Tag: World War II

A Death in Berlin by Simon Scarrow

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Historical Fiction, Murder Mystery3 Comments

Publisher: Headline (Trade Paperback – 11 March 2025)

Series: Berlin Wartime/Criminal Inspector Schenke Thriller – Book Three

Length: 385 pages

My Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

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One of the world’s leading historical fiction authors returns with another intriguing and captivating historical murder mystery with the outstanding read, A Death in Berlin.

I have made no bones about the fact that I am a major fan of historical fiction author Simon Scarrow, who has been diving into awesome scenarios from history for over 20 years.  While I probably know him best from his outstanding Eagles of the Empire Roman historical fiction series (see my review for the latest entry, Revenge of Rome), Scarrow has also written some other amazing series, including his current ongoing Berlin Wartime Thriller novels.  Set in Berlin towards the start of World War II, the series follows a studious and troubled police detective as he attempts to uphold justice in a city overrun with murderous Nazis.  The first two books in this series, Blackout and Dead of Night, were both very impressive, and I have been eagerly awaiting this third novel in the series, A Death in Berlin, for some time.

Berlin, May 1940.  As the German army prepares for its invasion of France and Western Europe, crime still roams the street of Berlin, and it falls to CI Horst Schenke and his investigative Kripo to keep order and maintain justice, a job made markedly harder by the dark policies of their Nazi overloads.  Despite his own dislike of the Nazi regime, which grows increasingly suspicious of him, Schenke is determined to do his job, especially when it comes to the criminals controlling the streets.

Assigned to find the source of forged ration coupons that are disrupting the war effort, Schenke and his team find themselves investigating a growing gang war when a prominent black-market operator is gunned down in the dead of night.  Convinced that the gangster’s murder is related to the forged coupons, Schenke leads the Kripo into investigating the criminal underworld that lies beneath Berlin.

However, this is no ordinary gang crime.  A dark series of events have led to the death of their victim, and the Kripo investigators soon uncover a dangerous conspiracy to profit from the war.  Worse, the gangster they are chasing are protected by powerful Nazi leaders, and Schenke must continue to walk a fine line in avoiding their attention.  But when his enemies uncover his deepest secret, can Schenke survive with his honour intact, or will he need to make a dark deal to get what he wants?

A Death in Berlin was another excellent novel from Scarrow, who cleverly combines exciting crime fiction elements with a compelling historical setting.  Clever, action-packed, and constantly moving, A Death in Berlin was an outstanding read, and I think this might be his best Berlin Wartime Thriller novel yet.

I really liked the cool story that Scarrow came up with for A Death in Berlin, especially as this latest novel features a complex narrative revolving around Berlin gangsters and crime wars.  Starting off fast and getting into the heart of the case, readers soon become invested in finding out who was behind the killing of the gang leader and what impact it is having on the larger criminal underworld of Berlin in the leadup to the invasion of France.  Thanks to an excellent early shootout, the stakes of the book become even higher, as the protagonist finds himself in the middle of a gang war, which he is forced to navigate to solve the main mystery of the book.  Scarrow also continues to focus on the complex life of protagonist CI Horst Schenke, who constantly finds himself coming to the attention of his Nazi superiors, despite his dislike of the party and his secret romance with Ruth, a Jewish woman hiding out in Berlin.

Following this great initial setup, Scarrow takes the plot of A Death in Berlin in some outstanding directions, especially as there is quite a compelling mystery here, with multiple potential suspects and motivations for the murder, many of which lead to other alternate crimes investing the Nazi controlled city.  Scarrow cleverly reveals the involved parties at key parts of the book, and while there aren’t too many surprises, it was very interesting to see how everything tied together.  The final third of the book is probably the best, as the protagonist finds himself trapped by his own secrets and is forced to make compromises to keep those important to him safe.  This leads to a massive and intense final confrontation, as the protagonist risks everything with some unlikely allies in a brilliant, action-packed set piece.  The final revelations revealed during this climax brought the entire story together nicely, and I really appreciated how the tight and complex mystery was resolved.  This was an overall fun and exciting narrative, and one that is quite easy to power through quickly, especially once you get caught up in the mystery.

Scarrow did an outstanding job pulling together A Death in Berlin, as the novel was a compelling and exciting read with a lot of awesome elements behind it.  The author successfully blends an excellent murder mystery storyline around the intriguing historical elements of his series, showcasing the potential hurdles a police detective needed to face during the Nazi regime.  At the same time, there is a fantastic emotional heart to A Death of Berlin, as the protagonist continues his ill-advised romance with Ruth, while also being forced to once again confront the dark side of the government he is wilfully working for.  I felt that Scarrow perfectly balanced these elements throughout A Death in Berlin, and there is a little something for everyone here, including a ton of amazing action and firefights, as the protagonist attempts to bring down a dangerous collection of emboldened criminal gangs.  As such, this is a very easy book to get into and follow, and while there are some references to the previous Berlin Wartime Thriller novels, for the most part A Death in Berlin acts as an accessible standalone novel, which allows for a wider audience.

For me, one of the more intriguing elements of A Death in Berlin was the author’s excellent examination of life in Berlin during the early days of World War II.  Scarrow has always done an amazing job showcasing the uncertainty, fear and underlying issues of Berlin in the early days of the war in this series, and I enjoyed how he further outlined the tension involved with the pre-invasion of France.  The overarching fear that certain members of the public have with the Nazi regime is still a key part of the plot, and while the protagonist isn’t as directly targeted by the Nazis as he was in previous books, he still has to play by their twisted rules, especially when invited to a party of the Nazi elite, where he meets some very high-level members.  However, it was the focus on the criminal element infesting Berlin during these years that I found to be particularly fascinating, as Scarrow explores the potential scams, nightspots and other enterprises that would have been run in early wartime.  While coupon forgeries have been mentioned in previous novels, it was fascinating to see the entire novel focussed on the control of this valuable wartime currency, and it resulted in some truly compelling scenes.  Despite this being a more crime-fiction novel than a book examining hidden Nazi plots or killers, the influence of the Nazi government still plays a big role in the murder investigation elements of the book, especially as the protagonist and his colleagues must worry about high-level party members protecting the criminals.  These elements proved to be an outstanding part of the book, and I really appreciated how well Scarrow worked it into the main plot of the book.

As with the rest of the series, Scarrow does some excellent character work in A Death in Berlin, bringing together a complex cast of characters to work the case, each of whom are dealing with their own issues associated with Nazi-controlled Germany.  The most prominent of these is the protagonist and main point-of-view character, CI Horst Schenke, a former race car driver turned police investigator.  While generally shown to be a studious and steadfast lawman, Schenke’s life has become even more complicated due to his growing dislike of the Nazis and his refusal to join the party, much to the displeasure of his superiors.  It is fascinating to see the seemingly strait-laced Schenke walking the line between doing the right thing and surviving the Nazis, especially as he has fallen in love with the fiery Ruth, a Jewish woman who has managed to stay hidden in Berlin after the first purges.  Many of Schenke’s more radical actions in this book are driven by his complicated relationship with Ruth, and you really grow attached to both characters, especially when their secret relationship causes great risk for them. 

Other great characters A Death in Berlin include Schenke’s main police backup, Sergeant Hauser and former Gestapo agent Liebwitz.  These two prove to be an excellent double act behind Schenke, as not only do the three form an effective crime fighting force, but they also showcase alternate viewpoints of Germany during this period.  Hauser is a former World War I soldier and family man, who is the classic everyman figure who supports the Nazi regime.  Despite this, he merely wants to support his country and has some doubts about the more extreme actions of Hitler.  Liebwitz is a more unusual figure, who honestly steals the show in some ways.  An exceedingly logical figure who has gravitated away from the Gestapo to be a police investigator, Liebwitz finds his life still bound by his Nazi training, despite the many flaws he sees in it, and he is well used as a compelling alternative point-of-view character.  However, as with the previous book, the influence of Schenke and the investigation of crimes that show the true evils of the Nazis are slowly changing Liebwitz’s way of thinking, and it will be fascinating to see where Scarrow takes his character arc in the future.  Throw in a series of entertaining and over-the-top Berlin criminals and the cast of A Death in Berlin is quite entertaining, and I really enjoyed how their complicated arcs impacted the overall narrative.

Simon Scarrow continues his outstanding Berlin Wartime Thriller series in a massive way with the captivating and impressive novel, A Death in Berlin.  Combining a great crime fiction narrative with a clever historical background setting, A Death of Berlin proved quite addictive, and I had an incredible time getting through it.

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Hill 112 by Adrian Goldsworthy

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Historical Fiction1 Comment

Hill 112 Cover

Publisher: Head of Zeus (ebook – 23 May 2024)

Series: Standalone/Book One

Length: 495 pages

My Rating: 4.75 out of 5 stars

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Prepare to dive headfirst into the deadliest of struggles as acclaimed historical fiction author Adrian Goldsworthy provides a captivating look at the Normandy invasions with his epic novel, Hill 112.

Adrian Goldsworthy is an impressive historical fiction author who has been producing some great novels as of late.  A respected historian, Goldsworthy made the jump back to fiction in 2011 when he started his Napoleonic Wars series.  I had the great pleasure of reading the first few books in the series, including True Solider Gentlemen and Beat the Drums Slowly, and Goldsworthy prove to be an outstanding author who would focus his stories on intriguing historical elements.  His Napoleonic Wars series ended up featuring six novels before he dove into Roman historical fiction in 2017 with his Roman Britain series.  Starting with Vindolanda and also featuring six novels, the Roman Britain series sounds very awesome, and it is one I need to check out in the future.  Due to how much I enjoyed some of Goldsworthy’s previous books, I made sure to grab a copy of his latest release, Hill 112, which provides a compelling examination of the bloody invasion of Normandy during World War II.

June 6th, 1944.  After years of enduring the Nazi onslaught, the Allies are finally ready to begin their campaign to invade occupied France.  But to liberate France and free all of Europe, the Allies first must make a perilous landing and brave the full force of the German army waiting for them.  The destination for their fateful landing: Normandy!

As the Allies begin their invasion, three young soldiers, former classmates from south Wales, are amongst the troops landing in Normandy.  The charismatic James must put his previous experience as cricket captain into practice by leading a troop of Sherman tanks into fray.  The athletic Mark is forced to prove himself as the young officer in charge of a platoon of infantrymen, while Bill, the group’s resident firebrand, finds himself in the middle of the fighting as he serves as a private soldier.  However, none of these young men are truly prepared for the carnage to come.

The battle-hardened German army is determined to push the Allies back into the sea, and soon both sides find themselves caught up in a brutal battle for survival.  Into the middle of this, James, Mark and Bill find their courage and luck tested like never before as they finally experience the horrors of war and the seemingly unbeatable Germans.  Their fates, and that of the entire Allied war effort, will be decided in one of the most brutal fights of the Normandy campaign, the battle for Hill 112.

Goldsworthy brings together one of his heaviest and moving novels yet with the incredible Hill 112.  A gritty and realistic war story that seeks to capture the experiences of young soldiers during Normandy, Hill 112 was a fantastic and moving novel that drags readers right into the heart of the fighting.

Hill 112 has a great story to it that, while simple in concept, hits the reader hard and provides a powerful look into the realities of war.  Told from the perspective of three young soldiers as they experience their first taste of combat, Hill 112 is a very moving war novel that is hard to look away from at times.  Starting with the first day of the Normandy landings, you initially follow James, who leads the charge with his tank unit, while Mark and Bill wait back in England for their deployment to the front.  While this did make James’s chapters a lot more interesting and exciting than the others’ at the start of the book, I liked how Goldsworthy chose to start the remaining two characters off back in England.  Not only was historically realistic, but it allowed you to get to know these two protagonists and other supporting characters before the fighting, while also building up the tension, especially when you compared their experiences with what James was going through on the front.

It doesn’t take long for Mark and Bill to make it over to Normandy, and from there the reader becomes enmeshed in seeing all three protagonists facing the tough campaign in Europe.  There is a lot of action and a ton of tragedy in this part of the book, and it was fascinating to see them slowly adjust to the new normal of battle, as they experience the true horrors of war.  Goldsworthy continued to keep the three protagonists separated for most of the story, which allows each of them to grow, while also showcasing several different fronts at the same time.  Their storylines start to converge as the book continues, especially when they find themselves at the foot of the tactically significant Hill 112.  The last third of the book is essentially all out fighting as the three protagonists attempt to survive the desperate battle for the hill.  The carnage flies thick and fast in this part of the book, and you are constantly on edge as the three characters fight on, while also trying to understand the necessity and impacts of war.  I was deeply captivated for this entire part of Hill 112, and I couldn’t stop reading as I waited to see the fates of all three characters.  Goldsworthy did not disappoint, as the ending to this book was extremely shocking and powerful, and you come away wondering about the sacrifices, experiences and emotions of those involved in the fighting.  This was a such a great character-driven war story, and I came away very impressed with how it all unfolded.

I deeply enjoyed the compelling and powerful story that Goldsworthy created for Hill 112 that hits all the right notes for the reader.  Goldsworthy made the clever choice to provide the reader with a more insular look at the invasion, as the viewpoint is limited to the lower-ranked protagonists, more concerned with their own battles, rather than a look at the large war going on around them.  This proved to be an excellent choice of focus, and I deeply appreciated the way in which Goldsworthy was able to get into the mindset of the young soldiers fighting this war.  The constant switching between the three main protagonists allowed for a complex and intriguing story, as they experienced different battles while coming to terms with the fighting in their own ways.  Goldsworthy has a real talent for showing the chaos of war, and you are thrown into innumerable skirmishes, firefights and large-scale battles, all of which is captured in its full destructive glory.  You can honestly feel the bullets flying and the shells landing as you pour through Hill 112, and the constant conflict, danger and excellent portrayal of the fighting ensures that readers have a very hard time pulling their attention away from this amazing book.

Goldsworthy clearly did an exceptional amount of research for Hill 112 as this book is loaded with historical detail as the author meticulously covers key events of this initial invasion.  While the main regiments featured in Hill 112 are fictitious, Goldsworthy bases them on actual participants of the fighting, and you get incredibly detailed depictions of the early days of the Normandy campaign for the English and Canadian forces.  This includes events that followed from the initial landings on Normandy all the way to the conclusion of the fighting around the titular Hill 112, a key historical battle.  Readers get a very compelling and intensive look at how the campaign unfolded, and it was interesting to see how hotly contested this initial fighting in France was, especially as most modern war movies/television series usually show swift victory the moment the allies are off the beaches.  The battle of Hill 112 was naturally a compelling part of the book which the author covers in heavy detail, noting the movement of all the relevant units and the various attacks.  I got so engrossed in Goldsworthy’s recounting of this battle, and readers are left haunted and amazed that so much death occurred for a simple hill in the countryside.

The author really did not spare any detail when it comes to the fighting, and you get a comprehensive vision of the potential experiences of the participants in these battles.  Goldsworthy really dives into every single aspect of the solider experience, and you come away with insights into the conditions, equipment, training and attitudes of the troops, all of which greatly adds to the gritty realism of the story.  This is particularly true in the battle scenes, and it was very compelling to see how the soldiers would have fought, as well as other factors that came into play, such as the Allies’ overwhelming artillery.  I especially enjoyed the many scenes that focused on vehicular combat as one of the protagonists spends most of the book inside a Sherman tank, fighting against German armoured units.  The sequences in the tank are always a high-strung affair, and Goldsworthy expertly captures the cramped conditions, fast-paced fighting, and constant peril that the British crews experienced.  The author further increases the authenticity of the book by having his protagonists experience various incidents that were recorded to have happened during these invasions.  The author cleverly retells these events to feature his characters, and the various experiences, some of which are quite hellish, add a lot of intensity to the book.  Goldsworthy really pulls no punches when it comes to showcasing the experiences of Allied soldiers in Hill 112, and it proves hard not to deeply appreciate his ability to utilise a massive amount of historical detail to tell a good story.

I must also highlight the intriguing characters featured within Hill 112 who added a lot to the impact of the book.  The three main characters, James, Mark and Bill, are all quite intriguing in their own way, and I appreciated how they ran the gambit of young people who would have joined the war effort after leaving school.  Goldsworthy ensures that each of these main characters have a compelling backstory which contrasts in a moving way to their current experiences, and it was moving to see them grow up throughout the course of the horrendous ordeals they find themselves in.  These three main characters are also accompanied by a huge supporting cast of fellow soldiers, officers, tank crews and other figures, each of whom travel with the protagonists to engage in the fighting.  Many of these supporting characters are exclusive to the chapters told from the perspective of a particular protagonist, allowing for unique interactions, and Goldsworthy often provides relevant backstories for these supporting characters as well.  This cast of additional characters gets quite extensive as the book continues, which can make remembering everyone a little hard at times.  However, that proves to be a short-term problem at best, as the supporting players usually doesn’t last too long in the fighting.  This proved to be an excellent and intense character-driven novel, and I really appreciated how well Goldsworthy captured the experiences of these young soldiers in war.

Adrian Goldsworthy once again brings the past back to haunt his readers in the outstanding and moving novel, Hill 112.  A highly detailed and impressive war novel, Hill 112 does an incredible job capturing the experiences of young soldiers in the Normandy campaign and you will quickly become absorbed in the resulting story.  Highly recommended, especially for those fans of military history, Hill 112 was such an amazing read.

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Quick Review – The Winter Palace by Paul Morgan

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Australian, Drama, Historical Fiction, Quick Review4 Comments

The Winter Palace Cover

Publisher: Penguin Books (Trade Paperback – 26 March 2024)

Series: Standalone

Length: 329 pages

My page: 4.25 out of 5 stars

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Compelling Australian author Paul Morgan presents an intense and intriguing historical drama that examines the tragic lives of a Polish husband and wife who find themselves torn apart by war and circumstance in The Winter Palace.

Plot Synopsis:

If he had died, I would know it in my heart.

In 1939, Anton, a captain in the Polish army, says goodbye to his wife, Elisabeth. He is leaving to defend their homeland against the invasion by Nazi Germany and Russia. They make a vow that – whatever happens, however much time passes – they’ll meet again at the Winter Palace, their stately home in the Polish countryside.

The winds of war draw them far apart. Anton is captured and sent to Siberia as a POW. He eventually joins a lost army that battles through snowstorms and scorching deserts in Central Asia to find freedom. Anton survives, driven by his determination to join Elisabeth again. She, meanwhile, is forced to be the ‘mistress’ of a Nazi officer before escaping to join the Polish resistance.

As the war ends, Anton and Elisabeth are at the opposite ends of the world. Anton is in Australia. Elisabeth is in Poland, awaiting his return for months and then years. Will they ever meet again at the Winter Palace?

From 1930s Europe to present-day Australia, this is a sweeping story of love that cannot be broken by time, distance, war or even death.

Morgan came up with a powerful and captivating tale in The Winter Palace which really hits hard.  Following Anton, a Polish military captain, and his wife Elisabeth, The Winter Palace features a well-planned-out split protagonist storyline that shows their respective dark journeys during the destructive chaos of World War II.

Both character-focused storylines are interesting and dark in their own ways, especially as the two protagonists go through hell and back as part of their respective war stories.  Anton’s plot follows the fate of the Polish soldiers who were captured during the joint Nazi and Soviet Invasion.  In Anton’s case, he experiences being a Soviet POW, a reluctant Soviet soldier fighting the Nazis, and then a member of the Allies when the Soviets send their freed Polish soldiers to Palestine.  Elisabeth’s story is more Poland focused, as she is forced to become a Nazi ‘mistress’ before escaping and finding purpose, first as a nurse, and then as a member of the Polish resistance.  Both storylines go in some very compelling directions, as the protagonists experience major traumas, tragedies and struggles, all while the two characters are convinced that they will never see their spouse again.

I honestly have a hard time saying which of these two storylines was my favourite, as both hit you in different ways.  Anton’s was possibly the more interesting to me as a fan of military history, and I found his constant struggle to survive the direct imprisonments he experienced to be both moving and intense.  There are some very direct tragedies in Anton’s experiences, including a particularly dark moment in the first half of the book, and I really found the story of the captured Polish soldiers to be extremely fascinating.  However, the other half the book that focuses on Elisabeth is just as dark, if not even more traumatic, especially as the protagonist experiences evil she can’t fight back against, at least not at first.  Watching her overcome her constant oppression and pull together a satisfying life that allows her to help people on many fronts was particularly inspiring, and I really enjoyed how her arc came together.

While these storylines are separate for the entirety of the plot, I felt that Morgan did a good job playing them off each other. The corresponding tragedies, the near misses in finding out each other’s fates, and the decisions they make as a result are all moving and captivating, and you are constantly enthralled to see if or how they will get back together.  I think that the ending Morgan left the book on was particularly moving, and it fit the overarching themes of the tragedy of war and not knowing about those left behind.  I also appreciated how Morgan didn’t overuse the trope of Australian descendants finding out the wartime secrets of their parents or grandparents.  Instead, readers were given a simple but highly effective connection to the present that ended the story on a thoughtful and peaceful note that was a great conclusion to such an intense story.

I really must emphasise how impressed and intrigued I was by some of the historical elements captured in The Winter Palace.  Morgan does an amazing job of showcasing various alterative experiences suffered by the Polish, from the initial invasion all the way up to the end of the war.  This includes a great rundown of how many citizens, especially women, were abused in Poland as the troops rolled in, which ensured a dark aura around the potential homecoming many characters were hoping for.  However, I found the historical details of the Polish soldiers and civilians captured in the opening days of the invasion to be the most interesting.  Watching the various hardships and journeys that these individuals had to go through during the war, including being POWs, having to fight alongside their former captors against the Nazis when they found themselves on the same side as the Soviets, and the transfer of their army to the Middle East to serve with the Allies on the Western front was extremely fascinating and it was an part of history you don’t see often in fiction.  These historical details from Morgan where some of my favourite parts of the book, and I deeply appreciated the compelling story he told around them.

Overall, The Winter Palace by Paul Morgan was an outstanding and compelling historical drama that really grabbed my attention.  Powerful, unflinching and focusing on a complex and dark period of our history, this was an emotionally charged and excellent read that is really worth checking out.

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The Atlas Maneuver by Steve Berry

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Audiobook, Thriller3 Comments

The Atlas Maneuver Cover

Publisher: Hachette Audio (Audiobook – 20 February 2024)

Series: Cotton Malone – Book 18

Length: 13 hours and 21 minutes

My Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

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The always exciting Steve Berry continues his long-running Cotton Malone series with the intriguing and addictive novel, The Atlas Maneuver, which once again blends modern plots with historical riddles.

Over the last few years, I have been having a wonderful time getting to know the works of acclaimed thriller author Steve Berry.  Known for his intricate and complex works that dive into the past, Berry is an amazing author whose style and story focus really appeals to me.  I have had a wonderful time getting through the last several books in his main series, the Cotton Malone books, as well as his standalone novel, The Omega Factor.  Cotton Malone is a particularly fun series following the titular Cotton Malone as he attempts to stop sinister modern-day plots that have their roots in ancient conspiracies and secrets.  All the Cotton Malone books I have read have been extremely epic in their own way, including The Malta Exchange, The Warsaw Protocol, The Kaiser’s Web, and The Last Kingdom (one of my favourite books of 2023), and I cannot recommend them enough.

As World War II entered its final phase, the retreating Japanese hid vast quantities of looted gold and other stolen valuables throughout the Philippines.  Stored in hidden underground bunkers, the gold was supposed to be used to rebuild Japan after the war and expand its interests.  But with the location of the vaults lost, most of the gold remained hidden, except for a small fraction recovered by the United States government and the nascent CIA, who kept it for themselves in secret.

In the present day, retired Justice Department agent Cotton Malone, is in Switzerland, working for an old CIA friend to keep a potential asset safe.  However, when someone tries to take his target out, Cotton soon finds himself thrust into the middle of a dangerous battle between a shadowy branch of CIA and the Bank of St. George, one of the world’s oldest financial institutions, with whom the recovered gold was entrusted.

Forced to act, Cotton begins to unravel a dangerous conspiracy and discovers that the directors of the Bank of St. George are seeking to initiate a radical plot involving bitcoin, the elusive online currency, which could destabilise the entire financial world and leave them in control.  Working with a skilled Japanese agent, his lover, and a ghost from his past, Cotton seeks to stop the plot before it is too late.  But with a deadly team of CIA assassins also closing in, no-one is safe and everyone is a target.

This was a pretty interesting novel from Berry that I had an excellent time with.  Thanks to its unique thriller story combining historical secrets with contemporary mysteries and plots, The Atlas Maneuver proved to be an amazing and intricate novel that I found to be quite impressive.

I really enjoyed the compelling story that Berry came up with for his latest novel, especially as he once again successfully blends an elaborate historical conspiracy with an exciting modern thriller story.  This story came together extremely well and overall proved to be quite an exciting read as Berry comes up with several compelling story arcs that you become absorbed in.  Starting off with a glimpse at the origins of the hidden Japanese war loot, The Atlas Maneuver soon jumps to Cotton Malone as he finds himself drawn into a plot to disrupt the world economy by a powerful bank through bitcoin.  Working with an old flame whose financial brilliance is behind much of the bank’s plans, Cotton desperately tries to keep her safe, while also contending with a relentless Japanese agent.  At the same time, Cotton’s partner Cassiopeia Vitt and old CIA associate Derrick Koger attempt to discover the location of the lost wartime gold that was supposed to be in the bank’s possession.  Their inquiries lead them into conflict with the bank, as well as a shadowy arm of the CIA that attempts to take out everyone associated with the case.

The alternating thrusts of the hunt for lost gold and the attempts to stop the elaborate financial attack make for great reading, and Berry continuously raised the stakes while also dragging the story back to the past with the fun historical inclusions.  While the story did drag in places, especially around the middle, I honestly couldn’t turn away from this book at times, especially when the action got particularly intense and there were multiple fun figures to follow.  Berry perfectly sets up the big conclusion of The Atlas Maneuver, which has surprisingly more devastation than expected.  I loved the dark and ironic ending to some of the storylines that emerged, and I felt this strong finish enhanced the entire book as a result.  Berry also leaves the story on an excellent emotional cliffhanger, that I feel is really going to pay off later in the series, and I will ensure I come back for the next Cotton Malone book.

I really liked how Berry set out his methodical and intense story as he once again relied on his classic style that prioritised historical inclusions, while also ensuring that the new book is accessible to all readers.  Thanks to the author’s excellent use of multiple perspectives, you get a great wide-angle perspective story, which allows you to understand the motivations, desires and actions of most of the opposing parties.  I always love books that show the story from the antagonist’s perspective, and this was a great example of that as you got to see the leader of the evil bank manipulate one of the other main characters, while also trying to implement her wider plan.  Berry utilises these multiple perspectives to tell an excellent overarching story, and while the parts focusing on Cassiopeia Vitt and Derrick Koger felt a little too detached from Cotton Malone’s storyline, for the most part this was a very cohesive tale.  The writing is also very tight and fluid in The Atlas Maneuver as Berry does a great job moving the story along, while also including his trademark historical lectures and flashbacks.  The mixture of modern-day action, elaborate schemes and examinations of the past was pretty on-point for this latest Cotton Malone book, and you really get drawn into the story as a result.  There were also some fantastic character interactions, especially as the protagonist is forced to interact with a love interest from his past who looks set to change the status quo of the series.  I had such a good time reading this book, and it proved to be an excellent addition to Cotton Malone series.

I always love the elaborate and compelling dives into various parts of history that Berry takes the reader on in the Cotton Malone series.  Berry, who clearly does his research on all things history, once again set his new novel around a unique piece of history, which has intriguing implications for the modern day thriller storyline.  In this case, much of the story revolves around Yamashita’s gold, the infamous treasure hoard supposedly located in the Philippines.  The author does a deep dive into the subject highlighting all the history surrounding it, as well as mentioning many of the intriguing details that followed it as people attempted to find it.  Much of the plot of The Atlas Maneuver revolves around the fate of this gold, and Berry really does a great job of highlighting its importance and the cultural implications surrounding it.  While certain elements of Yamashita’s gold featured in The Atlas Maneuver were exaggerated or changed for narrative purposes, you really get a good grounding in history surrounding it.  I found this focus on the lost treasure to be highly fascinating, especially as it wasn’t something I was too familiar about before.  However, this only proved to be the tip of the historical iceberg, as other intriguing historical events were also cleverly featured throughout the book.  compelling examinations about the early days of the CIA, banking history, the financial affairs of Switzerland and Luxembourg, and post-war recovery of Japan are also covered in interesting detail, much of which helps to give context to the current story and which are cleverly inserted into the modern-day plot.  These historical elements are truly fascinating, and I love the unique conspiracies and hidden secrets that Berry creates utilising them.

In addition to this 20th century history, Berry also chooses to dive into something a little more modern with a detailed look at bitcoin, which also has a significant impact to the plot of The Atlas Maneuver.  Berry dives into the history surrounding bitcoin, how it came into being and how it eventually expanded out in a major currency.  While some of this history is altered for the book, there is still a lot of detail about its origins and how it become prevalent throughout the world, which I honestly didn’t know a lot about, and was quite fascinating.  Berry also tries to capture other aspects of bitcoin, such as its function, how it is mined, and how it is currently viewed throughout the world.  There is a focus on bitcoin’s potential, and how it can be used to change economies and grant financial freedoms to people.  I liked how Berry took a neutral, if hopeful, stance around bitcoin, as while certain characters are critical of the cryptocurrency, many see its potential and hope to make the world a better place through its usage.  I honestly found the entire inclusion of bitcoin to be highly interesting, and the focus on its manipulation, creation and exploitation drove the plot to some cool places.

Another aspect of all Berry’s books that I really enjoy is his highly detailed examinations of various intriguing places that his protagonists end up in.  These background settings are always a key part of the book, and I like how well Berry incorporates them into the story, especially as the history or unique locations are invariably explored or utilised in the plot.  While The Atlas Maneuver lacks some of the grandiose sites that I enjoyed in the previous books, there is still a range of cool locations featured here that are well done.  This includes deep looks at several cities and locations with Switzerland and Luxembourg, as well as a lengthy excursion to Morocco.  Berry loving describes all the historical cities, lakes and other key locations in high detail, and it is always very clear when he is working from memory, especially as some of his characters’ reactions clearly mirror his own.  These detailed depictions always allow the reader to effectively envision the locations quite clearly, and it is a lot of fun imagining the daring exploits taking place in these picturesque locales.  I always love Berry’s descriptions of these locations, not only because I find the history fascinating, but because there are so many places featured in these books that I want to visit.  As such, this is a great part of The Atlas Maneuver, and I cannot wait to see what cool locations Berry features in his next book.

As has been my custom with most of the Cotton Malone series, I ended up listening to The Atlas Maneuver on audiobook, which ended up being a pretty great way to enjoy this book.  Coming in a nearly 13 and a half hours, this is a moderately long audiobook, so it took me a little while to get through it.  However, I felt that the way it helped to portray the intense action and thrilling storyline was very impressive, especially as having the story read out to me engrained the elaborate historical details a little better.  The Atlas Maneuver once again featured the fantastic voice work of veteran audiobook narrator Scott Brick, who has lent his voice to all the previous Cotton Malone books.  Brick has a very serviceable voice that works well for the thriller books he usually narrates, especially as it helps to highlight the great action sequences and elaborate conspiracies.  Thanks to his good voice work, the plot of The Atlas Maneuver moves along at a brisk pace, and I really got swept up in the elaborate story.  As such, I feel that the audiobook version is a great way to enjoy The Atlas Maneuver, and I had an excellent time getting through it.

Overall, The Atlas Maneuver by Steve Berry was an amazing book that I had an outstanding time getting through.  Once again successfully combining intriguing and elaborate historical conspiracies with an exciting thriller storyline, The Atlas Maneuver was a blast from start to finish and will be deeply appreciated by both fans of the long-running Cotton Malone series and new readers experiencing Berry’s writing for the first time.  A compelling read that comes highly recommended.

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Quick Review – The Hidden Book by Kirsty Manning

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Australian, Drama, Historical Fiction, Quick Review3 Comments

The Hidden Book Cover

Publisher: Allen & Unwin (Trade Paperback – 29 August 2023)

Series: Standalone

Length: 312 pages

My Rating: 3.75 out of 5

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Australian author Kirsty Manning presents an emotionally charged and compelling historical drama that follows a beleaguered group of protagonists during and after the horrors of World War II with The Hidden Book.

Plot Synopsis:

Europe, 1940

 Imprisoned in the Mauthausen concentration camp in Austria, Spanish fighter and photographer Mateo Baca is ordered to process images of the camp and inmates for a handful of photo books being made for presentation to top Nazi figures. Just five books in total, or so the officials think …

Mateo manages to make a secret sixth book and, with the help of a local woman, Lena Lang, it remains hidden until the end of the war.

Australia, present

 When thirteen-year-old Hannah Campbell’s Yugoslavian grandfather, Nico Antonov, arrives in Australia to visit his family, one of the gifts he brings with him is an intriguing-looking parcel wrapped in calico cloth which Roza, Hannah’s mother, quickly hides.

Later, Hannah sneaks off in search for the mysterious package. She is horrified to find in it a photo book full of ghastly historical photographs of a terrible place full of people suffering.

At first Hannah has little context for what she sees, but over the years as she experiences love, grief and trauma, she understands what these photos came to mean, for herself, her freedom and for those who risked their lives to ‘bear witness’ to history.

A startling story of clandestine courage and treachery in World War Two, and how we must meet and overcome our pasts to move into our futures.

This was a great piece of historical fiction from Manning, who has written several other intriguing novels in this genre over the years.  The plot of The Hidden Book is interesting as it combines a harrowing story of people caught up in the Holocaust with a complex narrative of a young person trying to understand the horrors they came from.  Half the novel follows several characters either imprisoned at the Mauthausen concentration camp, or living in the surrounding area, as they work together to record and smuggle out pictures of the atrocities being perpetrated against them.  The second storyline follows Hannah, the grandchild of one of the characters from the first storyline, who grows up in Australia, constantly wondering about the secrets of her grandfather’s book of pictures, and who finds her life defined by it.

Both of these storylines are interesting in their own way, and I think that Manning did a pretty good job of bringing them together into a fantastic overall story.  The half of the book, set in Mauthausen, is suitably dark and nerve-wracking, as you are constantly bombarded by the fear and determination of the characters imprisoned there in one shape or another.  This part of the book is an interesting retelling of real historical events surrounding Mauthausen, and Manning brings together a great group of characters here, including a sadistic camp commandant and a family of anti-Nazi locals who are afraid the Nazis will find out about their mentally impaired daughter.  This compelling and dark storyline serves as an excellent basis for much of The Hidden Book’s plot, and it leads into the second plot line extremely well.

This secondary plotline involves the character of Hannah Campbell finding her grandfather’s photo album covering the atrocities at Mauthausen and spending the rest of her life trying to make sense of them.  While I am not the biggest fan of historical dramas that rely on descendants finding old material from their ancestors (it is a bit of an overused story device), Manning presented some interesting storylines around it.  In particular, she uses it as a key part of Hannah’s coming-of-age storyline, as she experiences the highs and lows of life from childhood to parenthood.  Manning tells a great story of growing up in Australia, including country living and city life, and while parts of this storyline is are very frustrating, and it serves as an interesting counterbalance to the Holocaust tale while also providing insights into how the younger generations view the Holocaust and how knowing your history and change your present.

I enjoyed how well these two separate and distinctive storylines come together throughout the course of The Hidden Book.  The intensity, conflict and drive for survival in the historical part of the novel is well offset by a different layer of emotion in Hannah’s life story, and I liked the constant looks back to the past.  This proved to be a fast-paced and easy to read novel, and I liked the blend of characters, historical elements and two very different background settings that emerged.  Despite all that, I didn’t get amazingly emotionally invested in the plot, and I think parts of Hannah’s storyline slowed down the pacing at times.  Overall, I thought that The Hidden Book by Kirsty Manning was an intense and compelling read that I had good time with.  An excellent read for fans of historical drama, especially those that combine dark pasts and hopeful futures into powerful character driven narratives.

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Mr Einstein’s Secretary by Matthew Reilly

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Five-Star Books, Historical Fiction5 Comments

Mr Einstein's Secretary Cover

Publisher: Macmillan Australia (Trade Paperback – 17 October 2023)

Series: Standalone

Length: 464 pages

My Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars

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Acclaimed Australian author Matthew Reilly presents one of the most entertaining, moving and brilliant historical fiction reads of 2023 with his compelling and well-written novel, Mr Einstein’s Secretary.

Matthew Reilly is a highly creative Australian author who has been wowing audiences for years with his elaborate and inventive thrillers and science fiction novels.  Known for his Shane Schofield and Jack West Jr series, as well as several impressive standalone reads, Reilly has produced an intriguing array of fiction throughout his career, much of which revolves around ancient secrets and action-seeking protagonists.  I have personally only had the pleasure of reading one of Reilly’s novels so far, the intriguing 2019 release, The Secret Runners of New York, which saw a group of teenagers travel back and forth between the modern city and a future dystopia.  I really enjoyed this cool book and I have been meaning to read more of Reilly’s works.  As such, when I got a copy of Reilly’s first foray into historical fiction, a favourite genre of mine, with Mr Einstein’s Secretary, I had to check it out, and boy was I glad that I did.

Born at the start of the 20th century in Berlin to an American mother and a German father, Hanna Fischer is a curious young woman whose greatest wish in life is to study physics like her mother and her neighbour the great Albert Einstein.  However, when her peaceful existence is violently turned upside down in 1919, Hanna has no choice but to flee to America and make a new life for herself in New York.

Forced to give up her dreams of studying physics, Hanna makes the fateful choice to enrol in a prestigious school for secretaries.  Her decision will place her in the orbit of some of the most interesting people in the city, including business tycoons, socialites, gangsters and one determined Treasury agent, as she works to find a way to return home.  But as the years go by, it soon becomes apparent that the Germany she left behind is no longer her home, especially when Hanna returns to Einstein’s orbit as his secretary.

Trapped in Germany when the Nazis come to power, Hanna is recruited as an American spy and soon finds herself serving as secretary to several high-ranking Nazis.  Caught between dangerous men, lethal intelligence operatives and her own conflicted loyalties, Hanna attempts to uncover the terrible truths of the Nazi regime without her own secrets coming out.  But not everything in Hanna’s life is as it seems, and one dangerous part of her past will always come back to haunt her.

Mr Einstein’s Secretary was a fascinating and compelling read that had me hooked very early thanks to its unique style, focus on various gripping parts of early 20th century history, and fantastic characters.  Loaded with some fascinating detail, a ton of action and a wonderful life story, I honestly couldn’t put this book down at times and I managed to power through the entire second half of the book in a single afternoon.  Due to its clever writing and brilliant story, I just had to give Mr Einstein’s Secretary a full five-star rating, and this is honestly one of the best historical fiction novels of 2023.

Reilly tells a very unique story in Mr Einstein’s Secretary that primarily focuses on protagonist Hanna Fischer and her experiences living through some of the most turbulent parts of history.  Reilly really piqued my interest early on when the first-perspective narrative opens on the protagonist’s funeral, with the reader apparently seeing it through her ghost’s eyes.  While having the narrator’s funeral upfront can sometimes be problematic, I think it worked out well for this book, especially as Reilly introduces a few key characters for the reader to keep an eye out for, before jumping into three key scenes from the protagonist’s life.  These scenes are three separate interrogations that the protagonist experienced during her intriguing career, each one undertaken by a different regime, including the American police, the Nazis, and the Soviets.  All of these interrogations are key reference points in the main story, and you are immediately intrigued to see the chain of events that leads the protagonist to each of them, as well as how she managed to get out of the deadly situations each time.

After this excellent introduction, the story begins in earnest with a more traditional chronological approach.  Starting with her childhood in Berlin where she lived next to Albert Einstein, Hanna’s story quickly fills with tragedy and adversity, especially as the early clouds of fascism and the consequences of World War I cause her to lose everything and force her to flee to America, where she is enrolled in a secretary school.  This early part of the book is well set out, introduced several key characters, and really showcased some of the defining early moments for the protagonist that would serve her well in the future, as well as exploring the impacts that chance and simple choices can have on a person.  The next section of the novel set in New York is initially a bit slower, but it soon picks up, especially when the Prohibition Era kicks in.  Reilly has an excellent way of portraying someone’s personal story in the most interesting way, and I loved seeing Hanna’s life in America, especially when it combined early corporate America with gangster lifestyle and the burgeoning physics scene.  There is a compelling sojourn back to Germany for Hanna that results in nothing but heartbreak, especially when her twin is involved, and I really enjoyed the protagonist’s encounters with a New York gangster during this time, especially as it showcases just how practical and cold Hanna can be when necessary.  This part of the book ends when it reaches the events of the first interrogation, and the protagonist becomes a more permanent secretary to Einstein.

From there, the plot of Mr Einstein’s Secretary moves at a much quicker pace, especially when Hanna gets dragged into the events surrounding the rise of the Nazi regime.  Trapped in Germany after Hitler’s rise to power, Hanna is recruited to spy on the Nazis and becomes the secretary to key members of the party.  Thanks to this, Hanna has an excellent view of the full evils of the Nazis and becomes involved in several espionage missions against them and the Soviets.  This part of the book combines spy thriller moments with compelling and dark historical detail, and you really get caught up in Hanna’s life as an operative, especially when it goes side by side with some of the major moments of the Nazi regime.  I was absolutely powering through this part of the book it was so darn fascinating, especially as Hanna had to also deal with personal issues and her growing revulsion about what she was witnessing.  Reilly keeps the plot moving quickly in the final third of the book, and there are some truly intense scenes leading up to the fall of Berlin, especially when Hanna is forced to make some hard choices and faces the ultimate betrayal.  I loved some of the shocking moments and twists that emerged in this last section of the novel, especially as it places the protagonist in some major trouble, and the resulting scenes have you constantly on the edge of your seat.  Everything ends on a pretty comfortable and satisfying note, and I felt that Reilly resolved his story in an excellent if crowd-pleasing way.  An overall outstanding, gripping and electrifying story from start to finish.

While this impressive story is pretty strong and exciting in its own right, what really elevates Mr Einstein’s Secretary is the author’s clever and distinctive writing style.  I loved how Reilly set up the entire story as the memories of a shadowy figure watching their own funeral, especially as events unfolding before them reminds the protagonist of some of the most traumatic memories of her life.  The initial focus on the three defining interrogation sequences produces an extra strong start for the novel, and the fascinating foreshadowing that resulted really heightened the reader’s anticipation for the rest of the story.  While the story does transfer to a more traditional biographical novel after these scenes, Reilly breaks this up masterfully by having the narrator suddenly remember other similar events of her life, and then having this scene unfold.  For example, when the character visits a certain location as a child, Reilly will then insert a quick paragraph showing the same location at a different part of her life.  This switch between time periods proves to be a fascinating and powerful way of expressing the character’s linked memories, and it also adds in some interesting additional foreshadowing and some fascinating contrasts.  Reilly does a wonderful job of highlighting what part of the character’s life these memories are from by changing the font type around, and I loved how multilayered the novel got as a result.  An additional font choice towards the end of the book also highlights a shocking and dark change in narrative focus, as a similar figure starts to tell the story in their own twisted way.  These unique writing elements really helped to turn Mr Einstein’s Secretary into quite a distinctive read, and I deeply appreciated Reilly’s desire to experiment and tell a historical story his own way.

Aside from Reilly’s intriguing narration and style choices, I also think that Mr Einstein’s Secretary had an excellent balance of action, intensity, drama and romance to appeal to a wide audience of readers.  The author does a remarkable job of developing his protagonist while simultaneously exploring so many fascinating historical events and moments, especially in New York and Germany.  So many key historical events in the lead-up to and eventual outbreak of World War II are covered in excellent detail, and Reilly does an outstanding job of working his protagonist into these events and making her a witness and participant.  I loved Reilly’s depictions of 1920s New York, which served as a grand backdrop for much of the early narrative, and the author takes the time to showcases several key periods of the decade, from the early roaring twenties with the economic boom, the prohibition era, and the eventual Wall Street crash.  There are also some fascinating, if necessarily dark, depictions of the rise of the Nazi regime in Germany, which Reilly captures perfectly, especially through the eyes of his protagonist who has her own issues with the Nazis due to her family and her association with Einstein. There is even an intriguing discussion about historical physics, with the protagonist having a fantastic inside track, and watching her spy on the German attempts at nuclear technology is an intriguing part of the book, especially after seeing Oppenheimer earlier this year.  Reilly utilises all these historical events extremely well, and his use of them allows for some great support characters, especially as there is a combination of fun original characters and multiple real life historical figures.  I had such a brilliant time with the historical focus of Mr Einstein’s Secretary, and it proved to be a powerful, exciting and well-balanced read.

Matthew Reilly does it again with his first major foray in historical fiction.  Mr Einstein’s Secretary is a powerful and captivating tale of life, love and loss in the run up to World War II and I loved every second spent with Reilly’s compelling protagonist.  Featuring a brilliant and unique style from the author that deeply enhances an already fascinating narrative, Mr Einstein’s Secretary was a treat from start to finish, and I cannot recommend it enough.

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Quick Review – The Girl From London by Olivia Spooner

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Drama, Historical Fiction, Quick Review1 Comment

The Girl From London Cover

Publisher: Moa Press (Trade Paperback – 14 November 2023)

Series: Standalone

Length: 314 pages

My Rating: 4.25 out of 5 stars

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Fantastic New Zealand author Olivia Spooner presents her first dive into historical fiction, with the intriguing and clever historical drama, The Girl Form London, an outstanding read that proved quite fascinating.

Plot Synopsis:

London, 1940. Ruth, a young schoolteacher, volunteers as an escort helping to evacuate children from war-torn England to Australia and New Zealand. Her three-month voyage is fraught – their passage is perilous, and the children anxious and homesick. Nine-year-old Fergus is more troubled than most and Ruth forms an unexpected bond with the boy.

It’s not just Fergus who captures Ruth’s attention. Bobby, a fellow volunteer who initially infuriates Ruth with his laidback charm, somehow gets under her skin and throws her ordered life into chaos.

Tragedy strikes on their return voyage, when the Rangitane is attacked by German raiders. As the ship goes down, the surviving passengers are taken as prisoners of war aboard the German vessel. To the rest of the world, they are missing, presumed dead.

New Zealand 2005. Hazel boards a plane to London, eager to explore Europe. Sitting next to her is a man named Joe. On her lap is a treasured book from her grandfather, Fergus. A book that will finally reveal Ruth’s story.

A captivating, heart-wrenching story of love, loss, and the resilience of the human spirit that will stay with you long after you turn the final page.

This was an outstanding novel from Spooner that took the reader on an enchanting and tragic adventure during some very distinctive moments from World War II.  Spooner chose to tell The Girl From London’s narrative through the somewhat overused medium of a young person in modern times learning about the struggles their older relatives went through during the war.  However, I rather enjoyed Spooner’s take on this writing trope by having her modern characters getting invested in a novel that covers the adventure of Hazel’s grandfather and the people that were important to him as a child.  This not only allowed the author to dive back into the unique story generated in the past but also allowed for a quite good and heartfelt romance story to occur in the present as Hazel and Joe have a meet-cute which develops naturally into a compelling, complex relationship.

While this modern storyline was interesting, I much preferred the storyline set in the past surrounding Ruth’s journey from England to Australian and New Zealand and then the tragic events aboard the Rangitane.  That entire journey away from England was pretty darn fascinating, and I loved the captivating details of how the children were being transported to safety, the inherent tragedy of their journey, and the complicated figures who volunteered to help escort them to a new life.  Spooner covers the historical aspects of their journey extremely well and the first half of their story is quite powerful and lovely, especially as she takes the time to explore the various characters, their developing relationships, and their complex motivations for being on the ship.

The Girl From London takes a fascinating turn once the main characters start the second part of their journey aboard the Rangitane.  The historical events covering the sinking of this ship off the coast of New Zealand during the war is absolutely amazing, and despite a love for history and a good knowledge of World War II history, I had personally never heard of the Rangitane before.  As such I was really enthralled by this real-life tale, and Spooner told it magnificently, examining the taking of the ship in detail and showcasing all the remarkable events that followed.  While these events in themselves are fascinating, Spooner makes them even more compelling by tying her great characters into this historical event.  By this point of the book, you’ve come to care for the characters, so having them involved in this tragedy really raises the stakes for the reader, especially as you know something bad has to happen to Ruth at some point.  This entire part of the book was pretty remarkable, and I really got caught up in how everything unfolded.

I think that Spooner did a pretty good job of bringing the two separate storylines together in an effective and enjoyable way.  As I mentioned above, I liked Spooner’s version of the relative finding out their grandparent’s story here, and the constant breaks in the World War II storyline to explore Hazel and Joe’s burgeoning relationship gave the story a distinctive flavour.  Honestly having her grandfather’s story not become Hazel’s entire identity was quite refreshing compared to other historical dramas I’ve read and I liked the mixture of storylines that emerged.  Still, it was good to get some closure on the main storyline surrounding Ruth, and I liked the emotionally powerful way that Spooner chose to have her story be told.  The ending is both tragic and heartwarming in all the right ways and this ended up being quite an excellent read.

Overall, The Girl From London is a wonderful and compelling historical drama that I had a fantastic time reading.  Olivia Spooner produced a compelling and emotionally charged narrative, that examines romance, sacrifice and the power of choices across the generations, while also diving into a fascinating historical event.  This ended up being an amazing book and Spooner definitely showcased her ability as an author in her first foray into historical fiction.

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Quick Review – The Paris Agent by Kelly Rimmer

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Australian, Drama, Historical Fiction2 Comments

The Paris Agent Cover

Publisher: Hachette Australia (Trade Paperback – 28 June 2023)

Series: Standalone

Length: 337 pages

My Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

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One of Australia’s premier authors of historical fiction, the supremely talented Kelly Rimmer, returns with another moving and intense novel that dives into the horrors of World War II, The Paris Agent.

Over the last couple of years, I have been deeply impressed with the works of Kelly Rimmer, a well-established Australian author whose previous novels have been excellent historical dramas set during the Second World War.  Rimmer’s books are pretty spectacular, as they masterfully blend powerful personal stories with intense depictions of key parts of the war, especially those involving the evils of the Nazi regime.  Her last two books, The Warsaw Orphan (one of my favourite Australian books of 2021) and The German Wife (one of my favourite books and Australian books of 2022), were exceedingly moving, and I now make it a point to grab her new books each year.  Her latest novel, The Paris Agent, presented the reader with an interesting new story, one that focuses on female espionage agents in occupied France.

Plot Synopsis:

Two otherwise ordinary women become spies in WWII France in this sweeping new novel of historical suspense by New York Times bestselling author Kelly Rimmer

Twenty-five years after the end of the war, ageing British SOE operative Noah Ainsworth is reflecting on the secret agent who saved his life when a mission went wrong during his perilous, exhilarating years in occupied France. He never knew her real name, nor whether she survived the war.

His daughter Charlotte begins a search for answers. What follows is the story of Fleur and Chloe, two otherwise ordinary women who in 1943 are called up by the SOE for deployment in France. Taking enormous risks with very little information or resources, the women have no idea they’re at the mercy of a double agent within their ranks who’s causing chaos.

As Charlotte’s search for answers continues, new suspicions are raised about the identity of the double agent, with unsettling clues pointing to her father.

This was another powerful and clever novel from Rimmer, who takes on another aspect of World War II and weaves together an outstanding story.  The focus on Allied female spies being dropped into occupied France is a well-established and highly utilised topic in historical fiction and historical dramas, and Rimmer manages to produce a very distinctive read in The Paris Agent that I found very hard to put down.

To tell her story, Rimmer utilises an excellent multi-perspective narrative, with some interesting time differences also added in for each of the timelines.  The first timeline, shown from the perspective of Charlotte, is set in 1970, and follows the protagonist’s attempts to find out more about her amnesic father’s activities during the war after she finds out he was a spy in France.  The other two storylines focus on the characters of Fleur and Chloe respectively.  Both characters were dropped into France at different points of the war to do their own specific missions, including committing sabotage and investigating reports that the local network had been compromised.  These two past storylines are set across a couple of years in the war, with the two protagonists interacting with each other, and Chloe’s father, Noah, at various points, and together the three storylines wrap together to provide a complex and powerful narrative of espionage, personal relationships, and betrayal, all set in front of the brutal Nazi occupation of France.

All three stories are brought together throughout the course of The Paris Agent, and I liked the complex and intriguing narrative threads that emerged.  The risks and sacrifices of the characters during the war are pretty intense, and the emotional connections that they make bring a compelling balance to the dark story elements of espionage and betrayal.  The third storyline that focuses on Charlotte and her father is also very good, both on its own and for how it supports and enhances the other two plot lines.  This more modern storyline gives some great hints at the tragedy to come in the other storylines, while also underlying further the cost that these intelligence agents had to make.  The intriguing hints that Noah might have been a traitor responsible for terrible events is very compelling, and it is fascinating to see the impact that the war was still having on survivors like him.

The two storylines in the past eventually come together in the last quarter of the novel, and some of the compelling twists that come from this are moving and dark.  The identity of the traitor, while not overly surprising, does have some major emotional heft to it, and you can’t help to despise the antagonist, especially as Charlotte’s storyline serves to underline all the terrible things they did.  Both the Fleur and Chloe storylines end on a very tragic, if inspiring, note, and readers will come away from that exceedingly saddened but impressed by how well written these storylines were.  I did think that the ending of the Charlotte storyline was a little weaker, mainly because it relied on a little too much on coincidence, and I think that the author left some intriguing story opportunities closed.  Still, I really appreciated how cleanly and powerfully these three separate storylines came together, and it resulted in an overall exceptional read.

Rimmer utilises some intriguing writing elements to ensure her story is extra impactful.  As I mentioned before, the use of multiple character perspectives and timelines was a major part of this book, and I was mostly happy with how that turned out.  I must admit that I am not the biggest fan of historical novels that features a storyline where someone in the present day attempts to uncover family secrets, as frankly it is bit of a cliché at this point.  However, I think that Rimmer did a good job here, as it was set far closer to the war, and the family secrets that the protagonist is trying to uncover are the result of amnesia, which is well balanced by the potential spy aspect.  The rest of the story flows through extremely well as a result, and I loved how cleverly the separate wartime storylines interacted and enhanced each other, especially when it came to Noah’s connected story and the examination of the potential treachery.

However, one of the best things about The Paris Agent for me was the outstanding and deep portrayals of the Nazi occupation of France and the espionage efforts the Allies utilised in response.  Rimmer always excels at diving into some of the darkest and most intriguing parts of World War II history, and The Paris Agent was another great example of this.  The author provides some intriguing examinations of how the Nazis controlled France during the war, and Rimmer tries to showcase the occupation from several different sets of eyes in various French settings.  However, the real focus of the book is on the intelligence networks that the Allies set up in France during the war and the missions they engaged in.  This compelling part of the war is always rich ground for historical fiction authors, and I think that Rimmer’s take on it was particularly noteworthy.  She really captures the intensity and dedication that these agents had, as well as the constant risk that they found themselves in.  The focus and portrayal of tradecraft, intelligence gathering, and communication was very realistic, and I cannot emphasise how well each of the major spy protagonists were developed and featured throughout the book.  Of course, as this is a Rimmer book, The Paris Agent does get very dark in places, mainly when it comes to the fate of captured spies and intelligence agents.  Rimmer pulls no punches when it comes to how badly these prisoners were treated, nor when it comes to the terrible fates they experienced.  The fact that many of the characters are based on real historical people makes parts of the book hit even harder, and you really won’t come away from The Paris Agent without a tear in your eye.

Kelly Rimmer continues to showcase why she is one of Australia’s best writers of intense and moving historical fiction.  The Paris Agent was an excellent piece of historical drama that features a powerful and compelling story about spies, tragedy and betrayal.  Cleverly written and guaranteed to stick with you long after you’ve finished reading it, The Paris Agent is an outstanding and highly recommend book that I am really glad I got to experience.

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Dead of Night by Simon Scarrow

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Historical Fiction, Murder Mystery, Thriller10 Comments

Dead of Night Cover

Publisher: Headline (Trade Paperback – 14 February 2023)

Series: Berlin Wartime Thriller – Book Two

Length: 422 pages

My Rating: 4.75 out of 5 stars

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One of my favourite historical fiction authors, the always impressive Simon Scarrow, dives back into turbulent World War II Germany with his latest compelling read, Dead of Night, an excellent and intense historical thriller with a dark twist to it.

Readers of this blog will know that I have long been a fan of Simon Scarrow ever since I read his first exceptional novel many years ago.  I particularly enjoy his long-running Eagles of the Empire series, an outstanding adventure series that follows two Roman officers as they travel throughout the empire.  The Eagles of the Empire books are some of the best historical fiction I have ever read, and I have had the pleasure of reviewing several of them, including The Blood of Rome, Traitors of Rome, The Emperor’s Exile, The Honour of Rome and Death to the Emperor.  Aside from his Roman novels, Scarrow has also written several other series and standalone books set in various periods of history.  This includes his 2021 release, Blackout, a gritty and complex murder mystery set in Nazi-controlled Berlin.  Blackout was an awesome book, and I was very happy to hear that Scarrow was producing a sequel, Dead of Night, which turned out to be another outstanding read.

Berlin, January 1940.  As Germany’s invasion of Poland rolls along, the Nazis continue to take complete control of their own country.  While the people of Berlin wait to see how the Allies will retaliate, a mysterious death is about to occur with massive ramifications.  A prominent SS doctor and his wife return home, having had a seemingly normal night attending a concert with the Nazi elite of the city.  However, by the morning, the doctor will be dead in his study, the result of an apparent suicide.

After his last near-fatal brush with the Nazi state, Criminal Inspector Horst Schenke of the Berlin Kripo is determined to simply do his job and stay off the party’s radar.  However, when Ruth Frankel, the Jewish woman whose life he saved during his previous investigation, reappears, Horst is once again dragged into unwanted trouble.  The dead SS doctor is an old friend of Ruth’s family, and Ruth has promised his widow that she would help find out the truth behind his death, and Horst is her tool to do so.

Reluctantly agreeing to help, Horst looks into the case and quickly realises that the doctor’s death was no suicide.  However, his superiors soon pull him off the investigation and forbid him from digging any further.  But with his curiosity peaked, Horst cannot turn away, especially when he manages to connect the victim to the mysterious deaths of several children throughout Germany.  Determined to find the truth no matter what, Horst soon discovers a terrible secret that places him in the firing line of the entire Nazi party and other volatile factions in the city.  Can Horst survive this new case, or will the regime he despises finally take him off the board?

This was an excellent read from Scarrow, who has been on a real roll lately with his awesome books.  Dead of Night not only served as an incredible sequel to Blackout, but it also features an intense and historically powerful narrative that had me hooked from the very beginning.

Dead of Night follows several of the same characters from the first book, primarily Criminal Inspector Horst Schenke, who serves as the main protagonist and point of view character, in another intriguing and complex case.  Schenke must again work with Ruth Frankel to investigate the apparent suicide of a prominent SS doctor, which produces an intriguing and compelling early investigation storyline that I really enjoyed.  However, Schenke soon runs into political problems, as well as threats of violence, which force him to conduct a subtle investigation.  At the same time, Schenke’s socially crusading love interest, Karin, requests that he look into the mysterious deaths of several children at a remote medical institute.  This second investigation takes up a good chunk of the novel and the protagonists dive into really starts to enhance the intensity of the plot.  This is because Scarrow starts to utilise particularly sinister elements of Nazi history in the plot, which ensures that the novel gets fairly dark in tone and content.  Scarrow is very subtle in how he brings these elements to the character’s attention, and there is a lot of emotion and disgust that emerges in the story as the protagonists realise what is going on.

From there the two divergent investigations start to come together as subtle clues that the author introduced in the first half of the book are brought to light again.  The revelation of how the two cases are connected is pretty captivating, especially as it gives the ‘antagonists’ of the novel a very compelling and relatable motivation.  The protagonist is forced to make some hard decisions as they come to terms with just what is going on and this leads to some great scenes about the differences between duty and what is right.  Everything leads up to an emotionally charged confrontation which cleverly brings the entire story together and wraps up all the remaining mysteries and character arcs.  This final major sequence is pretty damn awesome and it results in some of the most dramatic and powerful moments in the entire novel.  I really liked how the entire novel came together at the end, especially as the protagonist is left in several unenviable positions while he watches his country descend further into darkness.  I felt that the entire novel was very well paced out, and it doesn’t take long for the readers to get hooked on the story, especially with the two quality mysteries that Scarrow came up with.  The blend of mystery, dark historical moments, and intriguing character interactions is pretty perfect, and it works to create a memorable and haunting tale.  Combined with some of the great twists, many of which are based around evil parts of real-life history, and I felt that Dead of Night surpassed is predecessor in some very awesome ways

For me, the best thing about Dead of Night was the fantastic and distinctive wartime setting that surrounded the plot.  Stories set in Nazi controlled Germany are always intense and dark for obvious reasons, but I felt that Scarrow did a particularly outstanding job of capturing it, especially as he pairs the dark mood with a gritty winter backdrop.  Just like with Blackout, there is a focus on the evils of the Nazi regime in Dead of Night, and quite a lot of the plot is devoted to seeing how normal citizens, including non-political police officers, view what their city and country has turned into.  There is a good focus on the fear and control that the Nazis blanket the city with, and the investigation angles of the narrative become even more complex and compelling due to the protagonist being constantly blocked by his Nazi and SS superiors.  However, the best, or worst, historical elements of the book revolve around one of the cases that Inspector Schenke is dragged into, specifically around the death of several children.  This case thrusts the protagonist right into the heart of some of the darkest things the Nazis ever did to their own people, which really gives this entire book a powerfully tragic edge.  Scarrow uses this historical inclusion to his full advantage, as not only does it provide an excellent motivation for some of the crimes being committed, but it also increases the emotional conflict of the protagonist.  Scarrow really does not hold back when it comes to showcasing these historical horrors and the readers get a full idea of what is going on and the sort of people behind it.  This dark historical inclusion really helped to turn Dead of Night’s narrative into something particularly distinctive and captivating, and I felt that Scarrow did a fantastic job of drawing the reader in by giving them knowledge of this terrible moment from history.

I also need to highlight some of the excellent characters featured within Dead of Night, several of whom carry on from the previous novel in the series.  Most of the focus is around Inspector Horst Schenke, one of the few senior police officers left in Berlin without a connection to the Nazi Party.  Dedicated to the law, Schenke, a man already traumatised by his past, keeps finding it harder and harder to do his job in the new regime.  Despite his best efforts, Schenke keeps getting dragged into the middle of the several Nazi plots and hidden schemes, which constantly place him in political danger.  I loved the deep conflict that this builds within him as he is forced to choose between ignoring what he discovers, or trying to get justice and doing something.  Further complicating matters are his relationships with the two women in his life, his girlfriend, Karin, and the Jewish women he previously saved, Ruth Frankel.  Both keep pushing him to do more to oppose the Nazis or get to the truth of crimes they are covering up, and he is forced to balance his desires to help them with his sense of pragmatism while trying to protect them from the Nazis.

Other great characters in this book include Schenke’s police backup, Sergeant Hauser and former Gestapo agent Liebwitz.  These two are great supporting characters and they provide interesting counterviews to German life, with Hauser being a more everyman figure, while Liebwitz is bound up by his Gestapo training.  Despite the apparent differences between Hauser and Liebwitz, the two work together well and serve as good support to Schenke, and I liked the fun odd-couple team that they formed.  They also have some intriguing moments throughout the book, especially when they encounter some of the horrors of the Nazi regime.  While Hauser has some great emotional reactions, especially when it comes to the death of children, Liebwitz has the more intriguing responses, as he balances his loyalty to the state with his own past experiences and conscious.  Watching him come to terms with some of the evils he witnesses makes for some powerful reading and I am glad that Scarrow added in these intriguing alternate characters.  I also really enjoyed the complex main antagonists of the story, as they had quite a powerful motivation for some of the crimes committed in the book.  While they are not as noble as they believe, the antagonist’s goal still serves to trouble the protagonist’s sense of justice, and interesting compromises have to be made as a result.  I deeply appreciated some of the deep characters that Scarrow featured in this novel and I look forward to seeing how they are utilised in any future books in the series.

Simon Scarrow continues to impress me as one of the best historical fiction authors out there with this incredible new read.  Dead of Night has a brilliant and powerful story behind it that takes full advantage of its bleak and historically rich setting.  Featuring an outstanding investigation narrative and some dark insights into the horrors of the Nazi regime, Dead of Night will easily grab your attention and ensure you will not forget it anytime soon.  A highly recommended novel from one of my favourite authors.

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The Crimson Thread by Kate Forsyth

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Australian, Drama, Historical Fiction2 Comments

The Crimson Thread Cover

Publisher: Vintage Books Australia (Trade Paperback – 5 July 2022)

Series: Standalone

Length: 360 pages

My Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

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One of Australia’s premier authors presents another compelling and powerful historical drama with The Crimson Thread by Kate Forsyth.

Kate Forsyth is a very talented Australian author whose work I have long been a fan of.  While Forsyth is best known these days for her intense historical dramas, I personally am a big fan of her The Witches of Eileanan series, which I read when I was younger.  The Witches of Eileanan books, which were Forsyth’s debut series, follows a group of powerful magical users in a troubled fantasy realm filled with dragons, mages and monsters, as they attempt to overthrow a dark anti-magic tyrant and save the world from multiple impending threats.  Filled with great characters, impressive magic, a complex setting and some brilliant and occasionally dark storylines, this was a particularly awesome and epic series, and it was among the earliest fantasy books that I ever checked out.  I deeply enjoyed The Witches of Eileanan books and the sequel Rhiannon’s Ride series, and I have been meaning to reread them all for a while.  In the meantime, I decided it would be good to check out one of her more recent works with The Crimson Thread.  This intriguing and captivating historical drama is a lot more consistent with Forsyth’s current writing focus and I was very interested in seeing something from this genre.

By May 1941, the Nazis have conquered Greece and the island of Crete lies before them as the next land to control.  As the island prepares for invasion, young Cretan woman, Alenka, attempts to find some semblance of normality amongst the chaos, but chance meetings with two Australian soldiers stationed on the island will change her life forever.  When the Germans finally invade Crete in a massive and long-running battle, Alenka finds herself stuck in the middle of the fighting and eventually chooses to hide the Australians when the Germans win.

These two soldiers are Jack and Teddy.  Lifelong best friends, the rambunctious Teddy and the shy, scholarly Jack, joined the army together to see the world, only to get caught up in the chaos of the war.  Separated during the retreat to Crete, Jack and Teddy manage to reunite on the island, with both falling for the alluring Alenka upon meeting her.  When the Germans invade and they are trapped behind enemy lines with no hope of escape, both go to ground, seeking out help from Alenka and her allies in Crete’s resistance movement.

As the Germans tighten their hold on the island, Alenka, Jack and Teddy find themselves in constant danger as they attempt to find some way for the Australians to escape.  However, their attempts to evade the Nazis are not their only trouble, as Jack and Teddy’s once close friendship starts to deteriorate through jealously and anger.  Worse, Alenka’s brother, Axel, is a dangerous Nazi collaborator, whose long simmering anger and resentment threatens everything Alenka holds dear.  As Axel searches for a way to destroy his sister and her friends, all will be forced to make some hard choices, both on the battlefield and in love.

This was a deeply moving and highly detailed historical drama from Forsyth that I had a wonderful time reading.  Balancing a captivating historical tale of invasion in a unique World War II setting with a powerful tale of romance, broken friendships and family betrayals, The Crimson Thread is an outstanding novel which really highlights Forsyth’s impressive skill as an author.

The Crimson Thread has an excellent and fast-paced narrative that quickly drags readers in with the wartime action and keeps them there with the subsequent drama and tragedy.  Told from various intriguing perspectives, The Crimson Thread does a great job of quickly introducing you to the key characters and settings before bringing the terror in the form of a sudden and devastating Nazi invasion.  What follows is captivating tale of survival, endurance and resistance, as the three central protagonists attempt to evade and outwit the occupiers while also dealing with their own simmering feelings of love, betrayal and jealousy.  Forsyth weaves together some hauntingly tense and moving scenes throughout this narrative, as you see the characters thrust into all manner of dangerous and tragic circumstances amid the horrors of war.  The entire narrative has an excellent blend of action, high-stakes espionage and deep personal drama that I found myself really drawn to, all of which fits together perfectly with the distinctive setting and period.  The entire narrative takes place over the course of several years, and I deeply appreciate the long-term storylines that Forsyth utilised as you got to see the various characters grow and change throughout the war, often for the worst.  I loved the focus on camaraderie, identity and historical pride that was worked into the story, and all the unique plot points come full circle by the end.  Forsyth ends the entire excellent story of survival and war on a tragic, but hopeful note, and while you may end up with some conflicting feelings about the fates of some of the focal characters, readers are going to come away from The Crimson Thread both moved and satisfied with the story conclusion.

One of the things that I have always appreciated about books set during World War II are the sheer number of unique stories that can be written, as there were so many different battlefields, conflicts and personal dramas that resulted from them.  While I am fairly knowledgeable about history and World War II, I honestly knew very little about the occupation of Crete during the war, nor did I realise that Australian and New Zealand soldiers were stationed there when the Germans invaded.  As such I was pretty in the dark when it came to the historical context of the novel, but Forsyth was well on hand here and spent substantial time exploring the entire Nazi conquest and occupation of Crete during the war.  Everything is covered here, including the initial 11-day battle to take control of the island, the subsequent disorganised evacuation of Allied forces, the harsh occupation of the Cretans, which included several massacres, the resistance movements, and everything else that occurred from first day to the end of the war.  I was particularly intrigued by the role that Australian troops played during this conflict, and Forsyth made sure to really highlight why they were there and the various hurdles they faced during this war, including being trapped behind enemy lines with few options to escape.  All of this is worked into the story in a clever and impressive way, and the various characters find themselves involved in many of the key events, either as witnesses or participants.  You really find yourself getting drawn into the midst of these compelling historical events, and I personally found it incredibly fascinating to see them, especially as Forsyth did some substantial research for this book.

I also really appreciated Forsyth’s dive into the culture, history and iconic landscape of the main setting of Crete.  Most of this book takes place on this beautiful island, and I felt that Forsyth really captured the heart and soul of Crete and its people throughout the story.  There are some compelling dives into the identity and culture of the Cretan people, including the importance of their dress, their customs, their speech, and their defiant nature.  Due to most of this explanation being done to show the undercover Australian citizens how to blend, it proves to be very informative, and readers without much pre-knowledge of Crete come away with a lot of detail and appreciation for its people.  There are also some fun dives into the history of the island, particularly its ancient association with legend of the Minotaur and palace of Knossos.  Due to my background in archaeology, I found this to be extremely interesting, especially as there are also some compelling depictions and discussions about the famous excavations that took place on Crete during this period.  Throw in some breathtaking and highly detailed descriptions of the various environments and settlements on Crete, including its treacherous and massive mountains, which serve as a great setting for some particularly intense scenes, and you get an outstanding appreciation for this island.  All of this is utilised in The Crimson Thread’s story really well, as the characters, like the reader, really get to know the island and how it impacts many of their decisions and actions.

Forsyth also came up with some excellent and distinctive characters for The Crimson Thread, and their unique and emotionally rich storylines are a powerful part of this great book’s story.  This includes Alenka, who finds herself caught between her culture, her troubled family past, and her attraction to the two Australian soldiers she grows close to.  Despite primarily being shown as a strong and clever woman, Alenka goes through some real tragedies and trauma in this book that slowly wear away at her psyche.  I found it fascinating to see her growth throughout the book, as well as her attempts to overcome the various obstacles and indignities that come her way.  Alenka was really well counterbalanced by her brother, Axel, a dark and dangerous youth who serves as the book’s central antagonist.  Initially shown as a youth who grows into a dangerous teenager throughout the narrative, Axel is a complex figure.  A half-Cretan boy who is the result of an extramarital affair with a German archaeologist, Axel has borne the shame of his heritage for most of his life and endured the ridicule and disdain of everyone on the island.  Focusing on his German heritage, Axel becomes obsessed with Hitler and the Nazis and quickly grows to be a valuable collaborator for the occupiers, helping them root out the resistance and hidden Allied soldiers.  While he is an extremely repulsive and evil figure, you fully understand while he idolises the Nazis and tries to join them because of how well Forsyth explored Axel’s motivations and past.  Forsyth writes a very dark storyline around Axel, and it was fascinating to see him corrupted by both his own unfair past and the invading Nazis.

The other two main characters are the Australian soldier protagonists, Jack and Teddy.  Despite being old friends, these two are very much the opposite of the other, with Teddy being a wild, confident and arrogant figure, while Jack is a kind and shy man with a stutter.  While you wouldn’t think that they would be friends, Forsyth does a good job establishing their bond, and you fully understand why they are close to each other.  Both characters are interesting in their own right, and I appreciated how Forsyth highlighted their differences and showed how their relationship eventually broke down over their mutual attraction to Alenka.  Teddy’s slow crawl from causal larrikin to arrogant jerk is subtle, but well formed, and the author shows some compelling, but damning, change in views in his mind throughout The Crimson Thread.  Jack, on the other hand, grows from unconfident scholar to strong-willed fighter, all thanks to his love of Alenka.  I loved how Forsyth showed all his artistic skills and passions, such as poetry, as a strength, and it was pretty fun to see him succeed in the specialised spy school both characters end up in.  This poetry actually had an interesting role in the wider book, and you can see a great example of it at the start of different chapters.  Forsyth really excelled at creating some amazing and captivating character arcs throughout The Crimson Thread, and I had an outstanding time getting close to these figures and experiencing their triumphs and dark pains.

Overall, The Crimson Thread was a wonderful and deeply moving read that ended up being one of the better historical dramas I have read this year.  Kate Forsyth continues to shine as an extremely talented Australian author, and I had fun exploring a book from her current genre of choice.  Featuring some damaged characters, a powerful story and some exquisite dives into Crete and its wartime history, The Crimson Thread is a captivating and clever novel that I had an outstanding time reading.

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