Without giving too much away I found this to be a fast paced, absorbing and compelling read. The story flowed really well, there were lots of plot twists to keep my attention. The further I read with this book, the better it got and I enjoyed it more. I think the author has set the bar high here.

A heartbreaking WWII story. Great characters and well researched. I highly recommend this story and others by Catherine Hokin.

The Secret Locket by Catherine Hokin is a powerful historical novel that I read in just two sittings, pausing only to sleep.
The novel is set in Germany from 1934 to the end of World War II. The action begins in a small village before moving to other locations – Munich, Warsaw, Dachau and more.
Within the village the bully-boy tactics of a powerful man sympathetic to the Nazi party, ruin the lives of the few Jewish residents. We see the power of one man to lie, manipulate, coerce and murder – and the crime of the villagers is to remain silent.
It doesn’t matter that the Jewish family do not practice their faith, their crime is simply being born Jewish. “Nobody would tell her why a faith she rarely practised and rarely thought about had turned overnight into the most important thing about her.”
Catherine Hokin has captured the atmosphere of fear and of liberties being eroded. Far too many fell for Hitler’s lies and had the belief that war was glorious.
Childhood friends are ripped apart as a young Jewish girl is persecuted and her male Aryan friend is blind to what is happening. He is too busy trying to make his father proud.
The reader joins a lead character in the resistance, and we also join a disillusioned Nazi officer in Dachau towards the end of the war. Their wars were both very different. Will either have a future when war ends?
All the characters were well drawn and realistic. The air of evil and menace was portrayed. Bonds formed in war could be ripped away in an instant.
There were good people. There were also those who stayed silent and therefore were guilty with their inaction.
Eyes that were opened to the horrors of the Nazis felt guilt and shame for their part. They tried to atone for their sins.
War blurs the moral code. People act in ways they never would in peacetime.
The Secret Locket was a powerful read. The atmosphere was chilling and horrifying. It is a story that needs to be told in memory of the six million innocents and of those who survived. “It is essential that some of us survive. To tell our stories.”
I received a free copy from the publishers. A favourable review was not required. All opinions are my own.

Noemi Drachmann has come through her childhood wth her friend Pascal Lindiger, whose mother Carina is keen to see the relationship develop as they grow. Then comes the war which will change their very existence.
As Pascal is growing up he has his father on a pedestal, imagine the shock when he “slowly” realises that all is not as it seems.
Noemi’s parents are in fear of their lives when the Nazi’s start to hunt down the Jews, what will become of them.

Such an informative book. My favourite character was Hauke, mainly for his principles. Least favourite was Viktor who only considered himself, family meant nothing.

Read it cover to cover in one sitting, couldn't put it down. Incredible book charting an innocent friendship starting in the days long before the war, through Hitler's rise to power and on through to the end of the war. Thought provoking and many - what would I have done moments.

Amazing book. Easy five stars! I did not want to put it down! Will be recommending in my Facebook group! Also buying copies for my book loving family members!

I was completely swept up in Noemi and Pascal’s story. The emotional depth, the tension of forbidden love during wartime, and the symbolic locket kept me hooked from start to finish. It’s a beautifully written, heartbreaking yet hopeful story that lingers with you long after the final page. A powerful, moving read.

This amazing historical fiction novel takes place starting in the 1930's and goes all the way to 1950 in Germany. It follows the story of two close friends whose loyalties are tested when Hitler takes over and starts all these unreasonable reforms such as excluding the Jews. Will these two friends overcome the hatred that boils or will they let ut destroy them.
Our main character is a young Jewish girl named Noemi who has a very close friend Pascual. However when Hitler takes over their friendship is put to the test. Pascual joins the Hitler Youth and his reasoning is that Noemi is considered one of the "good jews". However, Noemi isn't exactly impressed with his reasoning. Pascual then eventually goes off to war. Noemi eventually has problems of her own such as her parents being arrested and taken to a concentration camp.
However, once the war is over Pascual returns home and realizes that all the ideas the Nazi's have were not reasonable at all. Although his father tries to convince him otherwise but that does not work. He realizes that he made a mistake and wonders if it is too late to rekindle what he had with Noemi.
Overall I was quite impressed with this novel. Other than the fact that there were some things that seemed hypocritical it was a good read.
I received an arc copy from Netgalley and all opinions are of my own

The Secret Locket, Catherine Hokin's latest book, begins in 1934 and continues through 1950, offering the reader a comprehensive view of Germany as it underwent transformation under Hitler. The story is told by two young Germans: Noemi, a Jewish girl, and her best friend, Pascal, who dreams of Germany's restored glory. They've grown up together in a small town in Bavaria and both love Alpine sports. Predictably, they are torn apart by the Nazi racial laws, with Noemi on the run while Pascal joins the elite First Mountain Division.

Truthfully, I struggled with Pascal as he became active in the Hitler Youth and the Nuremberg rallies, yet wanted to continue his friendship with Noemi, insisting the "good" Jews would be fine. I applauded when Noemi told him, "If you want to be part of Hitler's glorious new world, you have to accept all the cruelty that goes with it. You can't pick and choose." Those very same words apply today.

"Another city, another country; another chance to stay a step ahead, to make a mark. To say, 'Not me, not us, not now.' It wasn't a lot to hold on to, but it was hope." Noemi's path leads her to Prague, where Reinhard Heydrich terrorizes both Jews and Czechs, and then to the horrors of Warsaw. No matter how many times I read about the Warsaw Ghetto and the Uprising, I am shocked by the Nazi cruelty and depravity. The new details revealed in this story were so shocking that I had to stop reading for a while. I couldn't breathe. Pascal's military career eventually led him to the Balkans and to an event I have never read about, the Doli Pivski massacre. The consequences of that massacre were a shocking twist that I never could have imagined.

I appreciated the author continuing the story after the war ended, coming full circle to the small Bavarian town where it began. It raised so many questions, though, about forgiveness and acceptance. Is revenge the answer? Noemi says, "Hope. Maybe in the end that was all forgiveness was: the hope something new could rise from the ashes of the old." Perhaps that is the optimism of youth or the only way to continue living. I admired her generosity of spirit and refusal to be diminished. The Secret Locket is everything I look for in a historical novel...an opportunity to learn and, more importantly, what it felt like to live through those times. Catherine Hokin's considerable research is skillfully woven into a story of heartbreak and hope that will stay with me for a long time.