A review by sams_fireside
The Secret Photograph by Siobhan Curham

emotional hopeful informative sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

Harrowing, haunting, tragic and heart-breaking. These are just a handful of words that describe The Secret Photograph by Siobhan Curham. I loved it. I cannot describe fully how Siobhan’s books make me feel, but I always close the book and wonder about how such monsters could have existed in the twentieth century.

Although a work of fiction, this latest stunner from Siobhan is based on real-life events and told from two viewpoints across two timelines. One is from Clarisse in the 1940s and the other....well I’m not telling you who tells the other story because I didn’t realise (as I’m sure was the intention) until at least halfway through the book, but it is told from someone living in France in the mid-eighties.

The work of everyone in the Resistance amazes me. How so many people put their lives on the line, day after day, to bring knowledge to the world about the atrocities of war and to try to bring justice for their country is incredible. There were also so many roles to play, I would never have thought a photographer would have been so beneficial and just goes to show that guns weren’t necessarily the only weapons.

If you’re interested in learning so much more about the Second World War than your teachers ever taught you, then pick up a copy of Siobhan’s latest book and immerse yourself in wartime France.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for the opportunity to read and review The Secret Photograph by Siobhan Curham.