Publication Date: June 5, 2025
Auschwitz, 1943. Ella tries to ignore the coughs and crying, the whispered prayers. Her eyelids grow heavier, but then a melody floats through the block as if on a breeze. Her lips open on a gasp, joy making her heart sing even as it shatters. She would know that voice anywhere…
Sitting bolt upright, Ella rubs at her eyes and concentrates on the music. Is she dreaming? She’d fallen for Luka’s voice the first time she heard him singing on the street corner near her house, with his kind smile and joyous laugh. He was her first love, and the pain of being torn apart still slices at her.
He’s alive. But even as hope swells in Ella’s heart, terror threatens to swallow it. Luka is Jewish. If he’s here, he’s in grave danger—even more than Ella faces for sneaking into the ghetto to see him back in Warsaw… But she will never regret it. They had fought every day for their love, even knowing where it might lead…
Despair tears at Ella as she battles to find the strength to keep going, to search for Luka even on the days when the bitter cold whips through the camp—the days when her body feels weaker than ever and her friends are lost to the cruel regime. At night, she listens desperately for the sound of Luka’s voice as he’s forced to perform. Knowing he’s still alive even if she can’t see him is the one thing that brings her peace.
Until one night when, as his first haunting notes reach her bunk, an angry shout splits the night sky, the music stops, and there is only resounding, terrifying silence…
A beautiful, heartbreaking yet hopeful story that will restore your faith in humanity and in the power of love to triumph over evil. Fans of The Tattooist of Auschwitz, The Nightingale and The Choice will be blown away by this gripping page-turner.
Some books are meant to educate or inform, but then there are titles that make you pause.
The Singer Behind the Wire brings to life a forbidden love between a Polish girl and a Jewish boy. From the first page, author Shari J. Ryan signals readers that something important is happening within the pages.
Set in World War II with the German occupation of Poland, readers meet Luka and Ella. Luka’s spell-binding singing voice singles him out among the other Jews. Ella finds herself trying to help him evade the Germans, which then leads to the two forming a bond. While this section of the story features a serious tone regarding the mistreatment of the Jews, it also conjures up feelings of first love.
Those memories help to sustain Ella when she is sent to Auschwitz. Having read many books set in this time period, I can say this one brings the tears to the forefront. The struggle simply to survive another day is immense. Yet it is the sound of a familiar voice singing that gives Ella hope.
The Singer Behind the Wire will grab your attention with a compelling storyline, but it will be the characters who steal your heart.
Shari J. Ryan is a USA Today and International Bestselling Author of over 40 novels, with more than 700,000 copies sold and translations in 13 languages. She writes emotionally evocative WWII fiction inspired by true stories that have resonated with readers around the globe. Her work has earned Top 100, Top 10, and #1 chart rankings, as well as two Rone Awards.
As the granddaughter and great-granddaughter of Holocaust survivors, Shari brings a deeply personal connection to her work. Her stories are rooted in truth and remembrance, written to ensure history is never forgotten.
For Shari, writing is more than a passion; it is her way of expressing herself and connecting with others. She strives to share every emotion she experiences with each reader who picks up one of her books.
Shari holds a bachelor’s degree from Johnson & Wales University and began her career as a graphic artist and freelance writer until 2012, when she discovered her true calling in novels.
Some of Shari’s bestselling books include The Nurse Behind the Gates, The Stolen Twins, The Bookseller of Dachau, The Doctor’s Daughter, and The Last Words Series—gripping stories that keep readers on the edge of their seats.
A lifelong Boston girl, Shari now lives in a small town in the suburbs with her adored husband and two incredible sons, who make her feel like the luckiest woman in the world.
