When Lili Bergen’s father is captured by the Nazis she flees Berlin for England where things don’t quite go to plan. The Shadow Network by Deborah Swift is second in her World War Two Secret Agent series. In London and fearing for her father’s safety, Lilli finds it difficult to adapt to her new life. Accommodation and jobs are limited for enemy aliens, even though Lilli is half-Jewish, and people condemn her for her German accent. She works as a cleaner and has a spot singing at a local club. And then all enemy aliens are imprisoned on the Isle of Man. Billeted with two loud-spoken Nazi-supporting women, Lilli searches for things to keep busy. She is soon mending the broken appliances and singing at the social club. It is the latter that brings her to the attention of a secret Government department broadcasting false information to German citizens and military. The radio broadcasts are going well and are being expanded, so they need a German-speaking singer to add light relief between the more serious news stories. Key character Neil Callaghan, intelligence officer and brother to Nancy in the first book of the series The Silk Code, now takes centre stage in The Shadow Network.
Lilli is a fantastic character. Clever, brave, adaptable and loyal, I willed her on to succeed. She makes a promising start at the secret radion station and fits in well with the team which includes radio technicians, an orchestra made of up German POWs and German-speaking news announcers. Her world is turned upside down when Bren Murphy, the Irish boyfriend who broke her heart in Berlin, arrives one day as a new announcer. Lilli suspects he is a secret Nazi who betrayed her to the authorities in Berlin and blames him for her father’s disappearance. In England he poses as an Irish actor, calls himself Johnny Murphy and acts as if he’s never met Lilli before.
This is a rollicking adventure that I didn’t want to put down. The technical story of the secret fake news broadcasts is fascinating and, as Lilli tries to find out if Bren/Johnny did betray her in Berlin, she must get closer to him. Too many things about him don’t make sense. Lilli takes more and more risks as she investigates Johnny’s lies, made difficult not just because of Johnny’s popularity with the team but also because she is sweet on their boss, Neil Callaghan. The wartime action combines nicely with Lilli’s emotional sub-plot and her attraction to both men. The final quarter is a dangerous chase to foil Johnny’s bomb plot that risks destroying everything that Neil’s propaganda department has achieved.
A really enjoyable read based on the real life Radio Aspidistra radio station that broadcast propaganda in World War Two.
Third is the series is Operation Tulip.

Read my review of the first book in this series:-
THE SILK CODE #1WW2SECRETAGENT

If you like this, try:-
‘Transcription’ by Kate Atkinson
‘After the Party’ by Cressida Connolly
‘The Secret Shore’ by Liz Fenwick

And if you’d like to share a link:
#BookReview THE SHADOW NETWORK by Deborah Swift @swiftstory https://wp.me/p2ZHJe-9Va via @SandraDanby

COMING SOON… THE NEXT BOOK I REVIEW WILL BE:-