This is not a genre with which I am overly familiar so I was thrilled and grateful for the opportunity to read this WW2 thriller and it was absolutely not a disappointment.

The central premise is that the human remains believed to be those of Hitler, were not. And in that one sentence, the entire post war society rests on a very thin precipice for peace and re-building of the world which has been lost.

For , if it was not Hitler, who was it?

And if he is alive, how did he escape, who helped him and how can he be tracked down?

This is exemplified in the very shocking opener where two seemingly random American soldiers run to help what appears to be an injured child, and do not survive the encounter.

Flash forward to an English landscape imbued with a semblance of hope-it is 1945 and there is the chance that those who were parachuted behind enemy lines, academics, spies and so forth , might be able to return to their previous existence. The aroma of hope is almost palpable.

Until these rumours surface. And whilst they circulate-and to an extent, still do-there is the potential for the rebuilding of the Third Reich, the creation of a future Nazi party and the gathering of evil forces. Hitler and his potential escape might be all that it takes to undo the previous years of death, destruction and pure evil.

it cannot be allowed to continue and needs quashing, and fast.

Enter Tom Wilde, Cambridge professor who,with the help of the fantastically named Mozes Heck, an American lieutenant. Both will be assigned to the US Counter Intelligence Corps, based in Garmish, Southern Germany.

Well they will, if they can get past the ferocious Lydia, Tom's wife who is not best pleased that her husband who has finally returned to her, she can kick start her paused medical career and raise a family. I say this tongue in cheek because Tom and Lydia have massive 'Tommy and Tuppence vibes. They would love a life where they can just be themselves, but the needs of their country and way of life (the democratic way of life) can only be more than mere wish fulfilment as long as the threat of evil is out there.

The twentieth century's greatest boogeyman is out there, whether he really is or not may never be known. His actions haunt the textbooks of history and should never be forgotten or dismissed. He was emblematic of the evil which men (and women) are capable of and as such, should never be underestimated.

Some might say that in this age don't we have enough to worry about without looking bacl at the past, even in a fictional manner?

I would answer that with a hearty 'No', because this is an excellent thriller which shows the lengths which people like Tom, Mozes and their like will go to to keep the world we want to live in safe.

And at a time where, quite honestly, I for one do not know who to believe on so many aspects of daily life, it is reassuring not to mention a comfort to read about real life events where , for , the good guys won. And continue to fight for that win.

Some books, the plot is so interesting that you have to read it. “The Man In The Bunker” is a deep and thoughtful book, impossible to forget.
The historians say that history always repeats themself, that if we forget it will be like it never happened. I think that this book for me has been a little reminder of what the Second World War meant to humanity. The good and the bad, how it completely changed people and how even if all the atrocities happened, some people still thought that the SS did good.
The story is based a few months after Hitler and his wife committed suicide, it seems that there’s a rumor that they didn’t die, so, the Americans ask for help to the University Professor Tom Wilde, to discover the truth. He will have the help of a young Jewish British army Lieutenant, Mozes Heck, who will put a very human voice and perspective to the story.
This is the 6th book of the Tom Wilde series, but you can read it as standalone, I suppose there are some personal connections and characters that are in the different stories, but you will not feel lost or missing anything.
I really don’t want to talk much about the plot, I think that only the thought that Hitler could be alive and trying to restore his Reich is scary and intriguing to make any reader want to read the book. But I loved all the different characters that Wilde and Heck find during their journey; some good, some bad, some not really wanting to know the truth… A very well plotted story that keeps you guessing till the end.
Are you ready to find “The Man in the Bunker”?

This is Book 6 in the Tom Wilde series, and my first! So that shows how it can be read as a standalone! And now I've got the enjoyment of the rest of the series to catch up with as I found this to be such an intriguing and fascinating subject to have a story based around! The What If subject is one of those conspiracies that still does the rounds now, so the author has done a brilliant job within this series of using that as the backdrop for a new adventure!

This is set just after the war, so the world is waking up again and trying to move on but life is still pretty brutal in many parts of the world with unresolved anger. Tom Wilde is trying to live a normal life again, but that is blown out of the water when 3 men show up on his doorstep wanting his help in finding out just what happened in 'that' bunker where no body was ever found.

So he has to travel to Germany, interrogate those close to Hitler and others at the top to find out if they know more than they are letting the world believe.

You get a real sense from the story that many people are still on edge after what they've been through for the past few years, and many want revenge for what has happened to them or those they love. Wilde has a tough job ahead of him getting through to people and trying to work out who he can trust and who is telling the truth.

There's also a side story featuring the character of Lilly too, a woman who had a fling with a german officer and has been shunned by her own family, and it really hit home how the war had split family and friends.

As I said, this was my first book in the Wilde series and I just loved the whole feel and pace of the storytelling so I'm eager to go back and see where the rest of the series took the character! It is a smart and dramatic piece of historical fiction.

I really enjoyed the couple of Tom Wilde books I’ve read; I wonder whether this one being set just after the end of the war means it will be his last. It’s a mark of a good set-up when I could very easily rejoin Wilde in Cambridge despite the many stories I’ve read in between. Plus it has a pretty irresistible opening: ‘let’s go and catch ourselves a retired dictator’! While the evidence has been well and truly gone over now, it seems reasonable that in the months after the war there were doubts and rumours about Hitler’s death in the bunker in April 1945.
This time Wilde is set to work with the wildcard Mozes Heck. He has a rich backstory and every reason to be vengeful. They think they know what they’re looking for but they don’t know the half of it. Despite being a Second World War story written by a man, I was struck by how full of interesting female characters it is, from Lydia Wilde to Doctor Gray and the far less admirable Mrs Boden.
The Tyrolean setting is really good – at once realistic as an area of Nazi loyalty and perfect for striking a contrast between beauty and evil. Late on, good tension is built by switching between Tom and Mozes – very cinematic. Is the story preposterous? Perhaps. But is it a cracking read? Definitely. The fate of all the protagonists is tied up neatly but there are a couple of tempting trails left dangling if there were to be a follow-up.

With the premise of this book being “what if Hitler had survived” I found that I really couldn’t say no to this book even thought I had not read the first 5 in the series. I have to say that this book stands up very well on its own and at no time did I feel that I had missed out on anything or that things did not make sense.
With the war over Tom Wilde is looking forward to life getting back to normal and going back to teaching. When his old colleagues contact him to determine if Hitler really did die in his bunker as reports had led everyone to believe, he was determined to stay well away from it all. He had done his bit. It is only when his wife convinces him that he will not be happy if he turns this mission down that he heads back to Germany to find out the truth. Partnered up with a headstrong Lieutenant from the British Army he has to overcome the distrust of the civilians who survived and also manage to stay alive.
I am not going to lie, when I saw how long the book was (476 pages) I did wonder what I had let myself in for but once I started I found it really hard to put the book down and finished it in 2 days. Tom Wilde is a character you can believe in right from the start. Despite having to put his life in the hands of others to get the answers they want; he has a healthy distrust of them that probably keeps him alive and one step ahead. He knows that his mission is not an easy one and that he will meet with resistance by those in Germany who believed in Hitler and all that he stood for. Working out who they are and those that are truly horrified by what happened in the war is not always easy and interrogating staff closest to Hitler in the final days may provide clues to the truth or may send him on a wild goose chase.
Lieutenant Mozes Heck is a real loose cannon who has his own agenda, after he lost his entire family in concentration camps. He is more of the shoot first, ask questions later kind of guy that causes Tom as many problems as he does get them out of bad situations. We do see a more generous side to him when he helps someone who is struggling to come to terms with the loss of her husband and son and I think it is this action that has you hoping he will survive it all more than you want to see him come to harm.
This is a fast-paced book that transports the reader across Europe whilst Wilde and Heck dig deep into the lies and the misinformation. With an ending that is left open for what may come next I think I might just have to do some investigating of my own and hunt down books 1 – 5 whilst I wait for the next instalment.

What if Hitler had survived the War?

It's a question that has been asked time and time again, but in the late summer of 1945 with the War barely over, the answer to that question could change everything.

With several high profile Nazi leaders still on the loose, and others awaiting trial, finding Hitler and bringing him to justice would be the highlight of Tom Wilde's career.

Except Tom Wilde is gearing up for the new term in his role as a Cambridge professor, and not prepared to go back to Europe as a spy. But his former boss has other ideas, and assigns him a colleague for his mission.

Hitler is said to be alive, secreted deep in the Alps, awaiting his next move. Tom must speak to those who are currently detained, and find those who are missing. The members of the party, the ones in the Berlin bunker who saw out the last days of the War with him .... The ones who knew him best.

Some are said to have fled to other countries, some seemingly vanished without a trace. But Tom knows in order to find Hitler he must tread carefully. Because if he is alive, then he is being protected, and if he's found out, then Tom and his colleagues lives are very much in danger.

The Man in the Bunker is a fast paced thrill of a read for anyone who loves historical fiction, WWII Fiction and alternate history theories...

The Man in the Bunker by Rory Clements
Having read previous Professor Tom Wilde thrillers set in the late 1930s and subsequent war years I was very much looking forward to reading this book set soon after the end of the war.
Tom has returned to his wife and son in Cambridge and is preparing for the Michaelmas Term when his old boss asks him to investigate if Adolf Hitler really did perish in the Berlin Bunker.
This was a fascinating premise for a novel and I was gripped from the very first page!
Initially Tom is reluctant to leave his wife young son but it is Lydia who persuades him that he must accept the mission. He is provided with an assistant, a young Jewish British army Lieutenant, Mozes Heck, who has lost his whole family in the Holocaust. He is definitely out for revenge and cannot be trusted to restrain himself when confronted by Nazi sympathisers.
The book is fast paced but in addition to being an exciting thriller this is also a devastating depiction of the horrors of Germany in the first few months after the war. Heck and Wilde search the Alps in Germany and Austria, battling close knit and secretive communities and extremely harsh terrain.
There is an extremely tense sequence early on in the novel as Tom drives away from one of these encounters.
The character of Wilde is well drawn and it is easy imagine this as a TV programme or a film. If you’ve read the earlier books you will thoroughly enjoy this but works is equally effective as a stand-alone novel. I would highly recommend it to readers who like fast paced historical thrillers. Many thanks to the author, the publishers and Net Galley for the opportunity to read this book in return for an honest review.

I love Rory clements’ writing, it is so easy to read. This book is the third book starring Tom Wilde but could easily be read as a stand-alone.

The war is over and Tom thought he had got his life back with his wife and son. He is preparing to start a new year at Cambridge when his plans are put on hold.

The OSS have one last mission for him, and it’s a big one!

Brilliantly written with great pace, this book is full of wonderful and awful characters. It explores how everyone starts to make sense of life after world war 2.

A great read.

Two men, one mission, two agenda’s as Professor Tom Wilde is “assisted” by Moses Heck, an army Lieutenant impacted personally by the Holocaust and who is looking for more than just answers. Set at the end of the war with ex OSS Wilde recruited once more, the mission is to find out what really happened at that bunker. Invoking the atmosphere that shrouded war torn Europe as it sought to repair and recover the story channels both Heck’s need for vengeance and more on point, Wilde’s quest for witnesses and facts. Helped and hindered along the way both men finally get their answers ………. and Mrs Wilde a new lodger. Great read that fair races along with all the usual quality associated with the author.

While I have given the book 4 stars, as it was a genuine good book to read, you do have to suspend your disbelief at times to enjoy it fully... but I suppose that is the plus of using your literally creativity but doing a "what if" storyline. It was a gripping read though and I liked the new characters created for this book.

Professor Tom Wilde returns in The Man in the Bunker which is another excellent spy thriller by Rory Clements.

Despite the war having ended Wilde is persuaded to undertake one last mission. To locate Hitler.

The author brings post war Germany to life with the sense of both despair and relief being well described and adding to what is an excellent storyline that moves along at a very good pace.

Hopefully there is more to come from Wilde and The Man in the Bunker is definitely recommended.

After WWII the belief that Hitler had killed himself in his bunker was cast in doubt by rumours that he was alive and in hiding. As a result, Tom reluctantly acceded to the OSS request to go and investigate. He is teamed up with a young impetuous British army officer and sets out exploring leads that that causes them to infiltrate the destitute ruins of German cities and the flotsam and jetsam’s of society that had survived. They soon discover that the friends, agents that were assigned before them had been killed in the process. How they manage to escape death by the skin of their teeth in tracking down witnesses and in finally finding what they seek makes a most eventful story when nothing is ever what it seems, nor what is the whole truth.

I’ve read the previous Professor Tom Wilde thrillers set in the late 1930s and subsequent war years so was excited to be granted a review copy of this new one which is set soon after the end of the war.
Tom is back at Cambridge, preparing for the new term when his old intelligence boss asks him to investigate whether Adolf Hitler really did die in the Berlin Bunker which all the evidence seems to point to or whether he somehow managed to escape and is alive and well. This was a great opening and premise for a novel and it gripped me from the very first page!
At first Tom is reluctant to leave his wife, Lydia and young son but it is Lydia who eventually persuades him to accept the mission.
He is teamed up with a young Jewish British army Lieutenant, Mozes Heck, a man who has lost his whole family in the Holocaust and who is out for revenge. He is trigger happy and will not take no for an answer so Tom really has his work cut out, trying to control him as well as conducting the investigation.
The book moves really quickly, particularly when Wilde and Heck start their investigations. As well as being an exciting thriller, The Man In the Bunker is also a depiction of Germany in the first few months after the war. There were still many people who were loyal to Hitler, despite his evil deeds but there were also some who were ashamed and wanted to make amends as much is possible in a situation when so many innocents have been murdered.
Heck and Wilde score the Alps in Germany and Austria, encountering close knit and secretive communities and extremely harsh terrain. Could Hitler really be alive and hidden there?
This is a great”What If” story and the end was totally unexpected but very clever leaving it open for more exciting adventures for Tom Wilde in the future..
I definitely like the character of Wilde and can easily imagine him in a film or Tv series, a bit like Indiana Jones!
If you’ve read the earlier books you will love this and if you haven’t it works equally well as a stand alone novel. Highly recommended to all readers who like fast paced historical thrillers.
Thanks to NetGalley and Bonnier Books UK for my arc.

Good end of WW11 thriller with the search for Adolf Hitler by an American Professor who served in the OSS during the war. Hitler’s suicide in Berlin at the end of the war is not believed by everyone and this action packed tale tells the story of the hunt for the truth. Assisted by a Dutch Jewish member of the British Army who has a short fuse with suspected Nazis the story races around Germany and the Alpine region of the Austrian border. Throw in a Russian intelligence officer desperate to defect, a French collaborator thrown out of her village and numerous nefarious Germans it all moves entertainingly along to a shock conclusion but with a happy ending for the main characters!

This is not the first Rory Clements/Professor Tom Wilde) book I have read, but haven't ever read them in order and they can be read as a stand-alone.

Professor Tom Wilde is preparing for the next term at Cambridge, the war is over and he is keen to get back to a normal life when two people from his past appear with a proposition for him.

What if Hitler wasn't really dead, his body was never found.

It did make for uncomfortable reading at stages, but that is part of the point, it's all too easy to whitewash history as time goes by, which is why books like these, although fiction, capture what really went on.

Thoroughly enjoyed this book, very atmospheric, really well written, and a total page-turner. One small gripe, after such a huge build-up, I thought the ending was slightly rushed.

HIghly recommended

Thank You to Net Galley and the Publisher for an advance copy.

I had previously read a couple of books by the same author and was looking forward to reading this one.
I was not disappointed. Although part of a series with the same main character, one of which I had read previously, this book can easily be read as a stand-alone.
Some evidence has come to light that Adolf Hitler did not sie in his Berlin Bunker but was spirited away by fanatical supporters and was now in hiding.
Tom Wilde a Cambridge professor and ex-spy is persuaded out of retirement to find out the truth and is accompanied by a dutch-born Jewish lieutenant with vengeance on his mind.
Wilde travels across occupied Germany coming across members of the American, Russian and British forces stationed there.
The book appears to have been well researched and gives good insights into the devasted state of affairs in a defeated country in which some of the population still adore Hitler.
I enjoyed this book for both the story and the historical background and can recommend it on both counts.

I love "what if" books such as those by Robert Harris and this is well up there with the best. Did Hitler survive the bunker and the end of the Second World War. Tom Wilde is sent to investigate and what a journey and mission he undertakes.

This was a wonderful atmospheric thriller of time and place with a soberingly accurate description of the suffering and deprivations pf the German people after the war and the pro-Nazi feelings that still simmered under the surface.

The pages flew by and this novel gripped me from the start.

Perhaps the best of an already excellent series.

Highly recommended.

Superb fast-paced thriller about 2 rather incompatible men tasked with finding out if Hitler really did die in the infamous bunker in Berlin, or if there had been a huge cover up and he survived the war. Great characters the main 2 being: Tom Wilde - who just wants to get back to his History teaching post at Cambridge University and settle down to family life; and Heck - a devastated and angry Jewish Dutchman who has lost his entire family to the Nazi regime. The plot takes us through Cambridge, Berlin, Alpine villages, 'lost' Nazi groups and secret counter-plots marring the detention and trial of leading Nazis. Fascinating, exciting and highly recommended

When an American History Professor from Cambridge is asked to work for the the Allied forces soon after the Second World War had ended it has to be something special. However Professor Tom Wilde never for one moment expected it was to find Hitler didn't he kill himself in the bunker? Well it appears that maybe he didn't and there are some desperate people trying to keep this secret very secret.

Tom has settled into a cosy life when His Wife and Son and really isn't interested but we'll His wife knows him far too know he will never fit over not going so like any dutiful husband he goes. His arrival doesn't go unnoticed, probably not helped by his partner well for this mission and way Sergeant Heck who lost his family to the Nazis and he is understandably not happy and very unforgiving. His raw emotions are part of what makes this novel feel so real His violence whatever you think of it in this case seems true as opposed to the PC response often mutted but unreal. Tom seems more British stiff upperlipped response goes against the gun ho response we get from a Hollywood blockbuster so not a part for Arnie or Bruce Willis.

I enjoyed the suspense the reality of the characters the kid with the camera as opposed to the kids with the guns but they turn this into a horror or Thriller that will let Hollywood have some real fun and could warrant a series of the own we'll could of but you will see it would take some licence with realism but they do that so we'll. But back to our novel was it worth 5 stars I think so I hope you do the tension is well worked on the possibilities are plausible are possible and the escaping from our reality is real. So all in all I enjoyed this and really hope you do as well.

I enjoy books discussing 'what if ' ideas in history - a sliding doors idea. This book is looking at the possibility that Hitler survived WW2 and was being hidden and cared for by Nazi party members.
Two professionals are recruited into the search, one a fervent anti Nazi soldier and one American, very doubtful about the probability of Hitler being alive.
The book describes an action packed search which encounters many problems along the way, mainly the many people in immediately post war Germany who are still supportive of the Nazis.
The book is a action story, illustrating the damage done to cities, the countryside and the people in post war Germany.
Recommended