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The Shadow Network: An utterly gripping and sweeping WW2 historical fiction novel for 2024! (WW2 Secret Agent Series) Kindle Edition

by Deborah Swift (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

4.2 449 ratings

Part of: WW2 Secret Agent Series (3 books)

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‘A superbly plotted historical drama… highly recommended!’ The Wishing Shelf

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 Book 2 in the WW2 Secret Agent Series, a heart-stopping novel of betrayal, treachery, and courage against the odds.

Readers LOVE The Shadow Network!

'A well crafted tale… this book did not disappoint' NetGalley reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

'There is action, mystery and romantic entanglements stirred into the story for a fantastically entertaining read' NetGalley reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

'Deborah Swift never disappoints and The Shadow Network is another winner' NetGalley reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

'A joy to read' NetGalley reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0C4XJ5TBS
Publisher ‏ : ‎ HQ Digital (February 13, 2024)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ February 13, 2024
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 2110 KB
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
Print length ‏ : ‎ 376 pages

Best Sellers Rank: #47,410 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #94 in 20th Century Historical Romance eBooks
- #275 in Historical World War II Fiction
- #307 in War Fiction (Kindle Store)

Customer Reviews:
4.2 449 ratings

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Deborah Swift

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THANK YOU for visiting my author page! As you read this I'll probably be writing from my tall stone house which was once a school and built in 1902. This is a house that is "new" in English terms, as many of our local villages date back to the 1630's or even earlier.

I write historical fiction, a genre I love. I loved the Victorian classics such as Jane Eyre, Little Women, Lorna Doone and Wuthering Heights. As I child I loved to read and when I had read my own library books, I used to borrow my mother's library copies of Anya Seton and Daphne du Maurier. I have loved reading historical novels ever since; though I'm a bookaholic and I read widely - contemporary and classic fiction as well as historicals.

In the past I used to work as a set and costume designer for theatre and TV, so I enjoy the research aspect of creating historical fiction, something I loved doing as a scenographer. More details of my research and writing process can be found on my website. I like to write about extraordinary characters set against the background of real historical events.

I live in North Lancashire on the edge of the Lake District, a beautiful area made famous by the Romantic Poets such as Wordsworth and Coleridge. I love exploring the mountainous landscapes and interesting coastline near my home.

'Her characters are so real that they linger in the mind long after the book is back on the shelf. Highly recommended. ' The Historical Novels Review.

Visit my website deborahswift.com for a free story,

WW2 Books:

Past Encounters

The Occupation

The Lifeline

The Silk Code

The Italian Renaissance Series:

The Poison Keeper

The Silkworm Keeper

The Fortune Keeper

The Pepys Trilogy:

Pleasing Mr Pepys

A Plague on Mr Pepys

Entertaining Mr Pepys

17th Century Books:

The Lady's Slipper

The Gilded Lily

A Divided Inheritance

Books for Adults/Young Adults:

Shadow on the Highway

Spirit of the Highway

Lady of the Highway

Find me on my website www.deborahswift.com

or on Twitter @swiftstory

or facebook - authordeborahswift

Customer reviews

4.2 out of 5

449 global ratings

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Ronald Hanson

An amazing and thrilling story!

Reviewed in the United States on March 20, 2024

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The Shadow Network is an amazing story. Who do you trust when others don't trust you or have concerns about you? How do you deal with a former boyfriend who now shows up unexpectedly, and purports to be friendly to you, and a friend of the English when previously he had been linked to Nazi brownshirts? A brave woman becomes part of a propaganda machine to feed false information to the Nazis and finds herself becoming involved with an ex-boyfriend as well as an injured work partner, as she tries to sort out the truth about the ex and serve her country.
This is a really good story, and the historical references make the story all the more real and meaningful. Additionally, one learns about the uses of propaganda to sway people, and the different kinds of propaganda that exist. The story was thrilling for me to read and was hard to put down; I wanted to know what was going to happen next. It is well-written, and the author provides great historical details and references at the end of the book. I recommend The Shadow Network!

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NWReadingMaven

Gripping WW2 thriller -- I couldn't put it down

Reviewed in the United States on April 1, 2024

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The Shadow Network is a gripping WW2 thriller packed with ingenious plot twists, tension, and nonstop action. Lilli Bergen is a German woman with Jewish heritage who flees Nazi Germany for safe refuge in England. Once the war is underway, Lilli's welcome in England is short-lived. Thanks to her skills as a singer, though, she's recruited for a radio station broadcasting propaganda to German soldiers. Complications quickly arise: a new romance is sidelined when her old flame appears and insinuates himself back into her life, but is he a Nazi sympathizer? Deborah Swift’s masterful world building and talented pacing keep the action galloping along at breakneck pace. There are enough twists to satisfy any thriller aficionado. As always, Swift’s writing is superb. I loved the first book in this series — The Silk Code — and this new installment is every bit as captivating. Highly recommended.

Reviewed in the United States on April 22, 2024

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Excellent characters and story line. Kept me wanting to read. There is a budding romance as well as danger with a culminax that doesn't leave you dangling.

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mary

Great Writing by Deborah Swift

Reviewed in the United States on April 7, 2024

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Difficult to put down. Impossible to predict. Characters you love and others you hate.
Highly recommended!! Great read! You won't regret it🙂

One person found this helpful

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Amazon Customer

WWII

Reviewed in the United States on March 22, 2024

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Another good story in the Secret Agent Series. It was a little slow starting but it picked up along the way. The characters were engaging and I really didn’t like Bren!! Give it a try’s if you like the WWII genre.

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MarcNY

Poorly written non-thriller

Reviewed in the United States on April 8, 2024

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The only thing to recommend about this book are the historical notes at the end, all the important facts described in the narrative are there. Otherwise, it is a poorly written romance-thriller devoid of mystery because the author goes to great pains to explain everything. It makes for boring reading, and tedious - best to scan each page as fast as you can if you want to finish the book. Otherwise don't bother.

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Speedy Grandma

Really, really interesting and well-written!

Reviewed in the United States on March 25, 2024

When I saw "utterly gripping and sweeping" in the title line, I nearly bypassed THE SHADOW NETWORK by Deborah Swift, because I am so sick of that trite expression, but I'm glad I didn't. I don't know how gripping it was, but it was really, really interesting and well-written, and the subject of fake radio broadcasts during WWII was new information to me; I learned a lot. Lilli Bergen is half-German and half-Jewish so she had no choice but to flee Germany while she still could in 1938. However, life was not exactly peachy-keen and simple in England. Things improved considerably when she was recruited because of her German language and marvelous voice to sing for an underground British radio broadcast that was posing as a German station. When an ex-boyfriend suddenly appears, Lilli knows something is very awry, and she determines to find out just what. Little did she know the serious danger ahead. Great writing and historical information (this was based on true events)!

One person found this helpful

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cyn5lockwood

Waste of time!!!

Reviewed in the United States on March 26, 2024

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It was a good read, then I got about to about 30%, and it got strange. I had so many "why" moments concerning security clearance, her ex who shows up, and we know what he is, and she suspects... I'm glad I skipped to the ending and did not waste my time with the rest of the book.

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Top reviews from other countries

Emma Rose Lees

The Shadow Network

Reviewed in Canada on March 6, 2024

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Excellent book. Kept you on the edge of your seat. Could put it down. I highly recommend you reading the book.

Cathie Dunn

A fast-paced, riveting plot with fascinating characters

Reviewed in France on April 21, 2024

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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.

Lizzie James

A fast-paced, gripping story

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 3, 2024

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While I already knew much about the events in WW2, including the covert Bletchley Park activities, I had no idea that during WW2, Britain had been engaged in broadcasting to Germany false material in German that was designed to confuse and mislead the Germans, nor that aliens had been interned on the Isle of Man. These were interesting eye-openers in a historical thriller that gripped you from start to finish.

Half-Jewish Lilli, who fled to England from the Nazi persecution in Germany, fluent in German and a gifted singer, is recruited by the small group of British people broadcasting to Germany to help them create the authenticity needed if the Germans are to believe that the secret daily broadcasts are genuine.

This is an exciting adventure story that is elevated by the meticulous research that one has come to expect in anything written by Deborah Swift, who has graphically recreated for the reader a claustrophobic world in which the fear and tension felt by those working for the country is shared by the readers, and their uncertainty about whom to trust.

There is a welcome return for Neil, first seen in ‘The Silk Code’, who is shown in a new light here, and the reader meets Irish Bren, whom Lilli had first known in Germany, and who she feels sure was the person who betrayed her family to the Nazis, and who was therefore responsible for her father being taken away.

Instantly suspicious of Bren when he unexpectedly turns up on her doorstep using a different name, and going out of his way to be liked by everyone involved in the broadcasting, and fearing that he might be a spy, Lilli takes extreme measures to discover the truth, and the reader is caught up in the exciting train of events that follow.

This is a fast-paced, page-turning novel, filled with interesting historical fact and detail, and I highly recommend it.

One person found this helpful

Rene T.

Easy read

Reviewed in Canada on April 17, 2024

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A romantic story combined with WW2 espionage and intrigue, well written.

michelle

A really gripping read

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 16, 2024

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Deborah Swift certainly knows how to create a page turner. I couldn't put it down and read it over a couple of days. She's so good at creating tension and excitement. The background history is so interesting too and obviously carefully researched. I certainly learnt things I didn't know such as the links between the IRA and the Nazis and the fake news transmitted by the British to Germany.
I definitely recommend you read this book.

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The Shadow Network: An utterly gripping and sweeping WW2 historical fiction novel for 2024! (WW2 Secret Agent Series) Kindle Edition

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Deborah Swift

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