When The World Was Silent

The Secret Locket by Catherine Hokin is a powerful historical novel that I read in just two sittings, pausing only to sleep.

The novel is set in Germany from 1934 to the end of World War II. The action begins in a small village before moving to other locations – Munich, Warsaw, Dachau and more.

Within the village the bully-boy tactics of a powerful man sympathetic to the Nazi party, ruin the lives of the few Jewish residents. We see the power of one man to lie, manipulate, coerce and murder – and the crime of the villagers is to remain silent.

It doesn’t matter that the Jewish family do not practice their faith, their crime is simply being born Jewish. “Nobody would tell her why a faith she rarely practised and rarely thought about had turned overnight into the most important thing about her.”

Catherine Hokin has captured the atmosphere of fear and of liberties being eroded. Far too many fell for Hitler’s lies and had the belief that war was glorious.

Childhood friends are ripped apart as a young Jewish girl is persecuted and her male Aryan friend is blind to what is happening. He is too busy trying to make his father proud.

The reader joins a lead character in the resistance, and we also join a disillusioned Nazi officer in Dachau towards the end of the war. Their wars were both very different. Will either have a future when war ends?

All the characters were well drawn and realistic. The air of evil and menace was portrayed. Bonds formed in war could be ripped away in an instant.

There were good people. There were also those who stayed silent and therefore were guilty with their inaction.

Eyes that were opened to the horrors of the Nazis felt guilt and shame for their part. They tried to atone for their sins.

War blurs the moral code. People act in ways they never would in peacetime.

The Secret Locket was a powerful read. The atmosphere was chilling and horrifying. It is a story that needs to be told in memory of the six million innocents and of those who survived. “It is essential that some of us survive. To tell our stories.”

I received a free copy from the publishers. A favourable review was not required. All opinions are my own.

JULIA WILSON

Book Description:

Germany, 1941. Noemi’s hazel eyes shine with tears as she takes Pascal’s hand. ‘Please don’t go,’ she begs him. ‘If you leave me now, we might never find each other again…’

When Pascal kisses Noemi and presses his mother’s silver locket into her hands, it is a moment she has been longing for her whole life. Growing up they were fearless, exploring the wild mountains in the Bavarian countryside together. But when war is declared, overnight their love becomes forbidden – Noemi is Jewish, while Pascal is being pressured to become a Hitler Youth officer by his father.

When Noemi’s parents are captured and taken to Dachau, she knows her hometown is no longer safe. With time running out, Pascal smuggles her onto a train, praying she will survive until the war is over. Devastated, he watches the train leave, promising himself that one day he will find the girl who took his heart and locket.

Noemi’s life on the run plunges her into new dangers, but she never loses hope that one day she will make her way home to her family again. She tells herself that family can never now include Pascal, but still she remembers the pendant he gave her, and hope flickers in her chest like a flame, that one day somehow they might reunite…

But as the world burns around her, will she have the strength to find and forgive him? And if she does, will their love last – or will the war’s shadows tear them both apart forever?

A heartrendingly emotional page-turner about hope in the darkest of days, and how love must always prevail. Perfect for fans of The Tattooist of Auschwitz, The Nightingale and The Book of Lost Names.

Author Bio:

I seem to have followed a rather meandering career, including marketing and teaching and politics (don’t try and join the dots), to get where I have always wanted to be, which is writing historical fiction. I am a story lover as well as a story writer and nothing fascinates me more than a strong female protagonist and a quest. Hopefully those are what you will encounter when you pick up my books.

I am from the North of England but now live very happily in Glasgow with my American husband. Both my children have left home (one to London and one to Berlin) which may explain why I am finally writing. If I’m not at my desk you’ll most probably find me in the cinema, or just follow the sound of very loud music.

I’d love to hear from you and there are lots of ways you can find me, so jump in via my website https://www.catherinehokin.com/ or on my Cat Hokin FB page or on twitter @catherineh66267.

Sign up to be the first to hear about new releases from Catherine Hokin here: https://www.bookouture.com/catherine-hokin

Buy Link:

Amazon: https://geni.us/B0F3X99JW1social

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—

Sarah Hardy

Publicist

Bookouture
Storyfire Ltd
Carmelite House
50 Victoria Embankment
London EC4Y 0DZ

Storyfire Limited, a member of Hachette UK Group, registered in England and Wales under company no. 7893911

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