Due to a sudden, unexpected passing in the family a few years ago and another more recently and my subsequent (mental) health issues stemming from that, I was unable to download this book in time to review it before it was archived as I did not visit this site for several years after the bereavements. This meant I didn't read or venture onto netgalley for years as not only did it remind me of that person as they shared my passion for reading, but I also struggled to maintain interest in anything due to overwhelming depression. I was therefore unable to download this title in time and so I couldn't give a review as it wasn't successfully acquired before it was archived. The second issue that has happened with some of my other books is that I had them downloaded to one particular device and said device is now defunct, so I have no access to those books anymore, sadly.

This means I can't leave an accurate reflection of my feelings towards the book as I am unable to read it now and so I am leaving a message of explanation instead. I am now back to reading and reviewing full time as once considerable time had passed I have found that books have been helping me significantly in terms of my mindset and mental health - this was after having no interest in anything for quite a number of years after the passings. Anything requested and approved will be read and a review written and posted to Amazon (where I am a Hall of Famer & Top Reviewer), Goodreads (where I have several thousand friends and the same amount who follow my reviews) and Waterstones (or Barnes & Noble if the publisher is American based). Thank you for the opportunity and apologies for the inconvenience.

Not the book for me, interesting with good premises but not quite delivered as the pace was too slow and made it hard to get into the tension of the plot. Not sure i would read more books from this author.

I first came across Andreas Norman, the author of this Swedish spy thriller, back in 2014 when I read his debut novel, Into a Raging Blaze. Norman, a former Swedish diplomat, had written a prescient novel at a time when Edward Snowden’s revelations of mass NSA surveillance were rocking the world. In Into a Raging Blaze, his protagonist, Bente Jenson, the head of Swedish Intelligence’s station in Brussels, had to contend with a devious MI6 and the impact of mass surveillance. I gave the book three stars – there was a little too much detail of the workings of the EU for my liking – but thought it strong enough to want to read anything else the author went on to write.

Fast forward to 2019 and finally, there’s a sequel, The Silent War. Featuring many of the same characters from the previous title, not least protagonist Bente Jenson and calculatingly sinister antagonist, MI6 man Jonathan Green, this is yet another topical thriller. This time the plot surrounds the torture of terror suspects - ISIS members being tortured in an MI6 safe house just across the border from Syria in Turkey - and how reliable the intelligence gleaned from them can be.

Bente has a war to fight on two fronts in this novel. On the domestic front, she has suspicions concerning her husband’s fidelity, while her son is playing up at school and has anger issues. On the professional front, she has been passed a USB drive exposing MI6’s involvement in torture in Syria, and when she passes it up the line to her superiors it is unwelcome. Sweden relies on intelligence from MI6 and thus does not want to rock the boat. Jonathan Green, for MI6’s part, wants the information back and is willing to countenance anything to get it.

Whereas the author’s debut, Into a Raging Blaze, was a solid and worthy, albeit plodding affair, The Silent War is a much more assured effort. This is a much better novel than the first in the series; it’s gripping yet cerebral, a page-turner, yet one that maturely grapples with important issues that face the intelligence services and their masters to this day. It’s a cliché when writing a review of a spy thriller to compare the author to John Le Carré, but with his background in diplomacy and security matters which shines through in his research and the narrative of his novel, in this case, the comparison seems apt.

The Silent War is a brilliant novel that really holds its own in the annals of the modern espionage thriller. The author has really come into his own with this novel and it will be interesting to see what he does next. Without divulging spoilers, the novel ends on a note that could see the end of Bente Jenson’s journey (and that of MI6 man Jonathan Green) or might lead to a third outing for the characters. Either way, whether the author writes a third in the series or something new, on the strength of this outstanding novel I’ll be reading it.

5 out of 5 stars

An interesting twist to the normal spy. Story. Keeps you involved from start to finish and would be a definite read to those readers who enjoy reading this type of book

My first book by this author and hopefully it won't be the last. An excellent spy versus spy thriller and I loved the complex character of Bente Jensen.

Excellent characterisations and a deep knowledge of tradecraft made this an exhilarating read.

It's well written but i couldn't connect to the characters and the book fell flat.
Not my cup of tea.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

The Silent War sounded like a promising spy thriller however I found the book rather slow & boring and it isn't a book for me

I absolutely loved this book. This is the first time I've read any book by Andreas Norman and I'm quite glad that I requested the book. I really liked the way the character Bente Jensen was created. And the personal issues that Bente has to deal with along with the professional life troubles makes her seem much more human and not a hardcore literary spy. I really liked that in the book. But the character of Jonathan Green was not a very likeable character even though he had his own demons to fight. Overall a quite enjoyable book and one that I'll not hesitate to recommend. And a big thank you to NetGalley and Quercus Books, Riverrun for giving me this ARC in exchange of my honest review.

I really enjoyed this book and the one thing I liked very much was the character of Bente I felt the way she dealt with her life especially when dealing with one of her son’s Rasmus was written in a very thoughtful way, the way she coped and took what life was throwing at her while trying to run her section in Brussels was so well written. This is a story of espionage and is a well crafted read dealing with a lot of issues and although the story is complex it’s never difficult to follow, fast moving and mainly set in Brussels it also focuses on the UK and Syria. Although this is a spy story I felt it was much more than that and it made for an excellent read that I can highly recommend and I look forward to reading more from Andreas Norman in the future.
My thanks to NetGalley and Quercus books, Riverrun for giving me the chance to read the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.