What Will Save Us
What Will Save Us
Claire Seeber
Paperback
Pre-order now: for delivery October 2026
When Anna marches into a hotel in the Austrian Alps and shoots a member of the waiting staff, Karl sees what few in his position would: an opportunity. It’s insights like this that make the German Secret Service keen to keep him on their payroll, and the British Secret Service keen to keep him on theirs too. Soon, Anna finds herself stationed as a ‘field agent’ – a nanny to a British family with murky loyalties and strong ties to the Nazi party, keeping her ears open for anything that can help Karl root out Agent 33, his counterpart double agent feeding secrets the other way, from Britain back to Germany.
If Karl cannot unmask Agent 33, the war could be lost before it begins. But Karl has always had one eye fixed on another enemy: the Nazi officer he watched murder his mother years ago, a man whose sudden reappearance threatens to derail everything. For Anna, the mission carries an even more devastating secret. A family in London is raising the child she was forced to surrender, and she will risk anything to bring her baby back into her arms – even if it means jeopardising her cover.
Set across Britain, Germany and Austria in the tense months leading up to the Second World War, What Will Save Us is a thrilling, intimate spy story that weaves revenge, betrayal and impossible choices with a chilling political atmosphere. Claire Seeber casts her storyteller's gaze not on the great leaders and generals, but on the ordinary women and men whose messy, broken lives may end up changing the course of history.
Couldn't load pickup availability
Imprint: Lendal Press
Published: October 2026
ISBN: 9781915606730
Catalogue no: LP0026
Page count: 420
Trim size: 198 x 129 mm
View full details
Praise for What Will Save Us:
“Brilliantly written and hard-to-forget; a story that will stay with you for a long time.”
— Elly Griffiths, author of The Stranger Diaries
“What Will Save Us feels like a magical book. Beautifully written, vividly realised, compelling, epic in scale but also so incredibly personal, heartfelt and moving. Claire Seeber has always been a brilliant writer, but her latest novel is masterful.”
— Alex North, author of The Whisper Man
“Both a gripping spy thriller and an intimate portrait of the lives of everyday people faced with impossible choices in the lead-up to WW2. A powerful and poignant novel.”
— Anna Mazzola, author of The Book of Secrets
“Seeber’s writing is sublime here. And I know this book really matters to her, as the daughter of a man born in Nazi-occupied Austria to a 19-year-old single mother. It’s a beautiful novel, heartfelt, well-researched, powerful and real. Though it’s a thriller, and therefore tense, there is a beating heart that makes you connect with Anna and Karl and the host of dynamic characters. Don’t miss this one.”
— Louise Beech, author of Wonderful
“An episodic, kaleidoscopic journey through the turbulent middle years of the twentieth century in Europe, weaving together stories of bereaved, lost children as they become adults entangled in the rise of Nazism and war. An absorbing, unputdownable read. A celebration of the survival of the human spirit against all the odds. Also a warning about what not to ignore for the modern reader.”
— Julia Crouch, author of Cuckoo
“What Will Save Us is both thrilling and tender in its depiction of a continent on the eve of war and the impossible decisions forced upon its young protagonists, torn apart by the conflicting claims of love and loyalty.”
— Olivia Isaac-Henry, author of Hallows Hill
“I really loved this sprawling book … it has echoes of Elena Ferrante.”
— J. A. Corrigan, author of The Nurse
“Claire Seeber’s novels are always a treat – gripping, intelligent, richly imagined and brilliantly written.”
— Sophie Hannah, author of The Monogram Murders
About the author
Born in London with a love of all things dramatic, Claire Seeber began her career as an actress. Soon deciding she'd rather pull strings safely behind the scenes, Claire forged a successful career in documentary television, enabling her to travel the world, glimpsing lives otherwise unseen, also working as a feature writer for newspapers such as The Guardian, The Independent on Sunday and The Daily Telegraph.
She now works as a therapist, but is also a bestselling author of psychological suspense, with her novel Lullaby (Avon, 2007) recognised as one of the foundational works of 'domestic noir'. Her novel The Stepmother (Bookouture, 2016) has sold over 120,000 copies to date. Her 9 novels have been translated into 13 languages; she has been shortlisted for the 2023 Bridport Prize for Short Stories, and her short story 'He Did Not Always See Her' was shortlisted for a CWA Dagger. More recently, The Street Party and The Parents were both published by Bookouture, and reached the Top 5 Kindle Bestseller list.