jmatkinson1's review
4.0
In the Republic of the United Kingdom in 1952 the people work hard to support the communist ideals that they are exposed to. Jane Cawson is married to a doctor who deals with members of the Party and who has a glamorous ex-wife. Suspecting her husband of cheating on her with his ex, Jane goes to her house and finds her dead. Her husband is arrested and Jane starts to unravel the secret deals that he is involved with, deals that are treachery to the State but which also involve influential politicians. Naive Jane and a supportive police officer realise what is going on but can they prove anything?
The best part of this book is the setting. Rubin has imagined an alternative ending to the Second World War where D-Day was a failure and the Russians managed to reach Britain. London is segregated by a 'Berlin Wall' and Britain is the former Germany. This is very well done and creatively imagined. Beyond that the book is a fairly decent period thriller.
The best part of this book is the setting. Rubin has imagined an alternative ending to the Second World War where D-Day was a failure and the Russians managed to reach Britain. London is segregated by a 'Berlin Wall' and Britain is the former Germany. This is very well done and creatively imagined. Beyond that the book is a fairly decent period thriller.
bella_mp_03's review
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
braxwall's review
4.0
Kontrafaktisk spionthriller som utspelar sig på 1950-talet. Järnridån står i England och i London och östsidan leds av bland annat medlemmar från Cambridge Four. Mycket känns igen från le Carré m.fl. men det är skickligt berättat och den "nya" miljön gör detta ändå spännande och underhållande.
noveldeelights's review
4.0
Well, here is a frightening scenario.
The year is 1952. The setting is London. But not the London we all know. D-Day was an enormous failure and the war was lost. The United Kingdom has been divided in two with a wall running through London. Jane and her husband Nick live in the Republic, under Russian control. Jane suspects her husband of having an affair with his first wife, Lorelei. When Jane decides to confront them, she finds Lorelei dead in the bathtub and soon, husband Nick is arrested by the National Secret Service. But all is not what it seems.
Jane is just your average woman who suddenly finds herself in the middle of extraordinary circumstances. Not only is goodness knows what happening to her husband while he’s being held but she also suddenly finds herself responsible for his daughter from his previous marriage. Desperate to find evidence that will help free her husband, she soon ends up in situations she is wholly unprepared for.
Life is not a bed of roses on this side of the wall. Corruption is rife and the things that have been promised do not come to fruition. Danger lurks around every corner. People are arrested and disappear. You can’t even trust your neighbours, who seem to be watching your every move, ready to inform the authorities. Some try to escape, making desperate attempts to reach the other side of the wall. Most fail.
The cover of this book is black and white with some red highlights standing out and that’s exactly how I saw things in my head while reading. At its heart, Liberation Square is a murder mystery and I felt it had a bit of a noir vibe to it. As Jane digs deeper, trying to figure out who was responsible for Lorelei’s death, she uncovers a multitude of secrets and is left to wonder if she knows her husband at all. With so much deceit going on everywhere, I ended up being suspicious of just about everyone and had a hard time imagining living my life like that. Scary.
With a fascinating and original premise, Liberation Square turned into quite the surprising read for me. I say that because dystopian stories don’t always hit the right spot with me but this one most definitely did. Having the added bonus of a murder mystery and a bit of a spy thriller touch to it, made this an enjoyable, atmospheric and gripping story. One that had me guessing until the end and in awe of the utterly believable alternative scenario.
The year is 1952. The setting is London. But not the London we all know. D-Day was an enormous failure and the war was lost. The United Kingdom has been divided in two with a wall running through London. Jane and her husband Nick live in the Republic, under Russian control. Jane suspects her husband of having an affair with his first wife, Lorelei. When Jane decides to confront them, she finds Lorelei dead in the bathtub and soon, husband Nick is arrested by the National Secret Service. But all is not what it seems.
Jane is just your average woman who suddenly finds herself in the middle of extraordinary circumstances. Not only is goodness knows what happening to her husband while he’s being held but she also suddenly finds herself responsible for his daughter from his previous marriage. Desperate to find evidence that will help free her husband, she soon ends up in situations she is wholly unprepared for.
Life is not a bed of roses on this side of the wall. Corruption is rife and the things that have been promised do not come to fruition. Danger lurks around every corner. People are arrested and disappear. You can’t even trust your neighbours, who seem to be watching your every move, ready to inform the authorities. Some try to escape, making desperate attempts to reach the other side of the wall. Most fail.
The cover of this book is black and white with some red highlights standing out and that’s exactly how I saw things in my head while reading. At its heart, Liberation Square is a murder mystery and I felt it had a bit of a noir vibe to it. As Jane digs deeper, trying to figure out who was responsible for Lorelei’s death, she uncovers a multitude of secrets and is left to wonder if she knows her husband at all. With so much deceit going on everywhere, I ended up being suspicious of just about everyone and had a hard time imagining living my life like that. Scary.
With a fascinating and original premise, Liberation Square turned into quite the surprising read for me. I say that because dystopian stories don’t always hit the right spot with me but this one most definitely did. Having the added bonus of a murder mystery and a bit of a spy thriller touch to it, made this an enjoyable, atmospheric and gripping story. One that had me guessing until the end and in awe of the utterly believable alternative scenario.
steph1rothwell's review
4.0
I have read alternate historical fiction before but never one as convincing or a fascinating as this. It takes place in London in 1952. It isn’t the London that I normally read about, there is a wall through the middle that separates the Soviet side from the rest of England. I spent some time looking at the map, comparing it to the London that I am aware of. The Royal family and Churchill are in the North. Jane lives on the Soviet side with her doctor husband Nick.
When Nick’s first wife, Lorelei, is found dead and Nick is arrested Jane is determined to help. But fear of the security services, his unfriendly secretary and a feeling of being spied on by neighbours makes it very difficult. Whilst she doesn’t give up, she also finds out more than she thought she would. Things that suggest she has never really known him.
The murder investigation is an interesting one and even though I really wanted to know if Nick was guilty or innocent, the more captivating part of the novel for me was how people had to live their lives. How propaganda was used, how people were judged by which radios stations they listened to and the fact that they could be reported for listening to the wrong one. The rations, the teddy boys, a feeling of not being able to trust anybody, National Security, and most of all the fear of anyone with power.
When Nick’s first wife, Lorelei, is found dead and Nick is arrested Jane is determined to help. But fear of the security services, his unfriendly secretary and a feeling of being spied on by neighbours makes it very difficult. Whilst she doesn’t give up, she also finds out more than she thought she would. Things that suggest she has never really known him.
The murder investigation is an interesting one and even though I really wanted to know if Nick was guilty or innocent, the more captivating part of the novel for me was how people had to live their lives. How propaganda was used, how people were judged by which radios stations they listened to and the fact that they could be reported for listening to the wrong one. The rations, the teddy boys, a feeling of not being able to trust anybody, National Security, and most of all the fear of anyone with power.
tilduke's review
2.0
This was mostly a DNF. I sped through a bunch of it to find if it got any better but it didn't seem to.
I was quite excited to read about an alternate history of London being divided by an iron curtain but it was really just a geographical shift of the real history more than anything novel.
Mostly what ruined it for me was too much pining over unrequited love and not enough cool alternate soviet history.
I was quite excited to read about an alternate history of London being divided by an iron curtain but it was really just a geographical shift of the real history more than anything novel.
Mostly what ruined it for me was too much pining over unrequited love and not enough cool alternate soviet history.
emily_bell's review
emotional
informative
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
nietzschesghost's review
4.0
Having recently read up on WWII and the roles the Germans, Americans and Soviets, as well as others, played in it, this was the perfect, if terrifying, follow-up. It is a work of alternative history genius and it's intriguing and quite frightening to read such an intense book based on what could have been. What makes it frightful is that Stalin and Hitler have been shown to have at the least respected each other's positions - probably because psychopaths tend to recognise their fellow kind.
This piece of highly original speculative fiction tells of the takeover of British shores by Nazi Germany before the Soviets and Americans invade and split the country in two with the addition of a partition wall, much like the Berlin wall. You can tell almost instantaneously that the author knows his onions when it comes to WWII and he fills the story full of spies, intrigue, political upheaval, corruption, treachery, duplicity, secrets, lies, constant security threats and a whole host of other themes. It is a thrilling, gripping, intelligent and all too plausible historical mystery.
Liberation Square is well written and impeccably paced with twists and turns aplenty, and I feel this could be enjoyed by a wide range of people but especially those who appreciate murder mysteries, speculative fiction/alternative histories, espionage. Historical fiction aficionados will also find much to admire here as the period detail is very accurately portrayed. It beggars belief that this is Mr Rubin's debut. I look forward to reading more from him in the future.
Many thanks to Michael Joseph for an ARC.
This piece of highly original speculative fiction tells of the takeover of British shores by Nazi Germany before the Soviets and Americans invade and split the country in two with the addition of a partition wall, much like the Berlin wall. You can tell almost instantaneously that the author knows his onions when it comes to WWII and he fills the story full of spies, intrigue, political upheaval, corruption, treachery, duplicity, secrets, lies, constant security threats and a whole host of other themes. It is a thrilling, gripping, intelligent and all too plausible historical mystery.
Liberation Square is well written and impeccably paced with twists and turns aplenty, and I feel this could be enjoyed by a wide range of people but especially those who appreciate murder mysteries, speculative fiction/alternative histories, espionage. Historical fiction aficionados will also find much to admire here as the period detail is very accurately portrayed. It beggars belief that this is Mr Rubin's debut. I look forward to reading more from him in the future.
Many thanks to Michael Joseph for an ARC.
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