This was a brilliant read. As soon as I started reading this book I just knew I was going to love it. Highly recommended

Fantastic book - loved the plot, which was so addictive to read, it's thrilling, dramatic, emotional with rich and vivid historical detail - huge thumbs up!

I did forget that I had this book on my kindle and I went and bought the paperback, so my full more comprehensive review will be on the blog later.

Another gem from this author, despite the harrowing descriptions of the displaced persons camp.
Having read lots of WW2 historical fiction, it is always good to find a novel that brings a new aspect of that time. The dangers and the restrictions are well drawn out and the characters resonate, bringing real colour to the story. The main character, Klara is fabulous and shows strength, intelligence, compassion and love.

4* Recommended

The Survivors by Kate Furnivall is a powerful epic historical novel that consumed me from the start.
The novel is set in 1945 mainly in a displaced persons camp in Europe. The war is officially over but for thousands of people there still is nowhere to go. An air of suspicion hangs over the camp as people await their future.
War alters people. They behave by a different set of rules and moral code. They do what they have to do to survive. Lies easily roll off the tongue. Whose version of the truth is correct? Favours are still being called in. Past secrets lie hidden until a face from the past threatens to reveal them.
A mother’s love is fiercely protective. It governs her movements as we witness a close bond within the novel. The pair fight for life for each other.
We always have the choice to do the right thing but there are still those who are governed by hate and greed.
Kate Furnivall has perfectly captured the atmosphere within the camp in this epic read. The war was far from over for many. Despair was never far away. The Survivors was a powerful read. I will leave you with this quote:
The hating has to stop somewhere. We cannot build a future on hate.”
I received this book for free. A favourable review was not required and all views expressed are my own.

This was a rich and detailed historical fiction that veered between mystery and romance. I liked how layered and interesting Clara was and this helped to make her a believable character as the author made sure to show what she did to survive. The way that snippets of her story are told throughout the novel was handled really well and they helped keep the dramatic pacing of the text. I liked how the story wrapped up at the end as it left it up to the reader to decide what happened next to Clara and her daughter.

Kate furnivall is a novelist of sweeping historical novels and has always been an author i have wanted to read, so i jumped at the chance when i came across an advanced copy of her book on netgalley. I am not a very fast reader but this book really is unputdownable, i couldnt stop reading it until the end.

The survivors is a compelling story set towards the end of the second world war and You can tell that kate has thoroughly researched the period. This book is powerful, emotional, atmospheric and i would highly recommend it.

A variant on some World War 2 novels. What will a mother do to protect her child? An interesting premise, but for me I wasn't engaged, involved in the plot. And I didn't take to the writing style. A book I'm not able to recommend, I'm afraid.

Fantastic historical read with so much attention to detail. With many books focusing on WW2 it was fascinating to have the setting of a displaced persons camp after the war has ended. There's also a thriller element between Klara and her nemesis. Couldn't put it down!

An excellent read. Cat and mouse existence and an overriding desire to survive, between two individuals within a displaced persons camp. who have known and hated each other, in the full thrust of the war. The unusual backdrop of the camp opens the readers eyes to some of the scarcely documented atrocities that happened after the war ended. ```A gripping story with love and betrayal recurring themes..

Great read by Kate Furnivall yet again. Centred on the end of World War 2 when a huge amount of people were displaced after the ravages of the war. A Polish mother and her daughter arrive at Graufeld Displaced Persons camp. The British Army doing their best to cope with the ever growing numbers in difficult circumstances. The novel takes on the aspect of a thriller as Kara recognises a man from her past and is led to do anything to protect her and her daughter.

Thanks to Netgalley , the authors and publishers for a copy of this book.

Klara and her daughter Alicja arrive at a displaced persons camp just after the war. Her husband died in the war. She did things in the war to survive, which she is still having to face.
She meets a Frenchman called David Boovier who is one of the men who run the administration office at Eraufield camp.
They support each other with a mutual understanding as he has also lost his family in the war.
She loves her daughter and will do anything for her. This is a story of true survival and a mother's love.

I have been a fan of Kate Furnivall since I read The Russian Concubine nearly ten years ago, so I was very excited to be given the chance to review her latest book The Survivors. In 1945, the end of the Second World War, at a time when many found themselves homeless with nowhere to go, they went to the camps for Displaced Persons, which is where the majority of this book is set. Klara and her daughter, Alicja, find themselves in Graufeld Camp for displaced persons in Germany, a soulless, and grey place, with little hope. Klara’s aim is to get passage to England to see her mothers family, but when she sees Oskar Sholz, a man from her past, she realises that in order to survive she must kill him.

The Survivors is narrated by Klara, her daughter Alicja and camp administrator and friend to Klara, Davide Bouvier. Klara and ten year old have had a hard journey to the camp, starving from lack of food, being robbed and having to sleep in the cold of the forest. Their story highlights the place many found themselves is after the war, with no home, no food, no family and no money to start over again. Daivide Bouvier has also had a difficult war; his family in France were murdered by the Nazi’s and he was a prisoner of war. There is a wonderful supporting cast of characters, including Izak who hid in a wardrobe for a lot of the war and whose parents where sent to the gas chamber leaving him an orphan. Oskar Scholz is the villain, Klara’s nemesis and it is their game of cat and mouse that adds a tension and an air of suspense to the story.

Kate Furnivall’s writing really brings the characters and setting to life. Graufeld, literally translates as ‘Grey Field’ which is a very appropriate description of the living conditions of the camp. There is no colour there, and the bleakness of the camp mirrors the dejection of those living there. Kate captures the feeling and emotions of the period, the war might have ended but its legacy still effects those caught up in the aftermath. As with her previous books, Kate includes lot of historical detail and really captures the landscape of the bombed cities, the feelings of those left behind a the general atmosphere of the period.

The Survivors is a fabulous read, full of tension, thrills, historical detail and even a touch of romance. Kate Furnivall’s writing is seamless and makes this such an enjoyable book to read. Her attention to detail and understanding of her characters and their emotions makes them jump out of the page and into your hearts and she really captures the zeitgeist of post war Germany. Full of emotion, this another outstanding read from Kate Furnivall.

I have previously read Kate Furnivall's The Liberation and found myself hanging on her every word so I was desperate to read her new release The Survivors.

Klara Janowska and her beautiful young daughter Alicja are stuck in a post war displaced persons camp in Germany, they are doing what each and every person in there is attempting to do…. Survive. When Klara sets us on a new arrival in camp she is desperate to get her and her daughter away from Graufield Camp to protect her daughter from this threat from their past.

This was an extremely well written and researched storyline that captured my attention right from the eventful first chapter. The storyline is told from both Klara and her daughter Alicja points of view which worked really well and I admired both of the characters. Alicja was such a brave and determined little girl who quickly has to grow up and has seen and faced things that no child of her age should have experienced. Klara is a feisty, intelligent and desperate mother who will do what ever it takes to protect her child. I also loved Davide, he was a respectful gentleman with his own problems but his feelings for Klara were clear and honest I was desperate for a happy ending for him and Klara but his health was a constant worry to me.

There was a lot of ducking and diving to avoid capture and I did find around a third of the way through I just wanted something to progress. I loved that I was completely taken by surprise at one point in the book I couldn’t believe I had had no suspicions about some people’s real motives!

Kate Furnivall has such a vivid writing style which sets the scene and the tone of the book perfectly. This was an honest, raw and desperate storyline with a mother’s love, determination and survival at the heart. I thoroughly enjoyed this book.

This book , as the title suggests is about survival but in almost impossible situations. It is set in post war Germany but although the War had ended people were still suffering. This story is primarily about Kara Janowski and her 10 year old daughter Alicija for whom there is strife. They have fled their native Poland and are travelling to. Displaced person camp. Once there It looks as if Klara’s past May have caught up with her when she recognises as SS Officer from her past Otto Shultz. Her fierce maternal instincts need to come into play once again so that they can survive. It demonstrates the lengths a mother will be prepared to go to for survivaL and best greed and corruption.. resilience in the face of extreme hardship

The Survivors is an extremely powerful novel, full of tension, fear, and love. There are some very difficult topics but Furnivall writes them with a great deal of sympathy and the novel isn't a grim read. The characters feel very real and their stories will stay with me for a long time.

The only negative for me was that I found the shifting between first and third person perspectives jarring, flinging me out of the narrative with a bump. However, the writing is so engaging I was quickly drawn back in.

It was refreshing to read a novel in such an unusual setting. I have read many books around WWII but none that dealt with the often forgotten displaced people of Europe. A book I'm glad I have read.

There have been so many books written about the Holocaust that at first I thought I might struggle to read another. But Kate Furnivall has written an original novel looking at an aspect of the war that gets less attention - what happens to the displaced when they must try to resume a normal life. In the febrile atmosphere of war, people take any action they can to survive, and long term consequences merit little consideration. It therefore makes for a fascinating novel when Klara is forced to revisit her choices. I loved this book and would recommend it not just to lovers of WW2 fiction, but also to those fascinated by the human condition and the choices we make.

Oh Kate Furnivall, how talented you are. The Survivors is another wonderful historical fiction novel which explores the resistance of the human spirit against extreme adversity. Klara Janowska and her young daughter Alicja are living in Graufeld, a displaced person’s camp in Germany in the aftermath of the Second World War. They feel safe there and are awaiting their transfer papers when one day Klara spots a man from her past, and all of a sudden the house of cards she has built around herself come tumbling down. They both did unimaginable things during the war to survive and their shared history makes them a danger to one another.

Kate Furnivall excels at writing extraordinary women in extraordinary situations. Klara is a compelling and multi-layered protagonist who is revealed to us in increments. First she is a woman in a forest with her young daughter, they are running but we don’t know where from or where to. Then she is black market smuggler providing spectacles, mirrors and thread to her fellow campmates. Then she is a mother to the parent-less children in the camp and a fierce and fearsome woman who is unafraid to stand up to those who threaten those she loves. But, she is hiding something, we just don’t know what.

I love books that are set during and after World War 2 and especially love books set in Germany so The Survivors ticked lots of boxes for me. It is really interesting to read what life was like in the months and years after the war and this book is a stark reminder that things did not go back to normal when peace was declared. The descriptions of conditions in the camp are unflinching and brutal; some blocks are off-limits as the inhabitants are dangerous, food is scarce, nobody wants to go to the medical block as infection is rife and former enemies are living alongside each other with long-held resentments simmering away. It is a pressure cooker waiting to blow and I could feel the tension seeping from the pages.

It is very cleverly plotted, with enough of Klara’s past dropped into the narrative to keep me on the edge of my seat. I had to know what had happened and what she was like before the war and as I learned more about her the more I fell in love with her. This is a book about revenge and redemption and as I unpicked Klara the clearer the reasons became. There is a rawness and brutality mixed with sensitive depictions of humanity which makes this compelling read.

I can’t review The Survivors without mentioning Alicja who is plucky, brave and wise beyond her years. My heart broke for this young child whose short life has been so affected by horror and terror. Her chapters were some of the most beautiful in the book and I was frequently moved by this girl and the love that shines out of her. It really is a lovely book which is rich in history and features well-rounded characters that draw you in.

I was given a copy of the survivors by the publisher for an honest review. This is the first book of Kate's I have read, I found it well written and enjoyed the story.
The book is set in a displacement camp after ww2 has ended. It tells the story of Klara who will do anything for her daughter to keep her safe. Parts of the story is about what happened to Klara during the war and what she had to do to keep safe.

This is a great story, it's interesting to know what happened after the war. Great for fans of family drama and historical fiction.

Kate Furnival never disappoints and this book is no exception.
Gripping from the very first page to the very last.
Set in post war Germany in a displaced persons camp it tells the story of Klara and Alicia Janowska who are half English and half Polish.
Klara has secrets relating to her actions during the war and she will do anything to protect her daughter.
The story is quite dark and it definitely does not shy away from the horrors of war.
.Fantastic read five stars all the way.

Klara and her daughter Alicja have survived WW2 and are living in a Displaced Persons camp in Germany. Klara's feeling of relative safety is torn from her when she spots a man she knew during the war. As the blurb says, he knows what she did during the war to save her daughter and she knows his real identity.

This is a well-written, gripping novel, full of interesting characters and a story-line that keeps the reader hooked.
Despite the descriptions of the desperation, illness, and futility felt by the inmates of the DP camp, the author portrays a sense of hope, compassion, love and togetherness which lightens the storyline and makes the book easier to read.

I received a copy of the book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.