The English Führer #RoryClements #TheEnglishFührer

By Rory Clements https://www.roryclements.co.uk/ @RoryClements6

Narrated by Adam Sims https://www.voicesquad.com/artist/adam-sims/ @AdamSims_

Published by Bonnier UK Audio , Zaffre https://www.bonnierbooks.co.uk/imprints/zaffre/ @ZaffreBooks

400 pages ISBN 978-1804181089

Publication date 19 January 2023

The English Führer the seventh book in the Tom Wilde series.

I was allowed access to an audio review copy on Net Galley.  Thanks to the Author and Publisher for organising this.

From the blurb

Hitler is dead. A new threat is born . . .

Autumn 1945. Off the east coast of England, a Japanese sub surfaces, unloads its mysterious cargo, then blows itself to pieces.

Former spy Professor Tom Wilde is enjoying peacetime in Cambridge, settling back into teaching and family life. Until a call from senior MI5 boss Lord Templeman brings him out of retirement. A nearby village has been locked down by the military, its residents blighted by a deadly illness. No one is allowed in or out.

There are rumours the Nazi machine is still operational, with links to Unit 731, a notorious Japanese biological warfare research laboratory. But how could they possibly be plotting on British soil – and why?

What’s more, Wilde and Templeman’s names are discovered on a Gestapo kill list. And after a series of assassinations an unthinkable question emerges: could an Englishman be behind the plot?

Synopsis

The war is over, and the OSS (Office of Strategic Services) is being wound up so Anglo-American history professor Tom Wilde can retire from spying for the allies and concentrate on educating young minds. Back at Cambridge he’s allocated a mature student, who served during the war, to supervise who is determined to immediately make his presence felt and has influential contacts.

Tom has barely resumed with academic life before he is drawn into more intrigue. There is an outbreak of plague in a coastal village which effects one of his wife Lydia’s friends. When Tom tries to make contact, the area is in lockdown and he is arrested. Lord Templeton manages to intervene and enlists his help in investigating what is going on. He also imparts some disturbing news. The Nazi’s ‘black book’ of people to be arrested if there was a successful invasion of the British Isles was well known but there has been discovered an addendum list of people to be killed which Tom and Lydia are on. This would not be significant except that some on the list have already been murdered using phenol. Can these plots be neutralised before it is too late?

Tom’s wife Lydia is getting bored of a life of domesticity in the shadows and wants to make her mark in society, she dreams of being a doctor, a profession she would be well suited to. Few women were then accepted into the profession and there are two obstacles, she is married and a mother. Tom’s wartime deceptions appear to be rubbing off on her as she applies for a position in her maiden name. She’s accepted and their domestic life is thrown upside down as she must start immediately. Luckily, she has found a young widow with a daughter to act as housekeeper and look after Tom and her son. This comes as a big surprise to her long-term cleaner and is the cause of some friction. Is the housekeeper all she all she appears to be, or does she harbour secrets of her own?

My thoughts

So, the seventh instalment sees us at the end of the war, but there’s still some fall out to investigate so I’m pleased that there’s likely to be a few more stories to come in this great series.

The plot is a little outlandish but based on enough historical fact to remain plausible and is one that should please fans of conspiracy theories and what if scenarios. The ‘black book’ existed and we know some of the names included were truly baffling, one can imagine those who insulted the Nazi hierarchy being added much in the fashion of that wonderful episode of Dad’s Army where captured U-boat caption (Philip Madoc) wants their names and Captain Mainwaring blurts out ‘Don’t tell him Pike!’ Unit 731 was real, and I suspect that we will never get the full truth on what happened to all the German and Japanese experimenters at the end of the war. Certainly, chemical, and biological weapons remain a chilling threat to this day.

Home grown fascism is central to the plot and seems to be quite vogue in current wartime thrillers. It is a subject that has been somewhat played down in the past and well deserves to be exposed the bleaching effect of sunlight. Whilst most of us hard heard of Sir Oswald Mosley and his blackshirts and some of the clashes that occurred in London, Liverpool, Hull and elsewhere fascism ran much deeper with tacit approval from some in the establishment. Perhaps it’s the result of the last few years with Brexit and immigration controls that are providing the inspiration for a reassessment within literature?

The storytelling style remains that of the old school thriller, pacey with full on action, plenty of jeopardy and quite a few murders but never gratuitous or graphic. As someone who loved the books of Alistair Maclean and his ilk in my youth it’s great to see the tradition continued. The reader’s attention is grabbed at the start and from then on it is thoroughly absorbing. The pacing may well be quick and the action relentless at times but there is also great characters and snapshots of life to fill out the storyline. So we see that the war has ended but rationing is still a major headache for ordinary people, consuming their day unless they can afford the black market. Tom even has to beg for petrol in order to carry his pursuit down to London.

Tom Wilde remains an unlikely hero, but the series works because he is kept believable, he’s boxed a bit but doesn’t win fist fights against ludicrous odds, he’s intelligent and analytical but even he can be taken in and confused as he is here. No superhero but typical of many who were thrust into extreme circumstances by war, somehow finding the fortitude to survive and display extraordinary bravery in the face of death.

The other main characters are well portrayed. Wife Lydia is much more to the fore in this one as her determination sees her getting a place at medical school and her exploits along with roommate Miranda add a nice diversion and another thread to face imminent danger.

The narration is perfect for the style of novel and Mr Sims demonstrates a broad range of voices and accents.

The English Führer is another wonderful action packed addition to the Tom Wilde series of intelligent wartime espionage thrillers. The war may be over but I think there’ll be a few more scrapes to come, I certainly hope so.

The English Führer can be purchased via the publisher here

The author

Rory Clements has had a long and successful newspaper career, including being features editor and associate editor of Today, editor of the Daily Mail’s Good Health Pages, and editor of the health section at the Evening Standard. He now writes full-time in an idyllic corner of Norfolk, England. 

(Sources: Photo Amazon; text Goodreads)