The Night Sparrow
A Novel
Published on 14. August 2025
Book
Paperback/Softback
368 pages
978-0-06-331921-9 (ISBN)
Description
For fans of Kate Quinn and The Nightingale, a gripping work of historical fiction about a young Jewish girl who joins an elite Russian sniper unit and embarks on a mission targeting the highest prize of World War II: Adolph Hitler.
With the Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union, Elena Bruskina's world collapses. The ambitious university student and her Jewish family are quickly forced into the Minsk ghetto where thousands are immediately murdered, including her father and brother. Then her younger sister is publicly executed on false charges and her mother is shot. Alone with her grief, Elena escapes the ghetto, determined to get her revenge and avenge her family's deaths.
Heading to Moscow, she enrolls in the Red Army's newly created Central Women's Sniper Training School. After rigorous training, she becomes a deadly female sniper and a member of an all-female sniper platoon, a community of brave young women willing to give their lives to defend their country. Then Elena is chosen for a secret mission-a daring and highly dangerous plan at the heart of the Eastern Front to capture the face of evil itself: Hitler.
Inspired by the real-life women snipers and interpreters in the Red Army during World War II, The Night Sparrow is a portrait of friendship, resilience, courage, and sacrifice under extraordinary circumstances.
With the Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union, Elena Bruskina's world collapses. The ambitious university student and her Jewish family are quickly forced into the Minsk ghetto where thousands are immediately murdered, including her father and brother. Then her younger sister is publicly executed on false charges and her mother is shot. Alone with her grief, Elena escapes the ghetto, determined to get her revenge and avenge her family's deaths.
Heading to Moscow, she enrolls in the Red Army's newly created Central Women's Sniper Training School. After rigorous training, she becomes a deadly female sniper and a member of an all-female sniper platoon, a community of brave young women willing to give their lives to defend their country. Then Elena is chosen for a secret mission-a daring and highly dangerous plan at the heart of the Eastern Front to capture the face of evil itself: Hitler.
Inspired by the real-life women snipers and interpreters in the Red Army during World War II, The Night Sparrow is a portrait of friendship, resilience, courage, and sacrifice under extraordinary circumstances.
Reviews / Votes
"Daughters of the Occupation is a neatly crafted saga of personal and national trauma, a story of tentative hope in a world of menace, as three generations of women strive to understand who they are, where they came from, and how they can feel free." - Lucy Adlington, author of the New York Times Bestseller, The Dressmakers of Auschwitz, on Daughters of the Occupation"A riveting story that will keep you turning the pages way into the night." - Joy Fielding, author of All the Wrong Places, on Daughters of the Occupation
"A gripping historical saga that skillfully addresses the trauma of the Holocaust." - Kirkus Reviews (starred review) on Daughters of the Occupation
"In The Night Sparrow, Sanders dazzles us with her impeccable research and engaging storytelling skills. Elena Bruskina's stint in the Red Army's all female sniper unit (and later as an interpreter) highlights the resilience, comradeship and the callous realities of war. This is a gripping and historically authentic novel, sprinkled with the 'delectable irony' of a Jewish woman stalking Hitler." - Lisa Brahin, author of Tears Over Russia: A Search for Family and the Legacy of Ukraine's Pogroms
"The Night Sparrow is a tense, engrossing tale of WW2 that follows Elena Bruskina, a Russian Jew who becomes a sniper. The women of Elena's platoon endure appalling conditions and risk their lives, and only to face disdain from male comrades. When Elena's injuries force her to work as a translator, she finds herself on a team tasked by Stalin to hunt down Hitler during the final weeks of the Third Reich. Inspired by true events, this is an improbably beautiful novel about a brutal episode in history." - Janie Chang, bestselling author of The Phoenix Crown
"A gripping wartime story, Sanders' page-turning narrative recounts women's comradeship and courage in the face of carnage and peril from both outside and inside their ranks. With each turn of the page, the author's unwavering compassion for her characters shines through. Meticulously researched, Sanders' illuminates a little-known chapter of women in combat and their astonishing contributions during WWII." - Jeanette Lynes, author of The Paper Birds
"The book is extremely well-researched, and the author provides an extensive list of resources for readers seeking to learn more about these valiant women warriors. An excellent read for lovers of WWII fiction." - Historical Novel Society
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
New York
United States
Publishing group
HarperCollins Publishers Inc
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Dimensions
Height: 194 mm
Width: 135 mm
Thickness: 25 mm
Weight
281 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-06-331921-9 (9780063319219)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Person
SHELLY SANDERS is the bestselling author of historical fiction celebrating unsung women entangled in under-explored historical events. Her novels include bestsellers The Night Sparrow and Daughters of the Occupation, as well as three acclaimed young-adult novels. She is renowned for her authentic portrayal of history, which she attributes to her years as a journalist. Shelly has written essays for Writer's Digest, Lit Hub and the Jewish Book Council's PB Daily, and has been the scholar-in-residence at Beth Tikvah in Naples, Florida. She was also awarded a fellowship at the Ventspils International House of Writers and Translators. Born in Canada, Shelly was raised in Chicago and now lives in Ontario.