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  • Hodder Paperbacks
  • Hodder & Stoughton
  • Hodder & Stoughton

The Silent Child: The gripping, heart-breaking and poignant historical novel set during WWII

J.G. Kelly

2 Reviews

Rated 0

Historical mysteries, Thriller / suspense, Historical fiction, Second World War

For readers of My Name is Eva, The Tattooist of Auschwitz and The Letter, this is a haunting and thought-provoking dual timeframe historical novel about a woman attempting to find her family after they were separated at a concentration camp.

'Deeply moving and beautifully written' ANN CLEEVES
'Heart-breaking, beautiful and thrilling - a book that will stay with you for a very long time' ELLY GRIFFITHS
'A tale of devastating secrets, brilliantly told' RORY CLEMENTS

SHE CAN'T HAVE A FUTURE UNTIL SHE HAS A PAST.

1944


LEO STERN arrives at the Nazi camp at Borek with his wife Irena and his two daughters. The Sterns are spared from the gas chamber when they witness a murder. But in a place that humanity has deserted, Leo is forced to make unimaginable choices to try to keep his family alive.

1961

For seventeen years, Hanna has been unable to remember her identity and how she was separated from her family at the end of the war, until the discovery of a letter among her late uncle's possessions reveals her real name - HANNA STERN - and leads her to Berlin in search of her lost past.

Helped by former lover Peter, Hanna begins to piece together the shocking final days of Borek. But Hanna isn't the only one with an interest in the camp, and lurking in the shadows is someone who would prefer Hanna's history to remain silent.

Based on in-depth research and beautifully written, this a novel of memory and identity, and the long shadow of war.

'Taking the reader from the atmospheric Fenlands of Cambridgeshire to the ghost-filled forests of wartime Poland and finally into Cold War-era Berlin, The Silent Child is a thought-provoking and compelling novel about the long-lasting aftershocks of war. This is great storytelling, full of mysteries and twists, epic in its sweep, but precise and respectful in its historical details. J. G. Kelly's vividly evoked scenes will stay with me for a long time' CAROLINE SCOTT

'Outstanding. Heartstopping. Brilliant. A story that scorches the page, searing in its honesty and profoundly moving in its emotional impact. The characters reach out to you and challenge your preconceptions in this testament to a tragic chapter of history that moved me to tears. It holds up a dark and shocking mirror to our world, yet ultimately it is a triumphant tale of light within darkness. This is an important, powerful novel that everyone should read' KATE FURNIVALL

'This book was such a beautifully written book that will stay with me for a long time. The storyline was emotive and heart wrenching and the characters were well developed and have a special place in my heart. I didn't want this book to end. Nothing I could say would do this book justice, I cannot recommend this book enough' Reader review

'It's beautifully written with a story that draws you in so quickly, it's very well researched and heartbr

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Praise for The Silent Child: The gripping, heart-breaking and poignant historical novel set during WWII

  • Outstanding. Heartstopping. Brilliant. A story that scorches the page, searing in its honesty and profoundly moving in its emotional impact. The characters reach out to you and challenge your preconceptions in this testament to a tragic chapter of history that moved me to tears. It holds up a dark and shocking mirror to our world, yet ultimately it is a triumphant tale of light within darkness. Of love surviving hate. Impressively researched and superbly told, this is an important powerful novel that everyone should read

  • Taking the reader from the atmospheric Fenlands of Cambridgeshire to the ghost-filled forests of wartime Poland and finally into Cold War-era Berlin, The Silent Child is a thought-provoking and compelling novel about the long-lasting aftershocks of war. This is great storytelling, full of mysteries and twists, epic in its sweep, but precise and respectful in its historical details. J. G. Kelly's vividly evoked scenes will stay with me for a long time

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J.G. Kelly

James Kelly is the author of the Nighthawk crime series for Alison and Busby, and the Philip Dryden series for Penguin. He was born in 1957 and is the son of a Scotland Yard detective. He went to university in Sheffield, later training as a journalist and worked on the Bedfordshire Times, Yorkshire Evening Press and the Financial Times. His first book, The Water Clock, was shortlisted for the John Creasey Award and he has since won a CWA Dagger in the Library and the New Angle Prize for Literature. He lives in Ely, Cambridgeshire.

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