Nazi-occupied Paris, 1942. “I want to create a world where we are free to be together, to be in love,” he whispered. I gulp down the sobs building in my throat. “I want that too. I’ll come back to you. I swear I’ll come back.”
Elena Garcia knows that the mission she has been tasked with is her most dangerous yet. With a tearful goodbye to the man she has grown to love, the dark-eyed and warm-hearted Santiago Lozano, she hurries to catch the train to the drop-off point, the coded maps she is delivering for the resistance concealed in a pack of playing cards in her purse.
As she leaves the underground meeting, she hears heavy footsteps closing in behind her. Her heart pounds, and a dark figure comes into her line of sight. Expertly fighting off her attacker, Elena races back to the station, barely making it onto the train. She is forced to confront the worst: her cover is blown and now nowhere will be safe. Somebody close to her is a traitor, but when you live in the shadows, how do you know who you can really trust?
To stay alive, Elena must flee the country – and that means leaving Santiago behind. But she refuses to abandon her mission while Europe is still in the clutches of the enemy, and she will not leave Santiago to face the wrath of the Gestapo alone.
But when Elena uncovers that the love of her life has been having meetings with high-ranking government officials and hears German officials greeting him by name in the street, it’s clear that Santiago has his own secrets.
Elena must now ask herself: should she risk everything to save Santiago… or was he the one who betrayed her to the enemy? And now, with millions of innocent lives across Europe at stake, how can she know what is the right choice?
An epic, gripping and emotional wartime novel based on the true stories of the female spies sent into occupied Europe. Fans of The Alice Network, Soraya M. Lane and Pam Jenoff will be totally hooked.
It's my pleasure to be hosting The Secret Keeper Books on Tour today. Many thanks to Siobhan Curham and Bookouture for inviting me and for my advance copy of the book, received through Netgalley.
The Secret Keeper is the second book I've read by Siobhan Curham, having thoroughly enjoyed The Paris Network earlier this year. This one again takes place during the Second World War and also has a strong female protagonist but the setting is more unfamiliar this time, exploring the perhaps less well-known state of affairs in the officially neutral Spain.
At the start of the book, Elena Garcia is a rather naïve young woman who dreams of giving up waitressing to become a proper actress. She may be appearing alongside William Holden and a young Ronald Reagan but it's only a small role in a training video for American operatives who will be going undercover in Europe, and she longs for that elusive break. However, a conversation with a suited man about her family results in her life changing in a way she would never have predicted.
It's obvious to readers what lies ahead for Elena after a mysteriously clandestine meeting where she is asked if she is available to come to Washington for some tests. However, Elena herself clearly has no idea what she is headed for and while I initially found her cluelessness a little grating, I was soon reminded that I have the benefit of hindsight and women at that time wouldn't have expected to be recruited as spies. After her initial shock, she quickly accepts her situation and though only a fairly small part of the novel, I enjoyed the look at the sort of training undertaken at The Farm by the men and women who had the potential to become members of the OSS, as well as the realistic portrayal of the inevitable friendships and clashes that occur when people from all walks of life are thrown together.
Her first posting comes as a surprise to her but makes perfect sense; she is sent to Spain where she is to play the part of a Mexican actress, Carmen De La Fuenta. Elena's father is from Mexico which means she is fluent in Spanish and now she has a role which will test all her acting abilities, as well as the skills she learned at The Farm. I really enjoyed the juxtaposition between the public and private face of Elena; she uses her portrayal of Carmen to give her confidence but for all her capabilities, we still see the scared young woman who desperately hopes that her part in the war effort will help liberate Europe from the grip of the Nazis – particularly her beloved Grand-Mere Rose. Letters from Rose to Elena are interspersed throughout the novel and are a heartbreaking insight into the lives of those living under Occupation. It's especially poignant that Rose writes these letters knowing that she can't actually send them but still needs an outlet for her hopes and fears.
The sense of place is superb throughout and I loved seeing how different life was in a part of Europe not occupied by the Nazis. However, for all the apparent freedoms and glamorous functions, there is a menacing undercurrent of fear and doubt. Elena is warned not to fall in love but grows close to Spanish flamenco dancer, Santiago Lozano. I would describe The Secret Keeper as a romantic suspense story rather than a true espionage thriller with the relationship between the two main characters a real highlight. Siobhan Curham captures the chemistry they share beautifully but so too, the uncertainty as both have their secrets. This isn't a fast-paced novel, instead exploring the emotional responses to such extraordinary situations as well as the more strategic considerations.
Elena's undercover role brings her into close contact with dangerous people and there are some truly nail-biting scenes. She is advised early on to think of what they are doing as a game of chess and she frequently refers to this analogy, most notably during some acutely tense scenes. Although a slow-burner, there are still several moments which set my heart racing, especially later, where the stakes become really high as Elena is forced to accept that she may not be able to trust anybody. I sped through these pages, terrified for her and eager to discover the truth; the scenes set in France were so intense, I could hardly draw breath at times. If I had one small quibble, it would be that I felt the ending was slightly rushed. I do understand why this was necessary, the book would have been ridiculously long otherwise but I would love to read more about Elena's experiences in France.
The Secret Keeper was inspired by the true story of model turned spy, Aline Griffith and Siobhan Curham's research is evident throughout but she never bogs down the narrative with facts, instead intertwining real-life events and people seamlessly into the storyline. The result is an atmospheric, moving novel that kept me gripped from start to finish. I recommend it and look forward to reading more from her in the future.
The Secret Keeper is published by Bookouture and can be purchased from Amazon where it is also available on Kindle Unlimited and Audible.
Find out what my fellow bloggers thought of The Secret Keeper. details of the Books on Tour stops are below.
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