I love a good WWII genre book and this is one I truly enjoyed. The author made me feel the pressure of living in London right before WWII and not knowing what was coming next. The mystery of 'who done it" was an extra bonus in a well told story.
Well developed characters that you will love and some you will hate. I would recommend this book to friends and give it a 5 star rating.

I started reading this book and got lost in it! It was very hard to get anything done it was so good! I devoured it! The writing was very good, and the story line kept me very very interested. I loved the characters! A very very strong 5 from me!!

The Silent Woman by Terry Lynn Thomas is a marvellous historical suspense that had me engrossed from the start.
Opening in 1930's Nazi Germany with Hitler in power, ordinary lives are beginning to be affected. Anti Semitism is rising. Opposition is squashed. "If he could carry on as usual, he could convince himself that things were just as they used to be." No one should have ignored the actions of Hitler.
Action moves to London. The reader is treated to espionage, murder, spies and double dealings. There is the theme of trust. So much is going on that the reader wonders who can be trusted and who is doing the dodgy dealings? We need to be aware of the phrase 'loose lips sink ships.' Suspicion lurks around every corner.
Amidst the turmoil, is the theme of child abuse. Good women protect the innocents.
There is the theme of PTSD. World War I was not so far distant. Everyone had been affected, some continued to suffer flashbacks. Everyone remembered the horrors and no one was over keen to be plunged into war again.
As a historian I loved The Silent Woman as it was set in my favourite time period. As a literary fan, I loved The Silent Woman with its great plotline and strong believable characters. I read it in just one sitting. I think it would make a fabulous BBC drama.
I received this book for free from Net Galley. A favourable review was not required and all views expressed are my own.

The year is 1937. Catherine Carlisle, desperate to leave her husband and loveless marriage, not to mention hostile relationship with her sister in law, takes on work as a courier. She doesn’t deliver just any messages, though — Catherine has become affiliated with the British spy network. It’s money, after all, and Catherine does want her freedom; however, when a woman attempts to steal the documents Catherine is carrying, and it comes to light that someone in Catherine’s household is sneaking documents to the enemy, she becomes embroiled in something much more sinister. When a murder occurs, Catherine is implicated, and she has to clear her name as well as find the true culprit. With danger closing in from all sides, Catherine’s introduction to spycraft is putting her at risk as well as those she cares about.

I really like Terry Lynn Thomas! I’ve read her Sarah Bennett series, which is a nice blend of mystery and the supernatural, so I was excited to read this book since it’s different from her previous work. Thomas doesn’t disappoint with the spy thriller genre, either. Catherine is a compelling heroine, new to being a spy but still interested in the work, showing a natural knack for wanting to solve a mystery and put things together while taking risks for King and country. The changes in POV allowed for the reader to get a wider glimpse into the spy network as well as how events look from the outside of Catherine’s world. Some of the characters were so sweet, like Annie and Catherine’s aunt Lydia, and others were really intriguing and made me want to know more about them, such as Reginald.

The relationships between the characters were complex and nuanced, and I liked seeing things develop, or gaining more insight into why certain characters get along and others don’t. I would say that the book was more character driven than really driven by the mystery, which works for me since I love character books. In particular I found Isabelle and Catherine’s relationship intriguing, since I don’t think it was ever clearly explained why Isabelle dislikes Catherine so much, and how she was so convinced Catherine was the murderer. I would’ve liked to see their relationship fleshed out some more.

There wasn’t any romance in this book, although there were hints of it, so it’ll be interesting to see in future books how that develops. The end of the book wrapped the mystery up nicely, almost too neatly though, and it was good to see everything taken care of. There weren’t really any loose ends, which I commend Thomas on; a lot of times with mystery writers they get wrapped up in the main resolution and things can be left unanswered, which didn’t happen here. I have to say the I was a little disheartened to have the lesbians in the book be a murderess and a traitor; I was actually so surprised that there were secret lesbians at all, and I was really intrigued in their story, but it was disappointing to have the only LGBT+ representation be the villains of the novel. I hope I won’t see this as a pattern with Thomas’s work.

That being said, this book was a solid effort as the introduction to a new series. Thomas did good work here and I look forward to seeing what she does with Catherine in the future.

I did enjoy reading this story, but many of the details were left hanging. Even at the end I was still a little puzzled by some of the clandestine events or who was the actual instigator of the original setup for Mrs. Carlisle. Some of the characters went by the wayside with no explanation. I felt the writing was good, but I think some of the characters were not quite believable. It was hard to envision a fourteen year old girl was capable of some of her thoughts or actions and a legitimate espionage ring would trust their work to an amateur.
The story also felt disjointed at times, many characters were thrown at you in the beginning, and I actually had to write down who they were and how they were related to the main character in order to get a sense of what the book was about. Once I laid the groundwork, it was much easier to follow along and I found the storyline entertaining and well worth the time to read. The details were excellent, the author has a knack for descriptions that can make you truly envision the surroundings. This is not a WWII novel, it skims the surface of the atrocities, and stresses how the other parts of the world were not paying attention to the events taking place. This book is a murder mystery yarn covering a very short time frame.
I’m giving 4 stars and would recommend if you like a suspicious murder mystery.
I thank Net Galley and HQ Digital for allowing me the opportunity to read this advanced copy for my review.

As a huge fan of historical fiction, I was so excited to get a chance to read this book. The story follows Catherine caught in the world of espionage before the Second World War. The characters are interesting and the plot very engaging. Recommended!

This is historical story written just before World War Ii. Catherine Carlisle is caught up in the many problem she has going on in her life. She has had three miscarriages, her husband is having an affair, her sister in law loathes her, and her husband is miserly with any money he gives her. Then a chance encounter in a park gives her a solution to her problem. She can earn a generous amount of money by simply dropping of envelopes at certain destinations. Seems easy enough. Soon she finds herself immersed in a world of espionage. Where top secret information is being sold to the enemy.
I enjoyed reading This book. I liked Catherine, the main character. She is strong willed and determined to have her own life. The other characters are good support, as they help the storyline.
4 STARS

I enjoyed the historical aspects of this novel. It captures the essence of life in the UK during the years leading towards the Second World War.

From the apparently abstract opening in Germany, there are hints of an espionage story.

Only much later in the book does the significance of these early events become clear.

I liked the way the characters are developed. I feel sure that the central character, Catherine Carlisle may have more to offer in future books. I hope this is the case, because I would like to read more on the strength of this book.

I give my thanks to Netgalley and HQ Books for a copy in exchange for this review.

I really enjoyed being transported back to the era leading up to World War 2. I especially liked the writing style of the author and hope that there will be further episodes to come.

The Silent Woman by Terry Lynn Thomas is apparently the first in a series of books. The book was a little uneven. At the beginning I was not following too well. As the story went on I did become involved. Mrs Carlisle will become a force in upcoming books I am sure. I look forward to reading the next installment. I was provided this advance copy by Net Galley.