Book Review – The Shock of the Light by Lori Inglis Hall

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About the Book

Cambridge, 1942. Twins Tessa and Theo had always shared everything – until the summer Tessa spent studying in France. She hasn’t been the same since. But before Theo can find out why, he is recruited by the RAF and disappears into the skies.

Determined to carve her own path, Tessa joins the clandestine Special Operations Executive, slipping into the shadows of occupied France. It will be dangerous work, but France is the home of her greatest love – and her darkest secret. Tessa has many reasons for wanting to return.

Two years later, Theo comes home. Tessa does not.

Format: Hardcover (432 pages) Publisher: The Borough Press
Publication date: 12th February 2026 Genre: Historical Fiction

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My Review

One of the many things I admired about this novel is how both Tessa’s and Theo’s motivations for the actions they take seem absolutely understandable. Tessa’s experience in France (although the author cleverly withholds every detail initially) changes her outlook but means for almost the first time there is something significant she can’t share with her brother. Both sense a change in the bond between them. There’s a distance where there was none before. It’s an unsettling feeling given the turbulent events unfolding in the world.

A necessary part of Tessa’s preparation for her role in the Special Operations Executive is adopting a new identity. For her, it’s not a challenge so much as a way to put recent events behind her. ‘Tessa in this world is Marianne, a new person with no ties, no obligations. No roots.’ The detail of Tessa’s training for her undercover mission felt completely authentic and are obviosuly based on meticulous research. What I hadn’t grasped before was the consequences for women such as Tessa if they were captured because they would not be afforded the status of prisoners of war. It made their role even more precarious and we see how chance – both good and bad – plays a part in Tessa’s story. It also reminded me once again of the courage of those in occupied France who joined the Resistance or who shielded its members.

Theo’s role as an RAF pilot is equally hazardous, a fact brought home to the reader early on. An event he witnesses stays with him forever, bringing the feelings of guilt that survivors often experience. I found Theo’s story utterly compelling. The author manages to pack many different elements into it, such as changing social attitudes, yet they never feel superfluous or irrelevant.

Theo’s search for answers about Tessa’s fate brings him up against a brick wall of denial, obfuscation and downright deceit. His reluctance to stop asking awkward questions brings serious personal consequences, only adding to suspicions there are things the British govenment simply don’t want known. It’s only decades later the full story is revealed, shedding light on a real life historical injustice. What I found particulary moving was Theo’s misplaced feelings of guilt. His anguish at the fact he stopped asking questions, his regret that he didn’t press harder for answers or didn’t ask the right questions.

The Shock of the Light gripped me from the start and didn’t let me go until the final page. It’s a remarkable debut.

I received an advance review copy courtesy of The Borough Press via NetGalley.

In three words: Compelling, moving, authentic
Try something similar: A Better Place by Stephen Daisley.

About the Author

Lori Inglis Hall was born and raised in Leicestershire, and now lives with her family in East Sussex. Her first novel The Shock of the Light explores the relationship between twins Tessa and Theo, who are torn apart by the trauma of war. She holds an MA in History and previously worked in politics and the arts.

Connect with Lori
Website | Instagram

#WWWWednesday – 4th March 2026

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Hosted by Taking on a World of Words, this meme is all about the three Ws:

  • What are you currently reading?
  • What did you recently finish reading?
  • What do you think you’ll read next?

Why not join in too?  Leave a comment with your link at Taking on a World of Words and then go blog hopping!

What I’m Currently Reading

Seascraper by Benjamin Wood (Viking) Shortlisted for the Winston Graham Historical Prize 2026

Thomas lives a slow, deliberate life with his mother in Longferry, working his grandpa’s trade as a shanker. He rises early to take his horse and cart to the grey, gloomy beach and scrape for shrimp, spending the afternoon selling his wares, trying to wash away the salt and scum, pining for Joan Wyeth down the street, and rehearsing songs on his guitar. At heart, he is a folk musician, but it remains a private dream.

When a striking visitor turns up, bringing the promise of Hollywood glamour, Thomas is shaken from the drudgery of his days and begins to see a different future. But how much of what the American claims is true, and how far can his inspiration carry Thomas?

Love Lane by Patrick Gale (Tinder Press via NetGalley)

A reunion. A journey. A longing for a place called home…

When veteran Canadian wheat farmer, Harry Cane is obliged to sell up and sail home to an England transformed by two world wars, his arrival triggers unwelcome self-examination for the family he abandoned, and for whom he has never been more than a distant myth.

His daughter feels duty bound to take him in but is riven with doubt and ambushed by a long buried anger she has never before expressed. Harry’s effect on the next generation is less predictable, and enables his granddaughter to deal with an unspeakable trauma, while her gentle husband feels seen for who he truly is.

Can Harry stay and make a new life before it’s too late, or will he find himself cast out again, punished for having witnessed and understood too much?

What I’ve Just Read

The Two Roberts by Damian Barr (Canongate) Shortlisted for the Winston Graham Historical Prize 2026

A Private Man by Stephanie Sy-Quia (Picador)

Rome, 1953. David is young, handsome, charismatic and sworn to celibacy. He is freshly ordained, and about to return to England to begin life as a priest. Devotion to God is all he’s ever known.

In London, Margaret is entangled in an impossible love affair. Committed to living on her own terms without sacrificing her faith, she becomes drawn to a women’s movement challenging the archaic rules of the Church.

When their lives are thrown together at a Catholic college in a quiet village, an undeniable connection forms between them. And so begins a story of forbidden love, sacrifice and secrets, with consequences that will reverberate across the generations. (Review to follow)

What I’ll Be Reading Next

Helm by Sarah Hall (Faber & Faber) Shortlisted for the Winston Graham Historical Prize 2026

Helm is a ferocious, mischievous wind – a subject of folklore and wonder – who has blasted the sublime landscape of the Eden Valley since the very dawn of time.

This is Helm’s life story, formed from the chronicles of those the wind enchanted: the Neolithic tribe who tried to placate it, the Dark Age wizard priest who wanted to banish it, the Victorian steam engineer who attempted to capture it – and the farmer’s daughter who fell in love. But now Dr Selima Sutar, surrounded by measuring instruments, alone in her observation hut, fears the end is nigh.

Vital and audacious, Helm is the elemental tale of a unique life force – and of a relationship: between nature and people, neither of whom can weather life without the other.