WW2 – Grab This Book

Hitler’s Secret – Rory Clements

Autumn 1941. The war is going badly for Britain and its allies. If Hitler is to be stopped, a new weapon is desperately needed.

In Cambridge, professor Tom Wilde is approached by an American intelligence officer who claims to know of such a weapon – one so secret even Hitler himself isn’t aware of its existence. If Wilde can smuggle the package out of Germany, the Third Reich will surely fall.

But it is only when he is deep behind enemy lines that Wilde discovers why the Nazis are so desperate to prevent the ‘package’ falling into Allied hands. And as ruthless killers hunt him through Europe, a treacherous question hangs over the mission: if Hitler’s secret will win them the war, why is Wilde convinced it must remain hidden?

My thanks to Zaffre for my review copy and to Tracy Fenton at Compulsive Readers for allowing me the opportunity to host this leg of the blog tour.

War time action thrills are the order of the day in Hitler’s Secret. In 1941 the war is dragging on and Germany, fighting a war both to the East and West, are firmly under control of Adolph Hitler and his National Socialist party. The British and their allies know success in their campaign relies upon toppling Hitler – if the figurehead of the Third Reich could be removed then Germany would surely step down from their fighting.

Clearly the Germans also knew the importance of keeping Hitler safe and also in protecting his image. One man held a position of power and influence which exceeded that of Hitler’s Generals and closest advisers – the “Gatekeeper”. This man, Bormann, worked alongside Hitler in his offices and was responsible for his diary, his appointments and for deciding which telephone calls Hitler would receive and which party members would be granted access to meet with him. Bormann is a powerful man who kept out of the spotlight but a man who would do whatever it took to protect his Leader and his own position of importance. He knows a secret, one which very few people know. He has information which cannot be shared with anyone else; the British cannot have the information as it would be used to damage Hitler. Hitler’s allies cannot know the information as it would undermine his authority and Hitler himself doesn’t even know this information – for him to learn the truth may also cause him to lose focus on the matters at hand. The secret must never be known and if people have to die to ensure the truth remains hidden – so be it.

The problem with secrets is that, invariably, truth will out. As we begin Hitler’s Secret, the British know of the highly sensitive information and they are sending Tom Wilde undercover behind enemy lines to recover a package which will expose Hitler’s Secret to the World. Bormann is also taking decisive steps to have the package destroyed – anyone who comes into possession of the package must also be removed. The chase is on and with everything at stake it’s a mighty story.

Described by the Sunday Times as a “What If” story, I find the Tom Wilde books to be great action thrillers from one of our darkest times. Rory Clements builds on events from the War and weaves his stories into the events of 1941. Familiar people and places will appear and the characters Clements introduces will phase in and around them, it gives the story a feeling of authenticity and makes scene setting very realistic.

Wilde is putting himself against one of the most resourceful figures in the Nazi party. He will need to place his trust in a select few individuals and the feeling of David vs Goliath was ever present as I read Hitler’s Secret.

I don’t read many thrillers set during WW2 but I have read a few books by Rory Clements and each has been a satisfying experience. Perhaps the best way to articulate this would be trying to describe how, after each reading session, I found I was mentally adjusting back to 2020 life and popping the world of 1941 into the background. Clements built the world around me as I read and after putting down the book I could still easily picture the environments he had described.

If you enjoy spy thrillers and stories of wartime heroics then this book is for you.

Hitler’s Secret is published by Zaffre on 23 January 2020 and is available in hardback, digital and audiobook format. You can order a copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07VV5RLP8/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i0

Follow the Blog Tour:

Category: Blog Tours, From The Bookshelf | Comments Off

November 11

Crooked Heart – Lissa Evans

When Noel Bostock – aged ten, no family – is evacuated from London to escape the Blitz, he ends up living in St Albans with Vera Sedge – thirty-six and drowning in debts and dependents. Always desperate for money, she’s unscrupulous about how she gets it.

Noel’s mourning his godmother, Mattie, a former suffragette. Brought up to share her disdain for authority and eclectic approach to education, he has little in common with other children and even less with Vee, who hurtles impulsively from one self-made crisis to the next. The war’s thrown up new opportunities for making money but what Vee needs (and what she’s never had) is a cool head and the ability to make a plan.

On her own, she’s a disaster. With Noel, she’s a team.

Together they cook up an idea. Criss-crossing the bombed suburbs of London, Vee starts to make a profit and Noel begins to regain his interest in life.

But there are plenty of other people making money out of the war and some of them are dangerous. Noel may have been moved to safety, but he isn’t actually safe at all…

Thanks to Alison Barrow for bringing Crooked Heart to my attention and providing a copy for review.

Sometimes I get the chance to read books I would not normally have considered or that would not have appeared on my radar. After I began blogging I started seeking out new reading experiences, new genre, new authors and plots that don’t always involve solving a murder.

Take Crooked Heart by Lissa Evans: I finished it this morning on my train journey to work. I really enjoyed it and was disappointed when I found that I had reached the end of the last page. It was an enchanting story about people living during the Second World War. The central characters are likeable and quirkily mis-matched. They live under the constant threat of an attack by Hitler’s soldiers yet their daily struggles are much more relevant and worrying.

We follow Noel through the story, we see him lose his Godmother and then be evacuated from London to the country. He is housed with Vee, a struggling mother with a ‘useless’ son and an eccentric mother – Vee is trying to keep her sanity in a household where she has to do everything and is receiving no help from family or neighbours.

Although Noel and Vee are the stars in Crooked Heart there is a brilliantly established supporting cast. We hiss at Vee’s son who is a workshy layabout, gnash our teeth at Noel’s aunt and uncle who are ‘doing their bit’ but don’t want saddled with a difficult 10 year old. Noel’s teacher and classmates are used to highlight Noel’s non-conformity and we have the one ‘true’ villain – an Air Raid warden that considers looting to be a job perk. Real people living out life during the time of the blitz – totally absorbing reading.

Crooked Heart is a story about friendship, families and love – against the backdrop of the Second World War. It has replaced Carrie’s War as the book I will think of when I imagine life for a child during WW2. I loved the story of Noel and Vee, they came across as two misfits, not quite fitting the expectations of those around them and not really caring they are different. The last page was heart breaking and poignant and the journey to that point made it so. Crooked Heart is highly recommended.

Crooked Heart is published in Hardback by Doubleday and is available now. Follow Lissa Evans on Twitter @LissaKEvans

Category: From The Bookshelf | Comments Off