2025 Goldsboro Books Glass Bell Award (longlist)
A sweeping epic from Kindle bestselling author S. W. Perry
Spanning silent-movie Hollywood, the nightclubs of pre-war Vienna, and the ruins of Soviet Berlin, Berlin Duet is an unforgettable story of love, loyalty, and survival in a world transformed by war.
Perfect for fans of Sebastian Faulks, William Boyd, and Charlotte Philby.
Berlin, 1938. As the shadow of Nazism falls across Europe, English spy Harry Taverner and Jewish-American photographer Anna Cantrell spend a magical night dancing at one of Berlin's most elegant hotels. Neither expects to see the other again.
But after the war, they are reunited amid the shattered ruins of Berlin. Anna is searching for her missing children, while Harry finds himself caught in a city divided by competing powers. As the Soviet blockade tightens and tensions rise, they must navigate a dangerous path between love and duty, loyalty and betrayal.
Bound together by a secret that will remain hidden for decades, Harry and Anna's lives become entwined with the fate of Berlin itself. And as the Cold War begins, their story unfolds against the backdrop of a city on the verge of yet another transformation.
A richly atmospheric historical novel, Berlin Duet is an epic tale of devotion tested by forces far beyond human control.
Genre: Historical Mystery
Spanning silent-movie Hollywood, the nightclubs of pre-war Vienna, and the ruins of Soviet Berlin, Berlin Duet is an unforgettable story of love, loyalty, and survival in a world transformed by war.
Perfect for fans of Sebastian Faulks, William Boyd, and Charlotte Philby.
Berlin, 1938. As the shadow of Nazism falls across Europe, English spy Harry Taverner and Jewish-American photographer Anna Cantrell spend a magical night dancing at one of Berlin's most elegant hotels. Neither expects to see the other again.
But after the war, they are reunited amid the shattered ruins of Berlin. Anna is searching for her missing children, while Harry finds himself caught in a city divided by competing powers. As the Soviet blockade tightens and tensions rise, they must navigate a dangerous path between love and duty, loyalty and betrayal.
Bound together by a secret that will remain hidden for decades, Harry and Anna's lives become entwined with the fate of Berlin itself. And as the Cold War begins, their story unfolds against the backdrop of a city on the verge of yet another transformation.
A richly atmospheric historical novel, Berlin Duet is an epic tale of devotion tested by forces far beyond human control.
Genre: Historical Mystery
Praise for this book
"What a love story and what a setting. Engrossing, superbly detailed, unsentimental but very moving, it brilliantly deconstructs the chaos and blight that war and its aftermath brings." - Elizabeth Buchan
"This novel swept me to several enthralling historical locations. I was particularly taken by the wonderfully evoked silent film era in Hollywood; I loved the pre-war setting of Vienna with Hitler's reach hanging over every step, southern France, its nature, a refreshing balance to the Vichy regime, and then the exuberance, chaos and revelations in Berlin as the Wall came down in 1989. Perry is meticulous in his research. His novel is a complex and ambitious story of lovers and spies and Jewish survivors. It will keep you page-turning all through the night." - Carol Drinkwater
"A gripping and heartfelt story, brilliantly imagined, filled with fascinating characters living through some of the greatest turmoils of the twentieth century." - Elisabeth Gifford
"I've loved S W Perry's Jackdaw series, but this second-world-war novel is something apart. Beautifully written, humane, entirely convincing and authentic. I admired and loved it. Highly recommended." - Leonora Nattrass
"I was completely gripped - believability, tension and a twist in the ending ... an unforgettable novel. Very highly recommended." - Deborah Swift
"This novel swept me to several enthralling historical locations. I was particularly taken by the wonderfully evoked silent film era in Hollywood; I loved the pre-war setting of Vienna with Hitler's reach hanging over every step, southern France, its nature, a refreshing balance to the Vichy regime, and then the exuberance, chaos and revelations in Berlin as the Wall came down in 1989. Perry is meticulous in his research. His novel is a complex and ambitious story of lovers and spies and Jewish survivors. It will keep you page-turning all through the night." - Carol Drinkwater
"A gripping and heartfelt story, brilliantly imagined, filled with fascinating characters living through some of the greatest turmoils of the twentieth century." - Elisabeth Gifford
"I've loved S W Perry's Jackdaw series, but this second-world-war novel is something apart. Beautifully written, humane, entirely convincing and authentic. I admired and loved it. Highly recommended." - Leonora Nattrass
"I was completely gripped - believability, tension and a twist in the ending ... an unforgettable novel. Very highly recommended." - Deborah Swift
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