Can we recommend: Natasha Walter - A Quiet Life

You can easily picture this novel being turned into a compelling drama for stage or screen.

It tells the story of Laura Leverett who arrives in the UK from America as World War Two breaks out.

It’s her story, both personal and political, told over a number of years, with a fine eye for detail.

Leverett finds herself drawn to the communist movement just as she meets Edward Last, her kindred spirit.

He’s very much part of ‘the establishment’ and works for the Government.

She is soon part of that life, carrying out tasks for people she barely knows, but secrets and lies soon spill out and lives are changed for ever.

The relationship between the two changes across the book as Everett follows her husband’s career while also finding her own voice in a time of great uncertainty.

The traumas they endure are life changing, their journey together – and separately – is often fraught with challenges.

Walter also creates a cast of characters who bring rich colour to the grey, austere war times, and pulls together all the strands as lives are changed forever.

A compelling, slow-burning book which keeps you hooked from the opening pages.