The English Führer by Rory Clements

Today Mandie is sharing her thoughts on the latest book from Rory Clements, The English Führer. Mandie loves historical fiction and really enjoyed the author’s previous title, The Man In The Bunker, and you can read her review here. Naturally she couldn’t resist this latest offering. With thanks to publisher Zaffre for the advance copy. Here’s what it’s all about:

About the Book

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?

Thrilling, intelligent, and brilliantly compelling, The English Führer cements Rory’s position as the ‘master of the wartime thriller’ (FT) – perfect for readers of Robert Harris, C J Sansom, Mick Herron and Joseph Kanon.

Mandie’s Thoughts

I came quite late to this series starting with book 6 The Man in the Bunker. Its not normally the type of book I would pick up, but I found that I raced through it, and it was no different with The English Fuhrer. The war has ended, and Tom Wilde is hoping that at long last he can finally continue as a professor at Cambridge and spend time with his wife and son. Its not long however he is drawn back into his previous career, and it is not only him that is at risk this time. 

I wasn’t sure what to expect from this book as the opening chapter left it a little unclear as to what was ahead, but it wasn’t long before I was glued to the pages. Tom Wilde is an interesting character, as much as he wants a quieter life you can also see that there is a part of him that loves the danger and intrigue. What is also clear is that he really does not know who he can trust or what exactly is going on apart from the fact both him and his wife Lydia have somehow ended up on a German kill list and there is definitely someone who intends to see it is completed. 

The setting of post war England where everyone was trying to come to terms with the new normal, highlighted that there were those that struggled with what they had seen and done. Unfortunately for Tom Wilde he was up against those that were not happy with the new world and believed that they would be better in charge and would use any method and means possible to achieve it no matter who was harmed in the process. 

We did get to see more of Tom’s home life in this book, with his wife Lydia starting out in her career as a doctor away from the family home, which in turn brought new faces into his life that were clearly hiding things and you had to wonder what and why and if they were in on the plot to kill him. 

With chemical warfare and kill lists there was certainly plenty to keep the pace going and it was interesting to see it all playing out in the English countryside rather than foreign shores. There did seem to be a bit more of a finality about this book as loose ends from The Man in the Bunker also seem to be closed but if it is the last one then it was a good one to go on. What I do need to do now however is start at the beginning of the series because I definitely want to know more about the exploits of Tom Wilde.

About the Author

RORY CLEMENTS is a Sunday Times bestselling author. He won the CWA Ellis Peters Historical Award for his second novel, Revenger, and a TV series of the John Shakespeare novels is currently in development.

Rory lives in Norfolk with his family. Find out more at http://www.roryclements.co.uk.