#BlogTour – #BookReview of #TheSilenceInBetween by Josie Ferguson @Inky_Josie @DoubledayUK @RandomTTours #RandomThingsTours #HistoricalFiction

By calturner on July 26, 2024

I'm pleased to welcome you today to my stop on the blog tour for stunning debut novel The Silence In Between by Josie Ferguson. Thank you to Anne Cater and Doubleday Books for giving me the opportunity to read and review this remarkable book.

About the book:

For fans of In Memoriam, All the Light We Cannot See and Alone in Berlin, a stunning historical debut.

A page-turning story about a mother being separated from her child, based on real stories.

The Silence in Between is a historical novel based in Berlin in 1961 and during the Second World War.

Lisette lives in East Berlin but brings her new-born baby to a hospital in West Berlin. Under doctor's orders, she goes home to rest, leaving the baby in the care of the hospital. But overnight the border between East and West closes, slicing the city - and the world - in two. With a city in chaos and armed guards ordered to shoot anyone who tries to cross, her situation is desperate.

Lisette's teenage daughter, Elly, has always struggled to understand the distance between herself and her mother. Both live for music but while Elly hears notes surrounding every person she meets, for her mother - once a talented pianist - the world has gone silent. Perhaps Elly can do something to bridge the gap between them.

What begins as the flicker of an idea turns into a daring plan to escape East Berlin, find her baby brother, and bring him home.... saving them from their private pains. Is it that simple?

About the author:

Born in Sweden, to a family of writers and readers, Josie Ferguson moved to Scotland when she was two. She returned to Sweden in her twenties, where she completed a vocational degree in Clinical Psychology (MSc). Upon graduating, she moved to London to pursue a career in publishing, something she had dreamed about since delving into fictional worlds as a child, hidden under the duvet with a torch.

She later moved to Asia in search of an adventure and a bit more sun and currently works as a freelance book editor in Singapore, where she lives with her husband and two young children. While training to become a clinical psychologist, Josie learned about the complexity of human nature, something she explores as a writer. She believes books about the past can change the future and she aspires to write as many as possible.

The Silence in Between is her debut novel.

My Review:

The Silence In Between by Josie Ferguson is an unforgettable historical debut novel set in Berlin. Split between two timelines, the story begins in 1961 just as the border between East and West Berlin is suddenly closed without warning, tearing the city apart.

For Lisette this is her worst nightmare come true: her five week old baby boy is in hospital in the West - and now, after returning home to catch up on some rest and to collect essential items for Axel, she is now trapped in the East, with no possible way of getting back to her son.

The story then moves back to 1938 and a Berlin that is on the cusp of war. Here we see a young, fresh faced Lisette who is as yet untouched by the horrors of the world. We follow Lisette and her family through the war years and find out what happened to turn her into the person she has now become.

Back in 1961, Lisette's teenage daughter Elly tries to understand the distance between herself and her mother. Both passionate about music, Ellie hears notes surrounding every person she meets, but for Lisette the world has gone silent, the love she once had for playing her piano extinguished without a trace.

So as the wall between East and West Berlin is built, Elly has a daring idea: a plan to escape East Berlin, find her baby brother… and bring him home. But will she be able to turn her plan into reality?

Full of intrigue and suspense, this debut novel is beautifully descriptive as the story moves backwards and forwards in time, bringing these characters so vividly to life that you feel every emotion as keenly as if you were experiencing them for yourself.

I love a dual timeline historical tale and I must say this one did not disappoint. Josie Ferguson has written a unique, intense and suspense filled debut novel that really does bring to life both the horrors of war and of what it must have been like when Berlin was split in two with no means of communicating with the other side.

Based on the people and real life stories from that time in history, The Silence In Between is a stunning debut novel that is quite easily one of my favourite reads of the year so far. It is not only breathtakingly beautiful but also terrifyingly tense, my nerves torn to shreds as I waited with bated breath to see if Axel would ever be reunited with his family and held in his mother's arms once more.

I honestly can't recommend this powerful, emotionally charged and thought provoking read highly enough.

The Silence In Between by Josie Ferguson is available to purchase now: