The Enemy's Wife by Deborah Swift
Publisher: HQ Digital
Release date: 9 April 2026
Back cover blurb: 1941. When Zofia’s beloved husband Haru is conscripted into the Imperial Japanese Army, she is left to navigate Japanese-occupied Shanghai alone. Far from home and surrounded by a country at war, Zofia finds unexpected comfort in a bond with Hilly, a spirited young refugee escaping Nazi-occupied Austria. As violence tightens its grip on the city, they seek shelter with Theo, Zofia’s American employer. But with every passing day, the horrors of war and Haru’s absence begin to reshape Zofia’s world – and her heart. Can she still love someone who has become the enemy?
This book is the second in Deborah Swift's 'Survivors of War' series. Whilst I enjoyed the first one in the series, I don't think you necessarily need to have read it to be able to read this installment. It could definitely be read as a standalone.
Personally, I think I enjoyed this novel more, as it explores a side of the war that isn't written about that often in historical fiction. The brutality of the Japanese and the uncertainties that foreign nationals faced in what they thought was a safe haven.
Zofia has been left to navigate Shanghai alone after her Japanese husband is conscripted in to the Japanese imperial army. She only has her friend Hilly, and her employer to help her. And sometimes trying to help Hilly feels impossible.
But they are both strangers in a foreign land, and it is the only reason that they are safe.
When things become volatile, her employer Theo’s wife and young family must leave to ensure their safety. Zofia worries that this will mean the end of her employment, but Theo decides he must keep Zofia on to help him learn the basics of Japanese, for he will need to engage with the enemy.
As time passes it is clear that there is an attraction between them, but they are both married, both moral, so nothing can possibly happen between them. Or can it?
We all know that war makes different people of us, and this novel demonstrates just how far we will go to protect and keep safe the ones that we love. Another brilliantly written novel from Deborah Swift and as always I look forward to reading her next.
The Enemy's Wife is available now via Amazon online and all good book shops.
Thank You to the publisher who approved my request via netgalley in exchange for an honest review.