UNITED BY WAR. DIVIDED BY A SECRET.

From silent era Hollywood and the nightclubs of pre-war Vienna to the ruins of Soviet Berlin, discover a moving, ambitious story of an enduring love amidst the devastation of war . . .

In 1938, English spy Harry Taverner and Jewish photographer Anna Cantrell spend the night dancing at Berlin’s most elegant hotel. Anna is married to another man, the Nazi shadow is rising over Europe and neither expects to ever meet again.

But once peace is declared, they reunite in the ruins of Berlin, where Anna is searching for her missing children. With the blockade tightening and the Soviets set on conquest, Harry and Anna walk a treacherous line between love and duty, integrity and survival, loyalty and betrayal. And as the Cold War dawns, they are bound together by a secret that will only be revealed decades later, when Berlin finds itself on the cusp of another transformation…

Berlin Duet is a sweeping, unforgettable historical epic from the Kindle-bestselling author of The Angel’s Mark. Perfect for fans of Sebastian Faulks and William Boyd.

REVIEW

I was lucky enough to receive an ARC for this from Corvus Books.

This is a novel spanning two time periods, both of which are convincingly drawn by S W Perry. The story is told partly by Harry Taverner looking back on his life and describing events of WW2 to his daughter Elly. The past contains a secret and to discover it, we have to go back and hear Anna’s story.

Anna Campbell is a photographer working as a kind of war correspondent, and through her eyes and through her lens we are able to experience the events of the past, including her disastrous marriage to Ivo, a man who turns out to be totally self-serving, and intent on his own advancement. In Germany in the 1930’s this means joining the Nazi Party, even though Anna has a Jewish background.

Stand-out parts of the book for me were Anna’s portrait of post-war Berlin, of the divisions between the sectors, and the difficulty of navigating a country divided. There are genuinely moving moments in this section, and in the one that follows as Anna searches the ruins for her children.

I was completely gripped by this story which has all the ingredients of the best WW2 fiction – believability, tension and a twist in the ending to satisfy the reader. I found myself thinking about the characters for days afterwards – they had become real – surely the sign of an excellent book.

Readers of historical and literary fiction will find this an unforgettable novel that sticks with them. Very highly recommended.