Stuart Neville - Ratlines
If you like intrigue, double-crosses, secret agents, and a protagonist that is rock solid to his core beliefs, this is a very satisfying read.
Lieutenant Albert Ryan left Ireland to fight with the British against the Nazi’s in WWII. Upon his release he soon discovered he had no civilian qualifications and was recruited by military intelligence.
It’s 1963 and as his country anticipates the arrival of American President John F. Kennedy, Ryan finds himself tracking down a killer of German nationalists and being ordered to ally with a Colonel Otto Skorzeny, ‘Hitler’s favorite commando’. Caught in a maelstrom of lies and deceit, Ryan finds there is only one person he can rely on, himself, but will that prove to be enough?
Stuart Neville introduces a sometimes naïve, but not innocent individual in his latest stand-alone novel. Set against a backdrop of espionage and distrust, misplaced loyalties, he drops the reader into a world of political chess and greed, then deftly leads us through a minefield and turns the lights out.
Having read Ghosts of Belfast recently, I was expecting this book to shoot out of the starting blocks, and instead found the pacing much slower than I had anticipated in the beginning. There is a lot of history involved in Ratlines and Stuart’s meticulous research shines through by not losing the reader, rather enlightening those of us who aren’t as familiar with the political landscape of the time. Upon reading about celebrations thrown after Kennedy’s assassination, it struck home just how well of a job he’d done when it played perfectly well with Skorzeny’s character.
Another solid read that I will be highly recommending.
Lieutenant Albert Ryan left Ireland to fight with the British against the Nazi’s in WWII. Upon his release he soon discovered he had no civilian qualifications and was recruited by military intelligence.
It’s 1963 and as his country anticipates the arrival of American President John F. Kennedy, Ryan finds himself tracking down a killer of German nationalists and being ordered to ally with a Colonel Otto Skorzeny, ‘Hitler’s favorite commando’. Caught in a maelstrom of lies and deceit, Ryan finds there is only one person he can rely on, himself, but will that prove to be enough?
Stuart Neville introduces a sometimes naïve, but not innocent individual in his latest stand-alone novel. Set against a backdrop of espionage and distrust, misplaced loyalties, he drops the reader into a world of political chess and greed, then deftly leads us through a minefield and turns the lights out.
Having read Ghosts of Belfast recently, I was expecting this book to shoot out of the starting blocks, and instead found the pacing much slower than I had anticipated in the beginning. There is a lot of history involved in Ratlines and Stuart’s meticulous research shines through by not losing the reader, rather enlightening those of us who aren’t as familiar with the political landscape of the time. Upon reading about celebrations thrown after Kennedy’s assassination, it struck home just how well of a job he’d done when it played perfectly well with Skorzeny’s character.
Another solid read that I will be highly recommending.