The English Führer

Another winner from Rory Clements.

The Professor Tom Wilde books are so well-researched and written, they are an absolute pleasure to read.

The war is over and Tom is back at Cambridge teaching and enjoying some peace and family time. Lydia has decided she would like to train to be a doctor so leaves her family in the capable hands of a housekeeper but is all as it seems.....

At the same time Tom is called back to the Intelligence Service a village nearby (also next to an American Air Base) has been sealed off due to illness.

Brilliant read, highly recommended

Well what a read this is, gripping, twisting, full of surprises and well I hope you read for yourself and see what the great bits I've not mentioned are.

A Cambridge Prof from American is now settled with a great wife and son in post war England, also known as part of the UK. He's ex intelligence officer from the war (WW2) but now he lectures on the 1st Elizabethan era until one of his wife's friend get ill and all contact is lost. Turns out some people appear to have not given up on their cause and aim to complete what others failed. You have to read it sorry no spoilers here apart from this is a great read. A village near an American Air base is sealed of after a number of folk get ill with something a lot more sinister than flu, or covid as we'd put it in this in our present age. When our hero's try to find out what's going on life gets interesting. A postwar spy thriller no less.

The characters are really fun or really evil you just won't know who is who untill you do. And I love the way this is done. There was no PC brigade as such back in those days so the characters get a bit of liberty but I find no offence just mean that times were hard for much more genuine reason as in post war Britain. Things were similar is probably a much better way to put it, no Internet the enemies were more European or so it was thought, but hidden agendas just as poisonous as now making for some more adventurous plot lines. The enemy within etc. What I'm saying is this is a great Novel Thriller you will not want to miss it in my opinion that is. A no brainer 5 star in my view. But what do I know read it yourself then you will know. 😉

Rory Clements has done it again.

His latest novel in the Tom Wilde series is another excellent and gripping read that I highly recommend.

He is hoping to return to academia and a quiet married life, but events and people from his past interrupt this. Some characters are real, some based on real people and others are Clements own creations, but all are rounded and believable. The plot - involving biological weapons, and right-wing groups - is only too credible, and keeps our attention with twists and unexpected turns right to the final page.

With many thanks to NetGalley and Zaffre for an ARC

Another wild adventure with academic Tom Wilde.

It's Autumn 1945, the war is over and former spy, Professor Tom Wilde, has finally been permitted to return to teaching in Cambridge and enjoy family life. Well, that is, until his wife is unable to visit a sick friend in a neighbouring village. Wilde cannot resist the mystery and ventures out on his trusty motorcycle to investigate. When he learns that the village has been locked down by the military amidst rumours of a virus outbreak, he knows something is up in Blighty.

With that we launch into another fast-moving thriller involving Japanese submarines, Nazi agents and the notorious Japanese biological warfare research laboratory. Unit 731. Of course, Tom is soon back in the saddle, working with MI5 boss Lord Templeman, and his colleagues in MI6, the defunct SOE and others.

There's lots going on elsewhere too, with Tom's wife finally being accepted into medical school, albeit in London, causing some marital disharmony. Tom and she are also revealed to be on a Nazi Black Book kill list, one being completed by diehard Nazi agents. There's also some nice commentary on President Truman's decision to shut down US intelligence services following the end of WW2. Add in a mysterious housekeeper and an over-zealous college undergraduate and we've got all the ingredients of a first-class thriller.

More than ever, Clements is channelling his inner Ken Follet / Jack Higgins here, to superb effect. The story moves along at a brisk pace, unfolding nicely, with enough action and thrills to satisfy fans of the genre. Personally, I found the previous book, "The Man in the Bunker" slightly plodding, but this is a return to form.

Clements has scored again, and this latest book will appeal to long-time fans as well as those of Luke McCallin and David Downing. I was glad to receive a NetGalley review e-book but will be rushing out to grab a proper copy when it's published. Thoroughly recommended.