Today I’m delighted to be sharing an excerpt from Deborah Swift’s newly released novel, The Enemy’s Wife, as part of a blog tour hosted by  The Coffee Pot Book Club. The Enemy’s Wife is set in Japanese-occupied Shanghai during World War 2.

Blurb

‘A fast-paced, beautifully written, and moving story. Refreshing to read a book set in a different theatre of war. Wartime Shanghai jumped off the page.’ ~ Clare Flynn

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?

Excerpt

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.

The Enemy’s Wife is available at via this Universal Buy Link
and at
  Amazon UK • Amazon US • Amazon CA •  Amazon AU
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Readers love The Enemy’s Wife

‘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 Swift

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.

For more information about Deborah and her books click on the links below
Website • Amazon Author Page • Twitter / X • Facebook
Pinterest • BookBub • TikTok

More information on the Coffee Pot Book Club and other works of quality historical fiction can be found on Twitter and Instagram.

Book Title: The Enemy’s Wife
Series: Survivors of War Series
Author: Deborah Swift
Publication Date: 6 April 2026
Publisher: HQ Digital
Page Length: 380
Genre: Historical Fiction