and articles. Finding an article related to WW2 where more than 50 Nazi collaborators were executed and were being exhumed so they could be identified by DNA analysis. When she sees her father's name listed on those identified so far encourages her to travel to Dubrovnik to find out more about her roots...

Overall I felt that The Collaborator's Daughter was very a emotional story. I couldn't help but sympthise with Branko and had a lot of mixed feelings with the fact the Fran couldn't seem to understand what her father had done, it a time that was clearly disaterous from those involved. In the authors note Glyn explains that she was unable to find much research about that time and heart couldn't help but go out to those people who would have never known what happened...

I would suggest reading The Collaborator's Daughter to people who enjoy historical fiction, it is a touching chracter driven story, that follows Fran as she discovers some truth about her parent and makes some new friends and her own memories....

Poignant, atmospheric and utterly enthralling, this is another resounding triumph from Eva Glyn!

Not quite a dual timeline because of the scarcity of information available about World War II in Dubrovnik, as explained in the author’s notes at the end of the book, the narrative is nevertheless spilt over two time periods; 1944 and 2009/10.

There are so many strengths to this story. Eva Glyn has a wonderful way of creating not only vivid, authentic characters, but also depicts her settings with such descriptive clarity, you can picture the scenes in your mind. Dubrovnik and its’ islands, both during wartime and in the present day come alive in the pages.

The central character Fran, or Safranka as she was named when she was born, is a complex but extremely likeable protagonist. She has spent her life needing to be needed by others and her journey of self-discovery as she seeks to uncover her past is thoughtfully portrayed. It is also an interesting angle to have a more mature lead female.

Particularly heartwarming is the development of her relationship with Jadran, who similarly has his own demons to overcome. It is a joy to follow their rediscovery of romance later in life after both have endured such heartache.

The secondary characters within the plot all play a vital role, with Fran’s long term friend Parisa being the perfect antidote to her fretting. I also love the description of the traditional women sellers at the market who befriend Fran and welcome her with open arms. Even Eli, despite their unfortunate first encounter, ends up being a pivotal player in Fran’s discoveries.

It is also testament to the author, that although the content is harrowing and graphic in places, the historical aspect has clearly been thoroughly researched and fits authentically into the plot.

A truly wonderful read and one which I cannot recommend highly enough!

With thanks to the author, Rachel at Random Resources and One More Chapter for the opportunity to participate in the tour.

Based on true events this is an evocative, emotional read, I was captivated by Frans story and was pulled deeply into this beautifully written narrative. This was a different style book for me but I loved it.

The lower rating isn't a negative it's because the topic is subjective and hard to rate but I definitely recommend you read this.

A very sad but I am sure a very true story for many people who lived during WW2 in what was then the Eastern Block |Countries. This one will make you think. 5 stars and I recommend reading this.

Thanks to Netgalley and publisher for this ARC

The Collaborator’s Daughter is an utterly wonderful historical fiction read that had me completely captivated from the very first chapter. Told in dual timeline, 1944 and 2010 it’s the story of Fran who travels to the beautiful city of Dubrovnik in Croatia to find out more about her past and to discover more about her real father. This is a story which is poignant and sad at times but happily it’s not all doom and gloom. I loved both time lines and it’s really obvious as you read the 1944 timeline the amount of effort the author has put into her research . The descriptions of Dubrovnik were wonderful and at times heartbreaking when reading about the war time and how people suffered. The fact that Fran (Safranka) was in her sixties made a welcome change to the usual stereotype character we often read about. The way her relationship with Jadran developed made the book even more interesting. Reading the acknowledgments at the end of the book really explained everything so well.
This is one book I can’t recommend enough for historical fiction fans.

From its opening pages – 1944, and a moment of reflection in a Dubrovnik on the verge of liberation as a man ponders what the future might hold for his baby daughter Safranka – I knew this was a book I was going to love.

It becomes Fran’s story – 2009, now sixty-five, with her caring responsibilities now ended with the death of her stepfather. Aware that her mother fled from Dubrovnik after the war, her thoughts turn to finding out more about her birth father – her mother had always told her he had a hero’s death, but finding his name among a list of Nazi collaborators massacred by partisans on the island of Daksa she decides to use some of her inheritance to try and uncover the secrets of her past. She rents a small apartment for her stay, makes a friend at the local cafe – and he introduces her to his uncle Jadran, the only person willing to take her to the island where her father died. As she continues her quest to uncover the full story, they become close friends – and she learns more about the sadness in his own past, the heartbreaking consequence of a far more recent Balkan conflict.

The full story of her father’s experience slowly emerges – as she follows the clues she discovers, and through glimpses into his difficult life that become part of the story. There’s an immense sadness and inevitability about the outcome – and the insights into the complicated situation following the liberation of Dubrovnik are just superbly handled, a compelling story, that illusion of a new safety and peace sadly shattered. The sheer injustice of his ultimate fate is just so desperately sad – but the book as a whole is filled with hope, as Fran slowly becomes able to put the past to rest and move forward with her future.

It’s not so unusual these days to find an older character as the focus of a story – but I found Fran particularly easy to identify with, her uncertainties, her many insecurities, her initial worries as she embarked on her journey. There’s a nice focus on her friendship with the considerably more confident Parisa – with some nice touches of humour along the way – and the complications and joy of family, with her difficult brushes with her resentful stepsister but the warmth of her relationship with her stepbrother and her son and his family, who she misses greatly while in Dubrovnik. Her friendship with Jadran slowly develops into something rather more too – a romance, tentative at first, and particularly sensitively handled given the damage from his own losses and the emotional impact of Fran’s discoveries – and that was an element of the story that I very much enjoyed.

But I have to say that it was the unfolding wartime story that had the most powerful impact – the bravery of the individuals, the hardship and dogged endurance, their belief in doing what was right despite the personal cost, a family torn apart, the unexpected and fascinating Jewish connection. And then there were those parallels with the more recent conflict – and that strong message around the importance of not judging individuals by their ethnicity, but by who they are. And I really must just touch on the story’s vivid and wonderfully researched setting – both present day and wartime, it’s quite perfectly drawn, transporting you to Dubrovnik, into the heart of the community, and to the remote islands where the full story slowly emerges.

There are times when a review just can’t do full justice to a story – and I feel I’ve barely scraped the surface of this one, which I found immensely emotionally engaging and a searing picture of the impact of conflict upon its survivors. Unforgettable – and very highly recommended.

(Review copied to Amazon UK, but link not yet available)

The Collaborator’s Daughter is the unforgettable new novel from Eva Glyn.

It’s 1944 and Dubrovnik has been completely ravaged by war. Branko Milisic holds his newborn daughter Safranka in his arms and hopes for a better future. However, hope is in short supply as while the Nazis are finally retreating, the arrival of the partisans brings new dangers for Branko, his wife Dragica and their new baby. Fran has always known that she had to fit in. Being the older sister to two half-siblings meant that Fran always felt like she was an outsider looking in and now she has found herself facing questions about her identity, her people and where she really came from.

Fran doesn’t have a lot to go on. She knows that her real father was a hero and that her mother had to flee Dubrovnik after the war, but that’s all she knows. Yet, she is aware that in order to find the answers she seeks, she needs to dig deeper. So she travels to the city of her birth to uncover the truth and is devastated when she discovers something that shocks her to the her core: her father in 1944 had been accused of being a collaborator and subsequently executed. Convinced that there is more to this story than meets the eye, Fran will not stop searching for answers until she can uncover the truth. Fran quickly discovers that the past isn’t what it always seems, but just what secrets did his father take to his grave? And why was he really executed?

Should Fran have let sleeping dogs lie? Or will the truth finally set her free?

Eva Glyn’s The Collaborator’s Daughter is a heart-wrenching, emotional and enthralling tale of courage, hope, love and sacrifice that will linger in the mind long after the last page is turned. Eva Glyn writes powerful stories that grab your attention from the first line and keep you riveted until the end and The Collaborator’s Daughter is certainly no exception.

Poignant, captivating and atmospheric, Eva Glyn’s The Collaborator’s Daughter is storytelling at its finest.

This is something a little bit different to what a normally read but I enjoyed it nonetheless.

Set in two timeliness - 2010 and 1944 - the story is written from the point of view of Fran (Safranka) in Sussex in 2010 and her father, Branko in Dubrovnik in 1944. Fran was born in Dubrovnik but left with her mother when she was just a baby and never knew her father but was always told he was a hero.

Fran is now in her 60's; her stepfather has recently passed away having lost her mother a number of years earlier. With her son having grown up with his own family and having found out that her father's remains have been found in a mass grave containing fascists and collaborators from World War II; Fran decides to return to her country of birth to learn more about her father and to find out what she wants to do with the rest of her life now she has no one left to care for.

I loved the characters and particularly the fact that they were of an older generation which was a refreshing change proving that it's never too late to change your life although it remains a scary concept. I loved the setting and the descriptions of Dubrovnik which really made me want to visit. I found the sections set in 1944 were my favourite parts, I wish they had been longer and more in depth however, the author has explained why this was very difficult due to the lack of information available.

Overall, an enjoyable read and whilst I don't usually like a book that has quite such a focus on romance, it did work well with this particular story and it made for a gentle and easy read.

My thanks go to HarperCollins UK, One More Chapter and NetGalley for enabling me to read and share my thoughts of The Collaborator's Daughter.

This is another spectacular offering from a gifted author. I was immediately swept up, into the story, and knew that I was guaranteed to enjoy escaping to Dubrovnik. The book opens in 1944 Dubrovnik, an image is painted of a loving family with a young child. It’s impossible to imagine that a book set during the war will not bring heartache, and it certainly delivers a weight of sadness. Despite that, the sequences that feature the young family are heart-warming and I was reminded of the love and positivity of the story ‘Life is Beautiful’. Despite the desperation, a happy outlook was shown to the young Safranka.
In the early noughties, Fran has turned sixty-five and no longer has carer responsibilities as her parents have now both died. Having inherited from her stepfather’s estate, she decides to take a trip to see if she can discover more about her early upbringing and her birth father. Returning to Dubrovnik is the natural option and she rents a small unit for her stay. On arrival, she befriends a young café owner and is introduced to his uncle, Jadran. Through her friendship with these men, we also learn a little more about the dreadful conflicts between the Serbians and the Croats during the more recent war. Again, a difficult subject and sadly, much more recent.
With Jadran as an unofficial guide, Fran embarks upon a journey of discovery, searching for information about her Father.
There is a real feeling of desperation as the story reaches its climax. All evidence suggests that searching for the truth about her father will lead to heartbreak, and yet Fran pushes onward. The story takes us to remote islands and into the heart of the Croatian Jewish community. News of the execution of known collaborators remains a constant cloud, dampening down any hope of a happier ending.
Despite the themes, I found this book brought me great joy as Fran slowly discovered her past, and Jadran opened up about the loss of his wife and daughter. The overall feeling of hope travels through the book, like a narrow beam of light from a setting sun. That joyful positivity helped me to trust that the ending would bring satisfaction and hope to the characters, and to me as a reader.
This is a must-read book if only to learn more about the horrors of war and its lasting impact on the survivors. I certainly feel encouraged by the endurance of the human spirit.

This is the first book I've read by this author. Unfortunately, I couldn't read it as fast as I had wanted to because I have had the flu for close to a week and feel exhausted and so achy. This is an incredible story that I connected with the characters right away. A beautifully written dual timeline I was immersed in the story as I read. I liked that the main character is a woman in her sixties as many books do not have a main character this age and it's wonderful to see women this age shine. Though going by Fran her actual name is Safranka. Fran was born in Dubrovnik, Croatia and towards the end of the Second World War. Her stepfather has just passed away and her mother several years before this. She really didn't know her father and she is upset that she can't ask her mother about it. Having spent most of her life in England she knows she must go the land of her birth, Dubrovnik, Croatia. There she meets handsome men Vedran and his uncle Jadran. The descriptions of Croatia's food, culture, scenery and its people made my imagination come alive. I could just picture it all. This is a journey she will take with Jadran who encourages her in her research to find out about her father's life. She discovers to move forward in her journey you first have to move backwards, and the past is closer than you think. Such a beautiful story, very touching, heartwarming and will not be forgotten. Pub Date: 01 Apr 2023 I was given a complimentary copy of this book. All opinions expressed are my own.

This was a brilliantly written historical book. I was so immersed in it that life just passed me by. I loved it. The characters were very believable and the setting made it even better. My thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book in return for an honest review.

What a wonderful story! Filled with enchanting characters that you can't help but connect with.
Fran is a mature woman, who is bright, intelligent, energetic and definitely know exactly what she wants!
This is a compelling dual time line story set in 2010 and 1940s after the Nazis left Croatia. It is a story about war, peace, love, loss and starting over- new beginnings. How the past is intertwined with the present.
I think everyone should read Fran's story, and I highly recommend. This is the best of 2023 so far for me!
Thank you to Harper Collins UK, One More Chapter and to Net Galley for the free ARC, I am leaving my honest review voluntarily.

A really good read that drew you into the gentle story. Fran is a 65 year old who has spent the last few years caring for her elderly stepfather. We meet Fran at his funeral, and she's now a bit lost and not sure how to fill her days. Her son, Michael is grown up with his own family, and although close to him and her brother Andrew, she needs to take stock of her own life. Fran discovers her biological father's name in a list of executed Croatian fascists from WW2 and decides to visit Dubrovnik, the city of her birth. The story alternates with Fran's time there searching for her roots and chapters set in Dubrovnik at the end of the war where we see that her father was no collaborator. We hope she reaches that conclusion through her research. There are so many stories (rightly) set in France at the heart of the war action so to read how other countries were also affected can be an eye opener. A gentle story, although focusing on war, it is also one woman's realisation of who she is. Beautiful. #netgalley #TheCollaboratorsDaughter