The Silence In Between by Josie Ferguson (PRE-ORDER)

DATE OF RELEASE: 1 MAY 2025

The gripping historical debut about a family separated by the Berlin wall - perfect for fans of All the Light We Cannot See, In Memoriam and Alone in Berlin.

SHORTLISTED FOR THE WATERSTONES DEBUT FICTION PRIZE 2024

SELECTED AS ONE OF INDEPENDENT'S BEST HISTORICAL FICTION OF THE YEAR 2024

VOTED BEST HISTORICAL NOVEL and BEST DEBUT, BestBookForward podcast

Lisette is in hospital with her baby boy. The doctors tell her to go home and get some rest, that he’ll be fine. When she awakes, everything has changed.

Because overnight, on 13 August 1961, the border between East and West Berlin has closed, slicing the city - and the world - in two. Lisette is trapped in the east, while her baby is unreachable in the west. But this is not the first time she has lived in a divided city.

. Lisette's teenage daughter, Elly, has always struggled to understand the distance between herself and her mother. Both have lived for music, but while Elly hears notes surrounding every person she meets, for her mother the music has disappeared.

Can Elly now find a way to bridge the silence? Set across two timelines – the Second World War and the tumultuous events of 1961 - The Silence in Between explores the unbreakable bonds of family, the resilience of women, and the lengths they will go to protect the ones they love. Based on true stories, The Silence in Between is a page-turning, emotional epic that will stay with you long after you finish reading. 

Paperback 
Publication: 1 May 2025, Penguin  
ISBN: 9781804992739
Extent: 352 pages