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Clara Vine is a beautiful British actress in Jane Thynne's THE PURSUIT OF PEARLS. It is 1939 and she has chosen to remain in Germany and make films for the Nazis, meanwhile spying on the Third Reich for her country. She is in jeopardy not only because of her clandestine activities, but also because of her heritage. She has Jewish blood, as the Nazi would put it, and it seems that this secret is being whispered about. She has a sister named Angela, with whom she has a strained relationship, but like other characters we meet, the sister may not be exactly who she appears to be.
Besides finding out information from high-ranking Nazi officials, Clara was encouraged to kill Hitler if she ever had the chance. The scene where she fingers her hidden gun and looks at Hitler as he watches a film is fraught with tension. But much else is going on. Clara is investigating the murder of a young woman who was a member of the Faith and Beauty Society, a training place for future Aryan brides. She is searching for Leo Quinn, her lost love, trying to stay in touch with her German ward Erich, helping a Jewish girl get papers to escape to England, and making an historic film with Leni Riefenstahl. Along with Clara's suspenseful life, the book also follows the story of Hedwig, another member of the Society who was best friends with the murder victim. She is devastated by this death and also concerned about the young man with whom she is in love. He seems to have his own secrets, although his job is to paint portraits of Hitler on various objects for people to buy as keepsakes of the Führer.
Clara thinks she is being followed and one official tells her that he knows her secret. He even knows that her papers are forgeries. He wants Clara to become his mistress and then he will protect her. Clara's life seems quite complicated and dangerous. This is Thynne's second novel featuring Clara Vine, and the ending is such that a sequel could follow. There is perhaps too much going on in THE PURSUIT OF PEARLS and it might be a better book if characters and events were allowed to play out with more depth and explanation. Even so, the anxiety of the time period and the unfolding history make for an engrossing read.
§ Anne Corey is a writer, poet, teacher and botanical artist in New York's Hudson Valley.
Reviewed by Anne Corey, June 2016
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