Keeper of Lost Children: A Novel
Not yet published: Expected Feb 10, 2026
In this new novel from the New York Times bestselling author of The House of Eve, one American woman’s vision in post WWII Germany will tie together three people in an unexpected way.
Ethel Gathers, the proud wife of an American Officer, is living in Occupied Germany in the 1950s. After discovering a local orphanage filled with the abandoned mixed-race children of German women and Black American GI’s, Ethel feels compelled to help find these children homes.
Philadelphia born Ozzie Phillips volunteers for the recently desegregated army in 1948, eager to make his mark in the world. While serving in Manheim, Germany, he meets a local woman, Jelka, and the two embark on a relationship that will impact their lives forever.
In 1965 Maryland, Sophia Clark is given an opportunity to attend a prestigious all white boarding school and escape her heartless parents. While at the school, she discovers a secret that upends her world and sends her on a quest to unravel her own identity.
Toggling between the lives of these three individuals, Keeper of Lost Children explores how one woman’s vision will change the course of countless lives, and demonstrates that love in its myriad of forms—familial, parental, and forbidden, even love of self—can be transcendent.
Ethel Gathers, the proud wife of an American Officer, is living in Occupied Germany in the 1950s. After discovering a local orphanage filled with the abandoned mixed-race children of German women and Black American GI’s, Ethel feels compelled to help find these children homes.
Philadelphia born Ozzie Phillips volunteers for the recently desegregated army in 1948, eager to make his mark in the world. While serving in Manheim, Germany, he meets a local woman, Jelka, and the two embark on a relationship that will impact their lives forever.
In 1965 Maryland, Sophia Clark is given an opportunity to attend a prestigious all white boarding school and escape her heartless parents. While at the school, she discovers a secret that upends her world and sends her on a quest to unravel her own identity.
Toggling between the lives of these three individuals, Keeper of Lost Children explores how one woman’s vision will change the course of countless lives, and demonstrates that love in its myriad of forms—familial, parental, and forbidden, even love of self—can be transcendent.
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Community Reviews
KOLC was an absolutely remarkable story that left me completely undone.
This novel explores the lives of mixed-race children — the Mischlingskinder, often called “brown babies” — born to Black American GIs and German women in post-WWII Germany, spanning the 1940s through the 1960s. It is heartbreaking, informative, deeply engaging, and had me emotionally invested from start to finish.
The story unfolds through three interconnected timelines and perspectives.
Ozzie is a brilliant Black GI stationed in Germany, relegated to the lowest assignments and subjected to relentless racism from both fellow soldiers and German civilians. From the very beginning, I worried for him — there’s only so much pressure one person can withstand. Being far from home, constantly belittled by the very people he stood on the front lines with, and grappling with feelings of inadequacy made his journey heavy. Watching his story come full circle was incredibly moving and I loved how the author brought his perspective to light.
Sophie is a young teen given the opportunity to escape a life of back-breaking farm labor to pursue higher education. Her story took me a little longer to fully lock into, but I deeply felt for her. Her yearning for identity and answers — while being tormented and antagonized by cruel girls at boarding school — was painful.
Ethel, a journalist and the wife of an Army officer, is searching for purpose when she stumbles upon an orphanage for brown babies in Germany. Ethel was indeed a “brown fairy.” I adored both her and her husband, Bert — their generosity, compassion, and goodness radiated through the story. I appreciated how she not only advocated fiercely for these children, but mobilized others to create real, lasting impact.
The story also sheds light on the devastating reality faced by so many of these children — abandoned by fathers who were only temporarily stationed in Germany, and born to German mothers who were shunned by their communities and left with little choice but to surrender their children.
The story was slow to start, but I was soon swept up in the rapture of this beautiful story and intrigued at how the stories connected in the end. The characters are richly drawn, deeply human, and impossible not to care about — they linger with you long after the final page.
I’m so grateful I got to experience this story alongside @adannareadsandplans and @islandgirlreads. We were on one accord about how much we adored it and how meaningful it was to uncover this powerful, and hidden piece of history.
People often ask me what my favorite genre is, and I usually say “thriller or romance.” But honestly? I’m ready to stop playing myself. Nothing ignites my curiosity the way beautifully written historical fiction does — the kind of stories that stay with you, challenge you, and make you want to keep learning long after you’ve finished reading.
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