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By 1943, the Germany they knew has vanished, and Rudi works at the center of Nazi power, performing his duties by day and passing intelligence to the Allies by night—until Sara’s unexpected return threatens to unravel the life he has carefully constructed to survive.

FORTUNE AND GLASS is a philosophical spy novel and literary love story about private choices, secret resistance, and the cost of staying human inside a system determined to erase individuality. Lyrical, atmospheric, and morally complex, it explores the gray zones of living under authoritarianism and asks a timeless question: Who are you when everything falls apart?

FORTUNE AND GLASS is not a conventional WWII novel but a literary love story braided through a psychological spy narrative—an intimate exploration of identity, conscience, and quiet resistance inside a society sliding into extremism. Positioned at the crossroads of literary fiction, psychological suspense, and historical storytelling, the novel explores how ordinary people navigate love, loyalty, and moral responsibility inside systems that reward silence and punish dissent—questions that feel as urgent now as they did then. Lyrical, emotionally rich, and philosophically resonant, it turns away from spectacle and heroics to focus on the private cost of survival.

For readers who believe they’ve read every WWII novel, FORTUNE AND GLASS offers something rare: a deeply human story that restores the genre by shifting the lens inward, toward the moral choices that define us when history fractures beneath our feet. For readers of ALL THE LIGHT WE CANNOT SEE, THE NIGHTINGALE, THE BOOK THIEF, THE ALICE NETWORK, and the espionage of John le Carré and FORTUNE AND GLASS blends intimacy, danger, and moral complexity into a WWII story that feels both timeless and urgent.

GENRES

• Fiction / Literary
• Fiction / Historical / WWII
• Fiction / Thrillers / Espionage
• Fiction / Psychological

THEMES

• Resistance without visibility
• Complicity vs. survival
• Love as refuge—and liability
• Identity, passing, and concealment
• The private life as a political space
• Power, fear, and self-censorship
• The fragility of normalcy
• Memory, guilt, and responsibility
• The cost of silence

• Fiction / Literary
• Fiction / Historical / WWII
• Fiction / Psychological

REVIEWS!

“Fortune & Glass is a thoughtful, politically layered book that explores love, morality, and survival during the rise of Nazi Germany. John Mutter creates an atmosphere which feels immersive, tense, and emotionally reflective in all the best ways.” —Lara, Red Stick Reads blog and Lit with Lara Ashley

“Set against the turbulent backdrop of World War II, Fortune and Glass is not simply a wartime love story. Instead, it is a thoughtful exploration of loyalty, patriotism, morality, and the difficult choices faced by ordinary people living under an extraordinary regime. The story follows Baumann, a German Foreign Ministry official whose life is shaped by the rise and fall of Nazi Germany. Through his unfinished love affair with Sara, a Jewish woman who escapes to Sweden before eventually returning to Berlin, his marriage to Magda and devotion to his children, and his lifelong friendship with Hans—who rises through the ranks of the SS—we witness the personal costs of living through one of history’s darkest periods. What makes this novel compelling is that the central conflict is largely internal. Baumann is neither a hero nor a villain. He is a patriotic German struggling to reconcile his love of country with his growing opposition to the Nazi regime. As the war progresses, he becomes involved in efforts to restore Germany to democratic principles, drawing him into a world of espionage, resistance, and moral uncertainty. The relationships between Baumann, Sara, and Hans provide the emotional core of the novel, culminating in a powerful final confrontation that reflects the larger questions the book poses: What do we owe our country? When does patriotism require resistance? How much can one sacrifice for love, survival, and principle. Mutter handles these themes with nuance, avoiding simplistic portrayals of good and evil. The result is a novel that feels both historically grounded and deeply human. Fortune and Glass is recommended for readers who enjoy historical fiction that focuses less on battlefield action and more on the moral complexities, personal relationships, and acts of quiet resistance that defined life during World War II. It is ultimately a story about the fragile nature of democracy, the endurance of friendship and love, and the courage required to stand against tyranny.” —onechapteronesip, Social Media Reviewer