Today, I'm delighted to welcome bestselling, award-winning historical fiction author, Deborah Swift. Her new release, The Shadow Network, is set in the secretive world of underground radio stations set up to confuse the enemy – the Germans. It's a gripping, fast-paced story full of deception, danger, and a subtle touch of romance. Have a look!
The Shadow Network is currently on blog tour with The Coffee Pot Book Club. Find fascinating background guest posts, tempting excerpts, and more reviews, HERE!
The Shadow Network
Secret Agent Series (standalone)
Deborah Swift
When I first heard about this novel, I was intrigued by the subject matter: underground radio stations set up to send false messages to the enemy. Now that I've read the book, I know what it all means. It's intriguing!
These radio stations were often staffed by German refugees, and even POWs (although those had to be closely observed as not to send out any illicit warnings). But it appears even German refugees of any creed remained under suspicion throughout WWII. One of those, in this novel, is Lilli.
The story opens in Berlin, where young student Lilli lives with her father, a former radio engineer and now sacked employee of Blaupunkt, as Lilli's late mother was Jewish. The opening scenes in this chapter are harrowing, but Ms Swift manages to maintain a personal view of everything through Lilli's eyes. Yet at the same time, the horrors of Kristallnacht (the Night of Broken Glass) as it affected individuals are vividly shown. I thought this was cleverly done. We don't see the carnage done across the country, but just from Lilli's block of flats. This adds a realistic, close point of view.
When Lilli's father is taken away by the Brownshirts, a neighbour holds her back from running to be with him, then urges her to flee the country. Confused, angry, and worried, Lilli eventually complies, and leaves her home, and her captured father, behind.
Fast forward to the UK two years later, where Lilli works in London as a cleaner and a singer in a small bar. However, as she is an alien refugee, she – and many other refugees as well as prisoners of war – is taken to the Isle of Man, to an internment camp. She settles into a daily routine, keeping away from a group of fellow German women who still hold views she finds abhorrent. One day, she receives an offer that sounds too good to be true: to help with the war effort.
So Lilli's role as a singer and newsreader with an underground radio station begins. With her interest in radio technology, she's keen to get involved on that side too, but her pleas fall on deaf ears. A woman and technology? A German woman? Nope! So she makes the most of her work. She also gets closer to Neil Callahan, a Scot with a leg injury, who manages the daily output. But Neil, shifting between self-pity and anger at his disability, is reluctant to get involved. Until...
A blast from Lilli's past appears: Bren Murphy, calling himself Johnny, much to her curiosity. Her first love, an Irishman who'd studied in Berlin; who dumped her for a ditzy blonde, and who may have betrayed her father to his Brownshirt friends. Yet now, it appears he's on the side of the English, whom he used to hate. Yet if so, why change the name, and his background? Who does he work for?
Curiosity takes over, and Lilli subtly tarts to look into Bren's background story, and she soon finds nothing adds up. Had English security failed in their due diligence? Or had Bren changed, keen for a new start?
And just how will the arrival of her first love affect her growing affection for Neil? Well, read the book!
The Shadow Network is a fast-paced thriller with romantic elements. Extremely well-researched, the author shows us the harsh reality of life during WWII. First, Lilli's neighbour, who prevents her from rushing to her father's side – and with it the risk of being taken away. Where to? The woman's character was realistic, I thought.
The rough treatment of German refugees in England seems callous, but then, who could you trust? Some would have been spies, and the risk was too great.
The slowly budding love story between Lilli and Neil added a soft side to the otherwise terrifying background of war and danger, and Bren's appearance is certainly intriguing. Lilli's reactions to him don't always make sense to me, though we do see her emotional confusion, as all the warning signs are there.
Bren's point of view adds to the dark side of the story, bringing political motivations to the plot. He is involved with some shady characters, and Ms Swift does well to show them not just as ruthless robots, but also flawed individuals. It's cleverly done.
However, there are one or two points unresolved, so I wonder if there's going to be a sequel. We shall see.
From the beginning, I was drawn into this riveting plot, with a formidable cast of characters and a realistic background, including some technical details about transmitters, and the whole, clever setup of underground radio stations.
The Shadow Network is a fascinating novel about 20th-century technological warfare that I found quite revealing. But it also depicts the human side – the good, the bad, and the ugly. It makes for satisfying reading, and I can highly recommend it.
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Blurb:
One woman must sacrifice everything to uncover the truth in this enthralling historical novel, inspired by the true World War Two campaign Radio Aspidistra…
England, 1942: Having fled Germany after her father was captured by the Nazis, Lilli Bergen is desperate to do something pro-active for the Allies. So when she’s approached by the Political Warfare Executive, Lilli jumps at the chance. She’s recruited as a singer for a radio station broadcasting propaganda to German soldiers – a shadow network.
But Lilli’s world is flipped upside down when her ex-boyfriend, Bren Murphy, appears at her workplace; the very man she thinks betrayed her father to the Nazis. Lilli always thought Bren was a Nazi sympathiser – so what is he doing in England supposedly working against the Germans?
Lilli knows Bren is up to something, and must put aside a blossoming new relationship in order to discover the truth. Can Lilli expose him, before it’s too late?
Set in the fascinating world of wartime radio, don’t miss The Shadow Network, a heart-stopping novel of betrayal, treachery, and courage against the odds.
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About the Author:
Deborah Swift
Deborah Swift is the English author of eighteen historical novels, including Millennium Award winner Past Encounters, and The Lady’s Slipper, shortlisted for the Impress Prize.
Her most recent books are the Renaissance trilogy based around the life of the poisoner Giulia Tofana, The Poison Keeper and its sequels, one of which won the Coffee Pot Book Club Gold Medal.
Recently she has completed a secret agent series set in WW2, the first in the series being The Silk Code.
Deborah used to work as a set and costume designer for theatre and TV and enjoys the research aspect of creating historical fiction, something she loved doing as a scenographer. She likes to write about extraordinary characters set against the background of real historical events.
Deborah lives in North Lancashire on the edge of the Lake District, an area made famous by the Romantic Poets such as Wordsworth and Coleridge.
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Thank you for this lovely review - it means a lot. I'll share widely!
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