Excerpt: The Enemy's Wife (Survivors of War) by Deborah Swift
- Archaeolibrarian
- 20 hours ago
- 4 min read
Book details:
Book Title: The Enemy’s Wife
Series: Survivors of War Series
Author: Deborah Swift
Publication Date: 6th April 2026
Publisher: HQ Digital
Page Length:380
Genre: Historical Fiction
Trigger warnings: Murder and violence in keeping with the era.
@authordeborahswift @thecoffeepotbookclub
@deborahswiftauthor @thecoffeepotbookclub
A poignant story of the impossible choices we make in the shadow of war, for fans of Daisy Wood and Marius Gabriel.
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?
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Shanghai, 1941
Haru
‘Additional Training.’ That was what they called it.
As if they needed any, having been beaten with bamboo flails from the very beginning, and told that to disobey would mean not only ignominy, but torture and death.
Haru Kimura had spoken back only once and now he had a livid scar across his cheek from the sharp cut of bamboo, and the whole unit had been beaten blue because of his insubordination. Terrified to object, but terrified to obey, he understood all too soon what life was to be like in the cold brutal family of the Japanese Imperial Army.
The unit of new recruits, all soft faces and innocent eyes, had been in China less than a week when they were brought to a village square, a rough sandy clearing surrounded by decrepit wooden buildings, and handed bayonets for target practice. Even before the instructions from the NCO were given, Haru registered the silence. That was before he saw the pit on one side of the square and the mound of bodies. On the other side of the square stood posts made from trees.
His knees began to quake.
No. What kind of practice was this? He started to say silent prayers.
The posts were smeared red, and tied to them were six squirming Chinese men – men who looked like poor farmers, their chests and stomachs bared. Men they’d been told were chancorro – bugs, lice, less than human. Haru saw their flesh was white in comparison to their sun-baked, weathered arms.
Refusing was not an option. The captain asked for a volunteer and the man beside him, almost wetting himself to get it over, ran with his bayonet, uttering a fearsome yell. A squint, and Haru saw one of the Chinese sag to his knees over a carpet of blood.
‘It’s war,’ he told himself. ‘They would kill us too.’ Wouldn’t they?
The order came. Haru closed his eyes. A fraction of a second before his legs started to run. He’d have to do it. Get it over with, that was all he could do.
Eyes squeezed shut, he felt the slip of the rifle in his hands, his feet thumping on the dusty ground. At the last moment he opened his eyes, surprised to see another human being there, but it was too late to stop, his bayonet sunk easily into the man’s chest. As he withdrew it, he felt his own amazement, that to take a life was so easy, like piercing a mango.
The man’s eyes were open, looking at him. Accusing him. Then he slid down leaving Haru with a view of a bloodstained post.
From behind, he heard the cheers of the rest of the men as if he’d done something heroic. ‘Another victory for the Emperor of the Rising Sun!’
The words swilled in his head like soup.
'A gorgeous novel that will truly pull at your heartstrings'
CARLY SCHABOWSKI
'I loved The Enemy’s Wife – a gripping, fast-paced and evocative story about the Japanese occupation of Shanghai during WW2 – and really rooted for the brave and selfless central character, Zofia. Highly recommended'
ANN BENNETT
'Such an emotional and moving read, grounded in immaculate research that never overshadows the heart of the story'
SUZANNE FORTIN
Deborah used to be a costume designer for the BBC, before becoming a writer. Now she lives in an old English school house in a village full of 17th Century houses, near the glorious Lake District. Deborah has an award-winning historical fiction blog at her website www.deborahswift.com.
Deborah loves to write about how extraordinary events in history have transformed the lives of ordinary people, and how the events of the past can live on in her books and still resonate today.
Her WW2 novel Past Encounters was a BookViral Award winner, and The Poison Keeper was a winner of the Wishing Shelf Book of the Decade.
Author Links:
Website: www.deborahswift.com
Amazon Author Page: http://author.to/DeborahSwift
Twitter / X: https://twitter.com/swiftstory
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.co.uk/deborahswift1/
Tour hosted by: The Coffee Pot Book Club
Thank you so much for hosting Deborah Swift today, with a compelling excerpt from her new novel, The Enemy's Wife. Much appreciated.
Take care,
Cathie xx
The Coffee Pot BookClub