THE BERLIN MURDERS (Miss Clara Vale Mysteries #5) by Fiona Veitch Smith will be released on January 13, 2026, by Embla Books.
Private detective Clara Vale and her assistant are bound for Germany to assist their friend, Juju, at Berlin Fashion Week. Juju’s cousins, the Spieglers, operate a clothing factory in Berlin, and they are responsible for hosting the weeklong series of fashion events. Clara’s debut on the runway is postponed when one of the fashion designers is found murdered in the Spieglers’ factory. As a favor to their friend, Clara and Bella, take on the case—not only to find the killer but to prove that Juju’s brother was not involved. Their task is made more difficult thanks the discovery of a second body, the disappearance of certain key players, and the unjust animosity towards Berlin’s Jewish’s designers thanks to the rise of Nazism. Clara’s occasional love interest, Larry Winter, is also in Berlin, and Clara thinks he might be involved in in the murders and with the Nazis.
Clara Vale and Bella Cuddy are two of my favorite historical private detectives. They are both courageous and innovative in their investigating techniques. Juju and her brother play a larger role in THE BERLIN MURDERS than in previous novels, and the reader learns more about their history. And the reappearance of dashing Larry Winter adds another mystery for Clara to solve—can she trust him to help with this investigation and is he involved in the rising Nazi Party? Fiona Veitch Smith brings 1930s Germany to life and gives the reader a glimpse into the fashion industry, the shifts in Jewish sentiment caused by Hitler, and Berlin’s underground LGBTQ community. I strongly recommend THE BERLIN MURDERS to all lovers of historical mysteries.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.