This is the 4th addition to Rory Clements exhilarating WW2 historical espionage series featuring American Cambridge don Tom Wilde, once again called up for a perilous mission. It is 1941, and the war is not going well with Germany making advances on the Eastern Front heading towards Russia and Moscow and doing well on the Western Front too. Tom is living with Lydia Morris in Cambridge and they now have a young son, Johnny, when he is asked to retrieve a valuable package from Berlin by Philip Eaton and the British security services in a joint operation with Bodie Cashman, and the US. Tom now has far more to lose, but Lydia understands who he is, and tells him to just make sure he comes back to them. So Tom arrives in Berlin as the Nazi sympathiser, Tomas Esser, a US businessman looking to make a profitable trade deal with the regime.

Tom is under surveillance and monitored, as indeed is the American embassy where his friend, Jim Vandenberg, is part of the diplomatic team. Jim helps Tom connect with Sunny, a widow of a Luftwaffe hero, who will aid him in getting the package and smuggling it out of the country. A package that Hitler's right hand man, the powerful Martin Bormann is determined will never leave Germany. As the body count rises, Tom and Sunny find danger around every corner, but helped by those unhappy with the Nazi regime. Even when Tom and Sunny manage to finally arrive in Sweden, their problems follow them. After arriving at a safe house in Britain, Tom is dismayed to discover the American plans for the 'package', plans he just cannot get on board with. With Britain needing US support, will Tom be able to find an alternative solution for the package, and even if he does, can he survive the dangers that have followed him to Cambridge?

Rory Clements latest addition is a riveting and gripping affair, full of tension and suspense, giving a picture of the nature of the Nazi regime in Berlin, such as the disinformation and propaganda being spread amongst children in schools. There are various key Nazis that inhabit the novel, including Martin Bormann, Fritz Todt and Hermann Goering and his wife, Emmy, with the bitter Nazi power struggles and their domestic rivalries. This is a wonderfully entertaining read, set in a historical period where the war is not going well, and includes the attack on Pearl Harbour, responsible for the entry of the US into the war in Europe and beyond. Great read. Many thanks to Bonnier Zaffre for an ARC.

The latest instalment in the Tom Wilde series of early WW11 stories continues with another tale of derring-do set initially in Germany and then England. Lots of splendid action and narrow escapes keep things splendidly entertaining, villains galore some historical others fictional meld together beautifully in this super old fashioned yarn. Look forward to more...great stuff!

This is the first book in this series that I have read and I thoroughly enjoyed it. World War 2 fiction is my favourite genre and Rory Clements has written an excellent story about retrieving a package from Germany in 1941. It is difficult to say too much without giving away the plot but this is a great novel with loads of intrigue and action. Highly recommended. With thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review and e-ARC.

In a word - brilliant. Highly believable plot line; believable characters. Yet another excellent book from Rory Clements. I don't want to say too much about the plot, because it's about secrets, but also I want everyone to read it and discover the twists and turns for themselves.
The historical background is well-researched, the book is very well-written - a genuine page-turner, and a one that is hard to put down.
I would recommend it to anyone.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Bonnier Zaffre for the advance copy.

This is the fourth Tom Wilde historical thriller in the series and I have read and enjoyed every one.

Rory Clements is an able and talented wordsmith who knows how to draw characters, develop a plot and keep the reader on tenterhooks.

I won’t waste time describing the plot or risk providing spoilers but Wilde is sent to Berlin on a crucial mission where nothing is really as it seems to be and then, when it appears that he has successfully accomplished his seemingly Herculean task, the excitement resins in a nail biting denouement in England.

If you like well written historically accurate Second World War thrillers that really thrill then you will love this book.

Highly recommended.

If you like exciting and historically accurate Second World War thrillers that really thrill then you will love this book.

Highly recommended.

I read Nucleus which is the previous Tom Wilde thriller and thoroughly enjoyed it so when this new one popped up on NetGalley I was excited to be given a copy to review.
If you like historical espionage thrillers this will appeal. Professor Tom Wilde is an American Cambridge Don who is asked to perform a mission for the British and Us secret services. He has been studying German for 2 years in preparation for this very scenario and although he is sad to leave his girlfriend and toddler son, he is keen to help in the allies’ war effort.
He is asked to go into Hitler’s Germany posing as an American Nazi sympathiser and whilst there he is to pick up a “package”
However once in Berlin he meets with his old friend, Jim Van Den Berg, an American diplomat and discovers what the package really is.
This is a fast paced historical thriller which I found exciting and quick to read. Tom encounters many Nazis in his quest and is pursued by some very evil men.
Rory Clements has obviously done his historical research and I felt the fear of being in Nazi Germany in 1941. Tom had to have all his wits about him to succeed and return home safely to his family.
I would now like to read the first two books in the series to find out more about the dashing Professor and his escapades!
Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for my arc in exchange for an honest review.

The 4th book in the Tom Wilde series is set in Autumn 1941, with Nazi Germany triumphant throughout Western Europe and its invasion of the Soviet Union bringing nothing but success. Cambridge University history professor Tom Wilde is contacted by his British intelligence contact Philip Eaton who passes him on to an American intelligence officer, Bodie Cashbone. Cashbone wants Tom to go to Germany and smuggle out a special package which could change the course of the war.
Once in Berlin, Tom discovers what the mystery package is and that Hitler's private secretary, Martin Bormann, will do anything to prevent it from leaving the country. As Hitler's right hand man, Bormann has unlimited power and sends two ruthless killers to hunt down and kill Tom and anyone else who has learned the secret of the mysterious package.
Tom is aided in his bid to escape from Germany by the widow of a Luftwaffe hero, and his old friend from the American Embassy in Berlin, Jim Vandenberg.
The fast-moving action switches between Berlin and various parts of the German countryside as Tom makes a desperate bid to return home. But, gradually, he realises that the secret he has uncovered must never be revealed, even if it means him foiling the plans of American intelligence. He begins to worry about who he can really trust. As the body count rises, another vicious killer joins the hunt for Tom. It's hard to give more details about the plot because that would involve a major spoiler. At times the story stretches credulity a little too far, but this is fiction and the book deals with matters which deal with Hitler's personal history rather than his politics and the events of World War 2.
As usual, author Rory Clements has done his research and throughout the book there is a wealth of historical detail. Various senior Nazis such as Fritz Todt, Heinrich Himmler, Herman Goering and his wife Emmy, as well as Martin Bormann, make an appearance and Clements perfectly captures the atmosphere of the paranoia rampant in Germany in 1941 with different individuals and intelligence departments vying with each other to gain the upper hand. Despite the Nazis' iron grip on the people of Germany, we find that there are still ordinary people doing their best to fight against the ruthless murderers who now rule their country. This a gripping spy thriller with unusual plot twists right from the start.
Thanks to Bonnier Zaffre and NetGalley for a copy of this book in return for an unbiased review.