The Last Train to Freedom by Deborah Swift - #blogtour #bookreview

 

Zofia stirred the pot in the airless heat. The stew would never be eaten, but Zofia didn't know that yet. Unfinished things were already a part of her life, as they were for so many in wartime...

***

The Blurb

1940. As Soviet forces storm Lithuania, Zofia and her brother Jacek must flee to survive.

A lifeline appears when Japanese consul Sugihara offers them visas on one condition: they must deliver a parcel to Tokyo. Inside lies intelligence on Nazi atrocities, evidence so explosive that Nazi and Soviet agents will stop at nothing to possess it.

Pursued across Siberia on the Trans-Siberian Express, Zofia faces danger at every turn, racing to expose the truth as Japan edges closer to allying with the Nazis. With the fate of countless lives hanging in the balance, can she complete her mission before time runs out?

My Review

There are a plethora of books on the market which are set during wartime. It would be easy to think that the genre has nothing fresh to contribute, and I might have agreed until I read this fabulous book. I seldom give books of this type five stars, but this one fully deserves it for bringing something new and refreshing to the genre.

In fact, I have read many books set during World War Two. What separates this from the rest is that it is concerned with the part that was played by the real life Japanese diplomat, Sugihara Chiune, by his issuing Jewish refugees in Lithuania, visas to Japan. Even though I believe myself to be fairly widely read about the plight of the Jews during WWII, both fiction and non-fiction, this was one aspect that was new to me, and I applaud the author for bringing this to us in fictional form. 

The book is largely set on the gruelling Trans-Siberian railway on which the main characters are journeying. The main character Zofia, is escaping with her twin brother, Jacek and his girlfriend, Masha. Accompanying them is Sugihara's German assistant, Otto. The four make an interesting cast of characters, and the dynamic between them made for fascinating reading. However, we see the narrative and story through Zofia's eyes, and it was impossible not to root for her every step of the way. We observe the changing relationships with them through her perspective alone. Her journey, both physically and emotionally, is arduous and at times terrifying, but she faces this with bravery and resilience at every turn. She is a fabulous character, and the author has done a great job in bringing her to life on the page.

This has clearly been very well researched and is plentiful in the historical detail of the time in which it is set. I appreciated the author providing a list of further reading at the end of the book. She also provides an explanation of the history surrounding her novel, along with an explanation of the factual and fictional parts.

This is an accomplished novel which is compelling and fascinating. I could hardly bring myself to put it down as I was so immersed in it.

Even before I read this book, I was a fan of Deborah Swift. I have previously read The Shadow Network and Operation Tulip, both of which are part of her WW2 Secret Agent series. Additionally, I have read Shadow on the Highway. You can find the reviews of these books by clicking on the titles. Deborah Swift was also kind enough to tell me about which books she would take with her to a desert island, and you can read about it here. You can also find an excerpt from The Fortune Keeper here.

The Last Train to Freedom is an outstanding novel which I highly recommend.

Book Details

ISBN:  978 0008739706

Publisher:  HQ Digital

Formats:  e-books, audio and paperback 

No. of Pages:  361

Purchase Links

Bookshop.org

Amazon UK

About the Author

Deborah Swift is the English author of twenty historical novels, including Millennium Award winner Past Encounters, and The Poison Keeper the novel based around the life of the legendary poisoner Giulia Tofana. The Poison Keeper won the Wishing Shelf Readers Award for Book of the Decade. Recently she has completed a secret agent series set in WW2, the first in the series being The Silk Code.

Deborah used to work as a set and costume designer for theatre and TV and enjoys the research aspect of creating historical fiction, something she loved doing as a scenographer. She likes to write about extraordinary characters set against a background of real historical events. Deborah lives in England on the edge of the Lake District, an area made famous by the Romantic Poets such as Wordsworth and Coleridge.

You can also find Deborah at:

Author Website

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Pinterest

Bluesky

Instagram

(ARC and media courtesy of The Coffee Pot Book Club)

(all opinions are my own)

(bookshop.org affiliated)

Guest Post Tomorrow - Tara Lynn Masih

I am very excited to let you all know that the lovely, Tara Lynn Masih, will be a guest on my blog tomorrow. Tara is the author of the amazing novel My Name is Hannah, which is published in the UK this week.

I adored this book when I read it and reviewed it here on the blog. Just click on the book title below to read my review.

My Real Name is Hanna

Shavlan by Eunice E. Blecker - Tuesday Teaser

Welcome to the first of my regular Tuesday Teaser slot where I will be providing you with some basic information and the first page of a book that I think you might like to know more about. 

Todays book is Shavlan by Eunice E. Blecker. Does this book appeal to you based on the first page? Has it whet your appetite to read more? I would love to hear your thoughts on this.

From the Blurb 

Shavlan - A Woman's Journey to Independence

Sarah Taube cowers in the bakery cellar clutching her three children, listening to the sounds of shooting and shouting by the White Cossacks during a pogrom. In order to survive, she enters into a bargain with the ruthless Commissar, Dimitri, an orthodox Jew transformed by tragedy into a high-ranking Bolshevik. Will Dimitri be able to protect Sarah Taube and her family? Will Sarah Taube be reunited with her wanderlust husband who leaves for South Africa to seek his fortune and find himself, and will she realize her life long dream to go to America?

Little does Sarah Taube realize as she stands at the train tracks with her children, how much her life is going to change.

This family saga is based on true events in the life of the author's maternal grandmother spanning three continents and five decades. It tells of a woman's journey to independence while living through World War I, deportation from her village in Lithuania, the Russian Revolution, the Civil War and Lithuanian Independence.

First Page

Chapter 1 - Cossacks

May 1919 - Ekaterinoslav, Ukraine, Soviet Russia

Sarah Taube lay frightened in the dimly lit cellar surrounded by her three precious children. Thank goodness they were asleep, she thought. Her daughter Chaya was well aware of what was happening, but the two younger children were still so very innocent and untouched by the cruel realities of war.

The sound of galloping horses, troops marching, the firing of rifles, and the piercing cries of men, women and children could be heard nearby.

"How could this be happening?" she asked herself.

Where was Dimitri who promised to be there for her and the children if she ever needed him? She was again isolated and alone, with only her wits to help her think calmly and clearly.

It seemed to her as if a curse had been placed upon nearly all of the males in her life.

It first began with her father who was killed during a pogrom, attempting to save the life of a woman he did not even know. Then there was her husband, stuck in a faraway land unable to rescue her in her time of need. Losing her sweet, innocent young son Avram so tragically still overpowered her with sorrow. And the thought of not knowing whether her eldest son Yankel was alive or dead overwhelmed her with grief. So why shouldn't she think a curse had been placed on those males so closely connected to her? Why indeed.

She was determined to be strong for her children's sake, though there were times when she felt the strain of it was too much for her to bear. But somehow she would always find the strength to carry on, regardless of all the obstacles she had to face.

ISBN: 978 1546966166

Publisher: Newbridge Press