Review -The Silk Code by Deborah Swift

The Silk Code by Deborah Swift

Publisher: HQ Digital

Release date: 17 May 2023

Back cover blurb: England, 1943: Deciding to throw herself into war work, Nancy Callaghan joins the Special Operations Executive in Baker Street. There, she begins solving ‘indecipherables’ – scrambled messages from agents in the field. Then Nancy meets Tom Lockwood, a quiet genius when it comes to coding. Together they come up with the idea of printing codes on silk, so agents can hide them in their clothing to avoid detection by the enemy. Nancy and Tom grow close, and soon she is hopelessly in love. But there is a traitor in Baker Street, and suspicions turn towards Tom. When Nancy is asked to spy on Tom, she must make the ultimate sacrifice and complete a near-impossible mission. Could the man she loves be the enemy?

Heartbroken Nancy Callaghan decides to move to London following a betrayal of the worst kind by her (now ex) fiancé and a so called friend. Her Brother is based there, and it seems the logical thing to do to room with him for a while until she can find her feet.

She lands herself a role quicker than expected due to a natural gift for languages, and a cool and sensible demeanor. She had no idea that her Brother was working for the secret services, but of course she wouldn't, because that would defeat the object...

Having landed a secretive role herself, Nancy takes to decoding work at the Special Operations Executive (SOE) immediately and competently. Soon she is deciphering the most difficult of messages, and spotting anomalies and pointing them out to her superior, Tom Lockwood.

Despite an almost instant attraction between them, Tom and Nancy are (at first) determined to remain professional. Nancy herself is reluctant to trust another so soon after her last relationship. But Tom is very different to her ex-fiancé, and she realises that she can trust him to the ends of the earth.

Or can she?

At first believing her Brother is jealous of her relationship, she dismisses his concerns about Tom. But when she is called in to a meeting with senior staff at SOE, she begins to wonder if she shouldn't have been so quick to trust.

What she doesn't know, is that the traitor in question is closer and more devastating than she could ever imagine.. 

A wonderfully researched WW2 novel, that I highly recommend and can't wait to read more from this author. 

The Silk Code is available now via Amazon online and all good book shops.

Thank You to the publishers who approved my request via netgalley in exchange for an honest review.