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arw1g10's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
edgeworth's review against another edition
4.0
A solid book - better than I expected it to be based on its fairly hum-drum detective story prose. There's no clear point of divergence for the alternate history which sees Nazi Germany occupying a defeated Britain, but there are only so many ways history can play out, and while at first it seems America remains neutral and isolationist, it's clear a new cold war is brewing. There's a red herring as to precisely what the murder mystery and conspiracy is going to be about - an educated reader will guess "atomic bomb research" about twenty or thirty pages in, and Deighton reveals that openly not long after, but in fact the crux of the story is a much darker, muddier conspiracy revolving around politics and the legitimacy of an exiled British government, which I found much more interesting. There are moments when it drags, and it certainly strays into melodrama from time to time, but a strong third act really pulls it out of the fire. Recommended.
readwithethel's review against another edition
3.0
An interesting story about what if England had lost WWII
Key words: historical fiction, adult fiction, England, Nazi, mystery, murder, WWII, alternative history
This historical fiction was quite interesting but a bit difficult sometimes. I was attracted to this book because my boyfriend loved it and I like stories that imagine a “what if”. Here we have, what if England has lost the second world war. So, England is under the Nazi reign and we’re following Douglas who works for the British police. It is interesting to follow his investigation and to understand how people around him are sometimes linked to the resistance. I also enjoyed that the story doesn’t focus on the war or even on the Nazis so much as we just follow a British investigator. However, I struggled to get into the story. I think it is due to the fact that I don’t always understand the difference between the Nazis group and because of the style of writing. It is well-written but not one of the easiest for me, as a non-native English speaker. At one point, I just didn’t understand why the story was still going but then I got back into it, thankfully, and finished the book on a positive note. I would recommend this book to adults who like historical fiction.
3.5/5
Key words: historical fiction, adult fiction, England, Nazi, mystery, murder, WWII, alternative history
This historical fiction was quite interesting but a bit difficult sometimes. I was attracted to this book because my boyfriend loved it and I like stories that imagine a “what if”. Here we have, what if England has lost the second world war. So, England is under the Nazi reign and we’re following Douglas who works for the British police. It is interesting to follow his investigation and to understand how people around him are sometimes linked to the resistance. I also enjoyed that the story doesn’t focus on the war or even on the Nazis so much as we just follow a British investigator. However, I struggled to get into the story. I think it is due to the fact that I don’t always understand the difference between the Nazis group and because of the style of writing. It is well-written but not one of the easiest for me, as a non-native English speaker. At one point, I just didn’t understand why the story was still going but then I got back into it, thankfully, and finished the book on a positive note. I would recommend this book to adults who like historical fiction.
3.5/5
sefkhet's review
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
georgina28's review
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
kim_s96's review
adventurous
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
maddie_kelly's review
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
jamessmith82's review
4.0
I wasn’t too sure about this until the very end. It started well but I felt the pace dropped off, and then the last quarter was quite jumpy and lacked the flow of the start. However, I’ve given it 4 stars because it is a decent book, but the overall premise is so interesting and well-tackled - it provides a pretty interesting glimpse into an alternative world.