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Tom Wilde #7
The English Führer
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?
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?
440 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 19, 2023
About the author
Rory Clements
40 books410 followersRory Clements has had a long and successful newspaper career, including being features editor and associate editor of Today, editor of the Daily Mail's Good Health Pages, and editor of the health section at the Evening Standard. He now writes full-time in an idyllic corner of Norfolk, England.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 133 reviews
January 23, 2023
8/10
I was unsure where the series could go with the end of the war but what a fool I am as the last couple of novels in the series have been very enjoyable and that nasty old Hitler fella is well out of it.
Tom Wilde has been able to put that spying business behind him and return to his Cambridge professor gig, but as always there is a spanner to be thrown into the mix. The Japanese have only gone and brought some biochemical agent over to the UK to cause some harm, those swines. Not only that, Tom's wife wants to get a job as a Doctor of all things making her head off to study away from Tom and get into her own escapades. The skill in this series is the ability to bring alive the world around the characters without ever bogging down the action or intrigue leading to a interesting read.
A combination of fast paced writing with intriguing plot lines, characters and a war torn European backdrop led to a very enjoyable thriller and I hope for more in this series.
I was unsure where the series could go with the end of the war but what a fool I am as the last couple of novels in the series have been very enjoyable and that nasty old Hitler fella is well out of it.
Tom Wilde has been able to put that spying business behind him and return to his Cambridge professor gig, but as always there is a spanner to be thrown into the mix. The Japanese have only gone and brought some biochemical agent over to the UK to cause some harm, those swines. Not only that, Tom's wife wants to get a job as a Doctor of all things making her head off to study away from Tom and get into her own escapades. The skill in this series is the ability to bring alive the world around the characters without ever bogging down the action or intrigue leading to a interesting read.
A combination of fast paced writing with intriguing plot lines, characters and a war torn European backdrop led to a very enjoyable thriller and I hope for more in this series.
January 14, 2023
From the moment I read Corpus back in 2017, I knew I was going to love the Tom Wilde series and to my mind it just keeps getting better and better.
The conclusion of the previous book, The Man in the Bunker, saw Wilde involved in the defection of a Soviet intelligence officer and he harbours lingering doubts about the whole affair. Something just doesn’t seem quite right about it. He even begins to doubt those he has previously trusted.
The plot is way too involved to describe without giving spoilers but it includes biological warfare, far right extremism and the impact of the changes in the world order following the end of the Second World War. Your enemy’s enemy may not always remain your friend. We get a picture of a Britain struggling to reconstruct itself, not just physically – ‘The rubble was still there, the bombed houses had not been rebuilt and water mains went unfixed’ – but politically and psychologically. ‘The rage on all sides of those whose loved ones were killed by bombs, bullet, fire, water and gas didn’t just vanish like smoke because peace treaties were signed.’
As Rory Clements observes in his afterword to the book, ‘It is a world exhausted by war, desperate for peace – and extremely vulnerable because few have any appetite for further conflict’. This is the foundation upon which the author builds the compelling story at the heart of the book. It involves some extremely nasty goings-on, sadly based on fact.
I was particularly pleased to see Tom’s wife, Lydia, playing a prominent part in the story. She’s a woman trying to balance the responsibilities of motherhood with her ambition to become a doctor as well as battling to overcome the obstacles still in place for women wishing to pursue a career, in particular married women.
Wilde’s investigations involve him in breathless escapes across country in order to escape the agents of a foreign power as well as finding himself accused of murder. The adjective that immediately sprang to mind was ‘Buchanesque’. (Regular followers of my blog will know I’m a fan of the works of John Buchan.) So I was thrilled when, at one point in the book, the hapless Detective Inspector Shirley, rebukes Wilde, ‘This is a murder enquiry, not The Thirty-Nine Steps’.
The author keeps the action coming and the tension high until the very last page. If you’re a fan of historical thrillers that combine espionage with adventure then they don’t come better than this.
The conclusion of the previous book, The Man in the Bunker, saw Wilde involved in the defection of a Soviet intelligence officer and he harbours lingering doubts about the whole affair. Something just doesn’t seem quite right about it. He even begins to doubt those he has previously trusted.
The plot is way too involved to describe without giving spoilers but it includes biological warfare, far right extremism and the impact of the changes in the world order following the end of the Second World War. Your enemy’s enemy may not always remain your friend. We get a picture of a Britain struggling to reconstruct itself, not just physically – ‘The rubble was still there, the bombed houses had not been rebuilt and water mains went unfixed’ – but politically and psychologically. ‘The rage on all sides of those whose loved ones were killed by bombs, bullet, fire, water and gas didn’t just vanish like smoke because peace treaties were signed.’
As Rory Clements observes in his afterword to the book, ‘It is a world exhausted by war, desperate for peace – and extremely vulnerable because few have any appetite for further conflict’. This is the foundation upon which the author builds the compelling story at the heart of the book. It involves some extremely nasty goings-on, sadly based on fact.
I was particularly pleased to see Tom’s wife, Lydia, playing a prominent part in the story. She’s a woman trying to balance the responsibilities of motherhood with her ambition to become a doctor as well as battling to overcome the obstacles still in place for women wishing to pursue a career, in particular married women.
Wilde’s investigations involve him in breathless escapes across country in order to escape the agents of a foreign power as well as finding himself accused of murder. The adjective that immediately sprang to mind was ‘Buchanesque’. (Regular followers of my blog will know I’m a fan of the works of John Buchan.) So I was thrilled when, at one point in the book, the hapless Detective Inspector Shirley, rebukes Wilde, ‘This is a murder enquiry, not The Thirty-Nine Steps’.
The author keeps the action coming and the tension high until the very last page. If you’re a fan of historical thrillers that combine espionage with adventure then they don’t come better than this.
February 12, 2023
I love this series. The English Fuhrer is a little different. War is over and former spy Tom Wilde is back to his day job as a Professor of English History at Cambridge while his wife Lydia is following her dream of studying to become a doctor. But, for some, the war is not over and they have brought it to English shores. It's an excellent story, full of familiar characters as well as new ones. The historical references are fascinating and clever as always. My only issue is that the previous novels are so outstandingly good that this one suffers a little by comparison, possibly because the action is all set in England whereas in the past there were trips to Nazi Germany and the sense of danger was that bit more intense. Nevertheless, this is a fine addition to one of the best series out there. Review to follow shortly on For Winter Nights.
February 17, 2023
I love this series featuring American Cambridge History Professor Tom Wilde, and always look forward to the latest book.
Set in England in 1946 something strange happens in a small village ending in quarantine for all the residents, including a close friend of Lydia, Tom’s wife. Tom tries to find out what’s going on, but gets locked up by the US military who are still in England following the end of the war.
Of course Tom ends up working for the security services again, even though he’s supposed to be back at his Cambridge college teaching History. MI5 want him to look into various suspicious situations and individuals, including fascist groups in Cambridge. Meanwhile Lydia goes down to London in the hope that she can begin her journey into becoming a doctor, and so they need to find a housekeeper/babysitter to keep an eye on Johnny their young son.
This was another fab book in this fantastic series, with more of a storyline for Lydia, which I’m always happy about. It was more action packed than the previous book and felt more like the earlier ones in the series, full of twists, turns and lots of untrustworthy characters. As always with this series I learnt quite a bit about what happened to various people of interest to the Allies after WW2. I was horrified at what I found out and wish I hadn’t looked for further information. 😱
Highly recommended if you enjoy spy thrillers set in post war Britain.
Thanks so much to Bonnier Books UK and NetGalley for my digital copy via the NetGalley app.
Set in England in 1946 something strange happens in a small village ending in quarantine for all the residents, including a close friend of Lydia, Tom’s wife. Tom tries to find out what’s going on, but gets locked up by the US military who are still in England following the end of the war.
Of course Tom ends up working for the security services again, even though he’s supposed to be back at his Cambridge college teaching History. MI5 want him to look into various suspicious situations and individuals, including fascist groups in Cambridge. Meanwhile Lydia goes down to London in the hope that she can begin her journey into becoming a doctor, and so they need to find a housekeeper/babysitter to keep an eye on Johnny their young son.
This was another fab book in this fantastic series, with more of a storyline for Lydia, which I’m always happy about. It was more action packed than the previous book and felt more like the earlier ones in the series, full of twists, turns and lots of untrustworthy characters. As always with this series I learnt quite a bit about what happened to various people of interest to the Allies after WW2. I was horrified at what I found out and wish I hadn’t looked for further information. 😱
Highly recommended if you enjoy spy thrillers set in post war Britain.
Thanks so much to Bonnier Books UK and NetGalley for my digital copy via the NetGalley app.
January 16, 2023
My goodness, this was my first audio book by this author and I wasn't sure what to expect. At the beginning I wasn't sure but kept going and then it did get really interesting. Yes it is part of a series but it didn't really matter that I hadn't read/listened to the previous ones. However I am now invested in the characters and cant wait to see what happens next.
I was given an advance copy by netgalley and the publishers but the review is entirely my own.
I was given an advance copy by netgalley and the publishers but the review is entirely my own.
November 25, 2023
Fantastic book. Plenty of twists and turns, action and enough drama to keep you hooked. Throughly enjoyed this book. I did not realise this was the latest book in a series, looking forward to reading through the rest of the Tom Wilde series.
September 22, 2023
Brilliant
Twists and turns in every chapter,on every page! A cracking good spy novel. I really enjoyed reading this. I breezed through it.
Twists and turns in every chapter,on every page! A cracking good spy novel. I really enjoyed reading this. I breezed through it.
January 25, 2023
Tom has barely resumed with academic life before he is drawn into more intrigue. There is an outbreak of plague in a coastal village which effects one of his wife Lydia’s friends. When Tom tries to make contact, the area is in lockdown and he is arrested. Lord Templeton manages to intervene and enlists his help in investigating what is going on. He also imparts some disturbing news. The Nazi’s ‘black book’ of people to be arrested if there was a successful invasion of the British Isles was well known but there has been discovered an addendum list of people to be killed which Tom and Lydia are on. This would not be significant except that some on the list have already been murdered using phenol.
Tom’s wife Lydia is getting bored of a life of domesticity in the shadows and wants to make her mark in society, she dreams of being a doctor, a profession she would be well suited to. Few women were then accepted into the profession and there are two obstacles, she is married and a mother. Tom’s wartime deceptions appear to be rubbing off on her as she applies for a position in her maiden name. She’s accepted and their domestic life is thrown upside down as she must start immediately. Luckily, she has found a young widow with a daughter to act as housekeeper and look after Tom and her son. This comes as a big surprise to her long-term cleaner and is the cause of some friction. Is the housekeeper all she all she appears to be, or does she harbour secrets of her own?
The plot is a little outlandish but based on enough historical fact to remain plausible and is one that should please fans of conspiracy theories and what if scenarios. The ‘black book’ certainly existed, Unit 731 was real, and I suspect that we will never get the full truth on what happened to all the German and Japanese experimenters at the end of the war. Certainly, chemical, and biological weapons remain a chilling threat to this day.
Home grown fascism is central to the plot and seems to be quite vogue in current wartime thrillers. It is a subject that has been somewhat played down in the past and well deserves to be exposed the bleaching effect of sunlight. Perhaps it’s the result of the last few years with Brexit and immigration controls that are providing the inspiration for a reassessment within literature?
The storytelling style remains that of the old school thriller, pacey with full on action, plenty of jeopardy and quite a few murders but never gratuitous or graphic. As someone who loved the books of Alistair Maclean and his ilk in my youth it’s great to see the tradition continued. The reader’s attention is grabbed at the start and from then on it is thoroughly absorbing. The pacing may well be quick and the action relentless at times but there is also great characters and snapshots of life to fill out the storyline. So we see that the war has ended but rationing is still a major headache for ordinary people, consuming their day unless they can afford the black market. Tom even has to beg for petrol in order to carry his pursuit down to London.
Tom Wilde remains an unlikely hero, but the series works because he is kept believable, he’s boxed a bit but doesn’t win fist fights against ludicrous odds, he’s intelligent and analytical but even he can be taken in and confused as he is here. No superhero but typical of many who were thrust into extreme circumstances by war, somehow finding the fortitude to survive and display extraordinary bravery in the face of death.
The other main characters are well portrayed. Wife Lydia is much more to the fore in this one as her determination sees her getting a place at medical school and her exploits along with roommate Miranda add a nice diversion and another thread to face imminent danger.
The narration is perfect for the style of novel and Mr Sims demonstrates a broad range of voices and accents.
The English Führer is another wonderful action packed addition to the Tom Wilde series of intelligent wartime espionage thrillers. The war may be over but I think there’ll be a few more scrapes to come, I certainly hope so.
Audio review copy from NetGalley, thanks to them the publisher and author
Tom’s wife Lydia is getting bored of a life of domesticity in the shadows and wants to make her mark in society, she dreams of being a doctor, a profession she would be well suited to. Few women were then accepted into the profession and there are two obstacles, she is married and a mother. Tom’s wartime deceptions appear to be rubbing off on her as she applies for a position in her maiden name. She’s accepted and their domestic life is thrown upside down as she must start immediately. Luckily, she has found a young widow with a daughter to act as housekeeper and look after Tom and her son. This comes as a big surprise to her long-term cleaner and is the cause of some friction. Is the housekeeper all she all she appears to be, or does she harbour secrets of her own?
The plot is a little outlandish but based on enough historical fact to remain plausible and is one that should please fans of conspiracy theories and what if scenarios. The ‘black book’ certainly existed, Unit 731 was real, and I suspect that we will never get the full truth on what happened to all the German and Japanese experimenters at the end of the war. Certainly, chemical, and biological weapons remain a chilling threat to this day.
Home grown fascism is central to the plot and seems to be quite vogue in current wartime thrillers. It is a subject that has been somewhat played down in the past and well deserves to be exposed the bleaching effect of sunlight. Perhaps it’s the result of the last few years with Brexit and immigration controls that are providing the inspiration for a reassessment within literature?
The storytelling style remains that of the old school thriller, pacey with full on action, plenty of jeopardy and quite a few murders but never gratuitous or graphic. As someone who loved the books of Alistair Maclean and his ilk in my youth it’s great to see the tradition continued. The reader’s attention is grabbed at the start and from then on it is thoroughly absorbing. The pacing may well be quick and the action relentless at times but there is also great characters and snapshots of life to fill out the storyline. So we see that the war has ended but rationing is still a major headache for ordinary people, consuming their day unless they can afford the black market. Tom even has to beg for petrol in order to carry his pursuit down to London.
Tom Wilde remains an unlikely hero, but the series works because he is kept believable, he’s boxed a bit but doesn’t win fist fights against ludicrous odds, he’s intelligent and analytical but even he can be taken in and confused as he is here. No superhero but typical of many who were thrust into extreme circumstances by war, somehow finding the fortitude to survive and display extraordinary bravery in the face of death.
The other main characters are well portrayed. Wife Lydia is much more to the fore in this one as her determination sees her getting a place at medical school and her exploits along with roommate Miranda add a nice diversion and another thread to face imminent danger.
The narration is perfect for the style of novel and Mr Sims demonstrates a broad range of voices and accents.
The English Führer is another wonderful action packed addition to the Tom Wilde series of intelligent wartime espionage thrillers. The war may be over but I think there’ll be a few more scrapes to come, I certainly hope so.
Audio review copy from NetGalley, thanks to them the publisher and author
February 16, 2023
DNF. Didn't like how the writing style, found the plot unbelievable and the characters flat. Sorry, not for me.
January 7, 2023
My thanks to Bonnier Books U.K. Zaffre for an eARC and to Bonnier U.K. Audio for a review copy of the unabridged audiobook edition, both via NetGalley, of ‘The English Führer’ by Rory Clements. The audiobook is narrated by Adam Sims.
This is the seventh in Clements series of historical espionage thrillers set in 1940s Europe featuring Cambridge history professor turned spy, Tom Wilde. As always, Clements provides background for readers new to the series, so that it can be read as a standalone.
Early October 1945. Off the east coast of England, a Japanese submarine surfaces close to a deserted beach. Its mysterious cargo is unloaded and then afterwards it is blown up by its crew and all disappear into the depths of the North Sea. Quite a dramatic opening!
In Cambridge former spy Professor Tom Wilde is settling back into teaching and family life. Then he receives a call from senior MI5 boss Lord Templeman, who advises that a nearby village has been locked down by the military as its residents have been blighted by a deadly illness. There are rumours of German involvement with links to Unit 731, a notorious Japanese biological warfare research laboratory. What might they be plotting on British soil?
In addition, Templeton advises Tom that a Gestapo kill list of 250 names has recently come to light, containing not only his own name but that of Tom and his wife, Lydia. One person on the list has already been murdered and another is missing. These crises bring Tom out of retirement in order to assist in tracking down those responsible and to ensure that his family as well as his country remains safe. Meanwhile, Lydia Wilde seeks to realise her dream of becoming a doctor despite the obstacles placed by society. No further details to avoid spoilers.
Rory Clements again demonstrates great skill in integrating historical events and figures into his narrative. While in ‘The English Führer’ the war is officially over it is clear that there are still those in British society who remain sympathetic to the fascist cause.
The pacing is a bit more measured here than in those books in the series when Tom was in a wartime setting. Yet conversations in drawing room soirées, country houses, pubs and the like bring their own dynamics as well as more subtle dangers.
I felt that Clements did well in portraying postwar Britain including the collective sense of loss and the need to rebuild a shattered economy. Such details of everyday life enrich the narrative beyond the drama of its main plot.
With respect to the audiobook edition, actor Adam Sims has been the narrator for all of the books to date in the Tom Wilde series as well as many other titles across a variety of genres. He has a pleasant husky voice that held my attention throughout and brought life to the novel’s various characters.
Overall, I enjoyed ‘The English Führer’ very much and am so pleased that Rory Clements has continued with this series as the postwar years and the beginnings of the Cold War is such a rich period of history as a setting for spy fiction.
This is the seventh in Clements series of historical espionage thrillers set in 1940s Europe featuring Cambridge history professor turned spy, Tom Wilde. As always, Clements provides background for readers new to the series, so that it can be read as a standalone.
Early October 1945. Off the east coast of England, a Japanese submarine surfaces close to a deserted beach. Its mysterious cargo is unloaded and then afterwards it is blown up by its crew and all disappear into the depths of the North Sea. Quite a dramatic opening!
In Cambridge former spy Professor Tom Wilde is settling back into teaching and family life. Then he receives a call from senior MI5 boss Lord Templeman, who advises that a nearby village has been locked down by the military as its residents have been blighted by a deadly illness. There are rumours of German involvement with links to Unit 731, a notorious Japanese biological warfare research laboratory. What might they be plotting on British soil?
In addition, Templeton advises Tom that a Gestapo kill list of 250 names has recently come to light, containing not only his own name but that of Tom and his wife, Lydia. One person on the list has already been murdered and another is missing. These crises bring Tom out of retirement in order to assist in tracking down those responsible and to ensure that his family as well as his country remains safe. Meanwhile, Lydia Wilde seeks to realise her dream of becoming a doctor despite the obstacles placed by society. No further details to avoid spoilers.
Rory Clements again demonstrates great skill in integrating historical events and figures into his narrative. While in ‘The English Führer’ the war is officially over it is clear that there are still those in British society who remain sympathetic to the fascist cause.
The pacing is a bit more measured here than in those books in the series when Tom was in a wartime setting. Yet conversations in drawing room soirées, country houses, pubs and the like bring their own dynamics as well as more subtle dangers.
I felt that Clements did well in portraying postwar Britain including the collective sense of loss and the need to rebuild a shattered economy. Such details of everyday life enrich the narrative beyond the drama of its main plot.
With respect to the audiobook edition, actor Adam Sims has been the narrator for all of the books to date in the Tom Wilde series as well as many other titles across a variety of genres. He has a pleasant husky voice that held my attention throughout and brought life to the novel’s various characters.
Overall, I enjoyed ‘The English Führer’ very much and am so pleased that Rory Clements has continued with this series as the postwar years and the beginnings of the Cold War is such a rich period of history as a setting for spy fiction.
November 15, 2022
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.
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.
April 21, 2023
To sum it up, this was an action packed historical thriller that the historical fiction and thriller lover in me thoroughly enjoyed.
My second book featuring Tom Wilde, this one is set in post war 1945 England with Wilde resuming his academic role as a college professor and trying to manage his work and family life with his wife Lydia going back to medical school. Tom's hiatus from the political and intelligence scene doesn't last long as he is called on to assist with investigating a mysterious plague in a nearby village, with the cause suspected to be a biological pathogen that was used during the war. Stunned at the implication that the fighting may not be over and the threat from the Germans, Japanese and even worse, British fascism supporters, may still be looking over the country, Tom gets into action.
As there is politics and secret intelligence involved, it's a very action packed book with a lot of perspectives laid out in parallel. I like Tom Wilde as the main character. He's smart and empathetic and a great narrator. There are plenty of real life people peppered throughout and lots of ideologies explained too which makes the story more interesting.
For a tale with so many complicated threads it comes together very well and I actually appreciated the complex nature more because of this. A very well researched and engrossing book.
My second book featuring Tom Wilde, this one is set in post war 1945 England with Wilde resuming his academic role as a college professor and trying to manage his work and family life with his wife Lydia going back to medical school. Tom's hiatus from the political and intelligence scene doesn't last long as he is called on to assist with investigating a mysterious plague in a nearby village, with the cause suspected to be a biological pathogen that was used during the war. Stunned at the implication that the fighting may not be over and the threat from the Germans, Japanese and even worse, British fascism supporters, may still be looking over the country, Tom gets into action.
As there is politics and secret intelligence involved, it's a very action packed book with a lot of perspectives laid out in parallel. I like Tom Wilde as the main character. He's smart and empathetic and a great narrator. There are plenty of real life people peppered throughout and lots of ideologies explained too which makes the story more interesting.
For a tale with so many complicated threads it comes together very well and I actually appreciated the complex nature more because of this. A very well researched and engrossing book.
July 22, 2023
Probably my favourite of Rory Clements’ Tom Wilde series. Clements blends history and fiction in a really fascinating way. This time set 6 months or so after the end of the Second World War.
The pacing of this book is slightly different. There are no action packed races across Europe, it’s set closer to home and that adds to the feeling of claustrophobia as Clements skilfully plays with your view of who you can and can’t trust.
It’s a great post war spy thriller, drawing from some very modern themes - pandemics and the rise of the far right. With Clements starting a new series I worry that we may have reached the end of the Wilde books - but I hope there’s more!
The pacing of this book is slightly different. There are no action packed races across Europe, it’s set closer to home and that adds to the feeling of claustrophobia as Clements skilfully plays with your view of who you can and can’t trust.
It’s a great post war spy thriller, drawing from some very modern themes - pandemics and the rise of the far right. With Clements starting a new series I worry that we may have reached the end of the Wilde books - but I hope there’s more!
March 12, 2023
Enjoyed this immensely. I don’t usually read spy/detective novels but the title appealed and sparked my curiosity. Set in post war England, it is a story describing what could have been ‘ what the fascists did next’, only it isn’t all that. I won’t say more for spoiling if you should read it. The author creates a real sense of place and time, sticks with the language and sensibilities of the time and created pictures of Cambridge and Norfolk of the past. Yes, great book, lots of twists and turns.
February 5, 2023
Professor Tom Wilde is back in the thick of things trying to foil a Nazi plot to destabilise Britain.
What makes these thrillers so good is their plausibility and basis on historical events.
Rory Clements is a gifted plotter and the action is never to OTT. Plenty of political intrigue, espionage and most of all, an excellent and enjoyable page turner.
What makes these thrillers so good is their plausibility and basis on historical events.
Rory Clements is a gifted plotter and the action is never to OTT. Plenty of political intrigue, espionage and most of all, an excellent and enjoyable page turner.
August 9, 2023
Excellent story line! Thoroughly enjoyed from start to finish!
November 20, 2023
The setting is in the Autumn of 1945 just off the east coast of England. A Japanese sub has surfaced. Unbeknownst to the local town villagers, the sub unloads a mysterious cargo.
Professor Tom Wilde is the main protagonist. During the war he was employed as a spy for MI5.
Because of this mysterious cargo, the British government decides to lock down the village. No one is allowed to leave or enter without a government pass. It is as if World War Two is still raging; but hostilities ceased months ago.
Tom Wilde as been assigned to investigate the sudden illnesses of the towns folk to determine if the mysterious cargo is the cause.
Mr. Clements' book is based on some historical facts unknown at the time.
Professor Tom Wilde is the main protagonist. During the war he was employed as a spy for MI5.
Because of this mysterious cargo, the British government decides to lock down the village. No one is allowed to leave or enter without a government pass. It is as if World War Two is still raging; but hostilities ceased months ago.
Tom Wilde as been assigned to investigate the sudden illnesses of the towns folk to determine if the mysterious cargo is the cause.
Mr. Clements' book is based on some historical facts unknown at the time.
February 1, 2024
Frankly preposterous Wilde addition bringing germ warfare to post War England, strange assassins, stupidly high body count and a Professor with a licence to kill. Series is losing its way I fear.
March 10, 2024
8.5/10
March 16, 2024
DNF @ 42%. Writing is so boring
April 27, 2023
An incredible book - one of the best I've read in years. I was at first concerned when I realised, after having been granted this book, that it was the 7th in a series, but this fact made no difference. It reads beautifully as a standalone, though now I've purchased the entire rest of the series and hope to make short work of it, because once you start you don't feel like you can put it down.
Professor Tom Wilde wants to return to a normal life. To his professorship at Cambridge, to his wife and child, to the book he wants to write. But somehow it seems the world isn't quite ready for him to retire to normality, and he is thrown into a plot that could change the course of England's future, and the world's as well.
Clements does an incredible job with setting the scene of post-war England, torn apart by the events of the previous six years, trying to rebuild itself and its people. The description of the destruction across the cities, and the feeling that those living through it must have sensed was incredibly relatable, and you really felt as though you fully understood the struggles and difficulties the characters would have been going through, from the rationing still in effect, to the difficulty of returning to normal life both mentally and physically. The destruction across also came through really well.
Clements characters are also incredibly well crafter, and you never know what to fully expect, or who you can trust to be good.I constantly felt on edge of which characters I should like and who I should not, and when the plot twisted and turned, I was frequently surprised with the outcomes, rarely expecting what was going to happen.
Though in the past I haven't read many spy novels, this book has certainly set an incredibly high bar for what I would expect and want from the in the future going forward. Clements ability to cause the reader to feel the same tension that Wilde must be feeling is fantastic, you're constantly on the edge of your seat, not wanting to put the book down just so you can see what is going to happen next.
I would highly recommend this book to anyone, especially those who like spy novels, but also to anyone with an interest in history and especially the second world war, and second world war social history. I cannot wait to go back and read the rest of the series.
Thank you so much to NetGalley and Bonnier Books UK for gifting me this ARC and the chance to fall in love with these characters and this series.
Professor Tom Wilde wants to return to a normal life. To his professorship at Cambridge, to his wife and child, to the book he wants to write. But somehow it seems the world isn't quite ready for him to retire to normality, and he is thrown into a plot that could change the course of England's future, and the world's as well.
Clements does an incredible job with setting the scene of post-war England, torn apart by the events of the previous six years, trying to rebuild itself and its people. The description of the destruction across the cities, and the feeling that those living through it must have sensed was incredibly relatable, and you really felt as though you fully understood the struggles and difficulties the characters would have been going through, from the rationing still in effect, to the difficulty of returning to normal life both mentally and physically. The destruction across also came through really well.
Clements characters are also incredibly well crafter, and you never know what to fully expect, or who you can trust to be good.I constantly felt on edge of which characters I should like and who I should not, and when the plot twisted and turned, I was frequently surprised with the outcomes, rarely expecting what was going to happen.
Though in the past I haven't read many spy novels, this book has certainly set an incredibly high bar for what I would expect and want from the in the future going forward. Clements ability to cause the reader to feel the same tension that Wilde must be feeling is fantastic, you're constantly on the edge of your seat, not wanting to put the book down just so you can see what is going to happen next.
I would highly recommend this book to anyone, especially those who like spy novels, but also to anyone with an interest in history and especially the second world war, and second world war social history. I cannot wait to go back and read the rest of the series.
Thank you so much to NetGalley and Bonnier Books UK for gifting me this ARC and the chance to fall in love with these characters and this series.
November 20, 2022
I have avidly followed the adventures of Professor Tom Wilde, Cambridge Don and spy extraordinaire but now that World War 2 is over he has settled back into life as a Cambridge lecturer. His wife Lydia has decided to retrain as a Doctor in London and employs a housekeeper to take care of Tom and young Johnny in Cambridge whilst she is in London studying. It becomes apparent that the housekeeper definitely has something to hide but the reader does not know what- has Lydia invited a viper into their home?
There is also a strange illness in a local village and a friend of Lydia is struck down. Tom starts to look into this and finds that some very peculiar things are happening.
Trouble seems to follow Tom around and he is then asked by an old colleague in intelligence to investigate, an acquaintance called Catesby who seems to be involved in a fascist plot and definitely has something to hide. Tom attends a shooting weekend at his mansion and discovers that Catesby is up to his neck in something unsavoury and mixing with some very nasty people. Can the disease and Catesby’s actions be connected?
When Tom subsequently finds out that both his and Lydia’s names are in a black book, earmarked for assassination by the Nazis when they regain power and that some others listed are already dead, he has to speed up his enquiries.
Meanwhile his new housekeeper seems to have secrets of her own and is behaving in a suspicious way.
I really enjoyed the fast paced plot in this book which is set in the year immediately after the end of hostilities. Everyone is hoping to live peacefully but there are still threats in the form of right wing elements including Oswald Moseley and his followers.
I felt sorry for Tom having to cope alone whilst Lydia is away and I wondered if she would come to regret her decision to live apart from her husband and child, rather a selfish decision in my view.
The story has been well researched and is full of many characters, some who actually existed and some who have been invented. These are so well interwoven into the plot that it is difficult to work out who is actually a real historical figure!
As always with all this author’s books, I raced through it, most of the time sitting on the edge of my seat. Definitely an enjoyable and exciting read which I thoroughly enjoyed. Recommended!
Thanks to NetGalley and Bonnier Books Uk for my arc.
There is also a strange illness in a local village and a friend of Lydia is struck down. Tom starts to look into this and finds that some very peculiar things are happening.
Trouble seems to follow Tom around and he is then asked by an old colleague in intelligence to investigate, an acquaintance called Catesby who seems to be involved in a fascist plot and definitely has something to hide. Tom attends a shooting weekend at his mansion and discovers that Catesby is up to his neck in something unsavoury and mixing with some very nasty people. Can the disease and Catesby’s actions be connected?
When Tom subsequently finds out that both his and Lydia’s names are in a black book, earmarked for assassination by the Nazis when they regain power and that some others listed are already dead, he has to speed up his enquiries.
Meanwhile his new housekeeper seems to have secrets of her own and is behaving in a suspicious way.
I really enjoyed the fast paced plot in this book which is set in the year immediately after the end of hostilities. Everyone is hoping to live peacefully but there are still threats in the form of right wing elements including Oswald Moseley and his followers.
I felt sorry for Tom having to cope alone whilst Lydia is away and I wondered if she would come to regret her decision to live apart from her husband and child, rather a selfish decision in my view.
The story has been well researched and is full of many characters, some who actually existed and some who have been invented. These are so well interwoven into the plot that it is difficult to work out who is actually a real historical figure!
As always with all this author’s books, I raced through it, most of the time sitting on the edge of my seat. Definitely an enjoyable and exciting read which I thoroughly enjoyed. Recommended!
Thanks to NetGalley and Bonnier Books Uk for my arc.
April 25, 2023
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
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
October 6, 2023
“The English Fuhrer” by Rory Clements. Read by Adam Sims. I had the audiobook copy was 12 hours and ebook copy has 654 pages so that I could read side by side. I’ve never read this authors book and it was BRILLIANT. I look forward to reading the other books in the Tom Wilde Series.
Set in England, UK, between Cambridge and Norfolk in 1945. Rumours of a Nazi machine is still functioning, people are dying, due to a Japanese biological warfare research lab. Plotting on British land.. #fiction
Chapter 1 - Autumn 1945 - In Norfolk, Liz Lightfoot and Tony Hood are lovers, but are both married to other people. Tony’s wife Sandra. Liz’s husband Lucas. They’re all friends. Then along came Hitler, lucas quit the railways and joined royal norfolks, Tony unable to enlist as he has a farm and his dad had a stroke. So where across the dark waters out where the sea is, a submarine monstrous rises above the surface. Tony and Liz were making out then have to run for their lives. Someone sees them..
Chapter 2 - a Japanese submarine blows up and everyone in it, including a man called captain Takashi Ohata.
Tom Wilde is a professor (was a spy), in Cambridge. Rupert Weir is his old friend, he’s a police surgeon and wants to talk to Tom about his case.
Page 27
“Well, it’s undoubtedly a murder. A body found in a ditch halfway to Ely. An unidentified man in his mid-thirties. Labourer or farmland from the callouses on his hands and the muscles on his arms, but beyond that we have no idea who he is.”
“How did he die?”
“..That’s what make it interesting. His heart had been badly damaged by a powerful corrosive substance. I sent samples to the Met’s toxicology boys and I’ve just got the results back. One of the people at Guy’s suggested the victim might have been injected with phenol and so they tested that. A simple ferric chloride colour test gave conclusive result.”
“Phenol. One gram - a tiny fraction of an ounce - into the bloodstream hits the central nervous system, causing cramping, spasms and sudden collapse. There wasn’t even evidence of a struggle.. No sign of a syringe.”
Weir thinks the man was dumped there after being killed elsewhere.
Wilde - never heard of it ‘phenol’ being used as a murder weapon.,
Lydia Wilde under her under maiden band trains to be a doctor. Lydia’s friend Mary Hinchley who lives in Flowthorpe, catches the disease that came from the sum explosion, the Bacteria is affecting everyone in her village.usually can’t get through to her friend as the village gets quarantined so asks her husband to go and look. Tom gets captured but then released, because of his career history is sworn to secrecy. Tom of course tells his wife.
Ch 9/ Plague catesby page 128
Tom and Lydia are both in the black book. Their lives are in danger.
Ch 10.
Page 141 of 654
He guessed instantly what he was seeing and wondered how it could have been missed…
“You’d better come to see this lieutenant colonel. I really don’t think it’s wise for me to touch it.”
“What is it?”
“Some sort of broken canister. There is writing on part of it which, to my untrained eye looks very like Japanese characters.”
Chapter 12. Pages 163
Word Phenol - heard the word twice - connection. It was used to kills the crippled and blind authorised by doctors.
Miranda training to be a doctor with Lydia Wilde she’s using her maiden name Lydia Morris.
Liz lightfoot is alive. Page 189. Lucas returned from war threatened violent and alcoholic. He told her he slept with other women. Lucas has nightmares at night time. Tony is besotted with his baby boy. Tony does love Liz. Luke “Lucas” twice her size, grabbed her by the neck and threw her across the room and kicked her, punched her. Liz would rather die than die like this.
Tom nearly died, motorbike accident and three men tried to kill him. He found a beaten up Liz and reunited her with her uncle.
“How has the three men known that he (Tom Wilde) Eason the coast of Norfolk?”
Page 359 Lucas murders Tony in front of Liz and Sandra, when Tony stands up to him, reveals that they’re in love and he’s leaving wife and Liz is leaving Lucas.
Sir Neville Catesby aka the English fuhrer.
(Shirin was his mistress before she married Danny Oswick) - there was a murder on his property. Tom Wilde investigated it.
Caresby was offended by Wilde.
Young Danny Oswick and his wife Shirin.
Lydia and Miranda fought for their lives when an assassin comes to murder Lydia at her hostel, pretending to be her “husband”. He gets away leaving the syringe. Lydia’s disguise is blown.
Danny was helping the wrong side but now wants to redeem himself and help Tom. Shirin is accidentally shot by Tom, as a car came at him and Danny saved both of their lives. She’s taken to the hospital but she disappears into the night to be with her lover.
Meanwhile, Liz tells Tom and Danny what she saw in the dunes. The huge vessel appearing in the sea. She can now as Tone is dead and Lucas is in prison for murder.
Dagger Templeman has been murdered. :( A good friend of Tom’s.
Page 488:
Catesby: “…had become to understand through Darwin, that this was the essence of life. Until.. Until in a blinding moment if his inspiration he realised that the struggle for survival was false. It was the struggle to dominate that was at the very core of existence. All life, however, primitive, understood that or fell by the wayside. If you only sought survival , you would be a slave, subjugated to the will of the powerful. To achieve power, you had to be ruthless as the tiger.”
Page 492 - Dr Sigmund Rascher aka Edmund Bacon:
VPs - “Versuchspersonen - experimental persons.”
“..always held a vial of phenol and hypodermic syringe for those who proved difficult.”
Page 510:
Oswick was bored and reading a book called “The Will of People” - Tom thought it was something that Neville Catesby would enjoy, he had no interest in it. He flicked through the pages and on the last page “he saw a scratched note: ‘Neville, a little light reading for you. It explains everything we both know. FB.’ How come he never seen this before.”
“Neville Catesby had extensive contacts, including the secret services.”
FB is Frank Broussard. “US Air Force officer. Lieutenant-Colonel Frank Broussard, Flowthorpe airbase.” Frank was MI5 and Catesby’s informant, that’s why they went after Tom.
Shirin’s “special skill” - she flies planes.
What’s the deal with Mrs Sylvia Keane (the Wilde’s housekeeper)? Doris the Wilde’s cleaning lady, doesn’t like her.
Then when Lydia was trying to be understanding, being a good employer and apologising for all the drama that it might be bringing Sylvia bad memories for her and time of her lost husband. Sylvia replied in a cold, scornful way back at her. Lydia worried about her son. Should she be taking care of her son? She told her husband.
Tom thinking “how did the man who tried to kill Lydia at the hostel know that she was there?”
Turns out Sylvia’s husband is in Bedford prison, not dead.
Catesby wants to be the English Stalin not the English Fuhrer. Communist bit a fascist.
“Injected phenol - it was used by the Nazis in their euthanasia programme and as a method of execution in the concentration camp.”
“Trust me. We’re a team. You and me, forever.” 💚
I liked the historical notes at the end.
Set in England, UK, between Cambridge and Norfolk in 1945. Rumours of a Nazi machine is still functioning, people are dying, due to a Japanese biological warfare research lab. Plotting on British land.. #fiction
Chapter 1 - Autumn 1945 - In Norfolk, Liz Lightfoot and Tony Hood are lovers, but are both married to other people. Tony’s wife Sandra. Liz’s husband Lucas. They’re all friends. Then along came Hitler, lucas quit the railways and joined royal norfolks, Tony unable to enlist as he has a farm and his dad had a stroke. So where across the dark waters out where the sea is, a submarine monstrous rises above the surface. Tony and Liz were making out then have to run for their lives. Someone sees them..
Chapter 2 - a Japanese submarine blows up and everyone in it, including a man called captain Takashi Ohata.
Tom Wilde is a professor (was a spy), in Cambridge. Rupert Weir is his old friend, he’s a police surgeon and wants to talk to Tom about his case.
Page 27
“Well, it’s undoubtedly a murder. A body found in a ditch halfway to Ely. An unidentified man in his mid-thirties. Labourer or farmland from the callouses on his hands and the muscles on his arms, but beyond that we have no idea who he is.”
“How did he die?”
“..That’s what make it interesting. His heart had been badly damaged by a powerful corrosive substance. I sent samples to the Met’s toxicology boys and I’ve just got the results back. One of the people at Guy’s suggested the victim might have been injected with phenol and so they tested that. A simple ferric chloride colour test gave conclusive result.”
“Phenol. One gram - a tiny fraction of an ounce - into the bloodstream hits the central nervous system, causing cramping, spasms and sudden collapse. There wasn’t even evidence of a struggle.. No sign of a syringe.”
Weir thinks the man was dumped there after being killed elsewhere.
Wilde - never heard of it ‘phenol’ being used as a murder weapon.,
Lydia Wilde under her under maiden band trains to be a doctor. Lydia’s friend Mary Hinchley who lives in Flowthorpe, catches the disease that came from the sum explosion, the Bacteria is affecting everyone in her village.usually can’t get through to her friend as the village gets quarantined so asks her husband to go and look. Tom gets captured but then released, because of his career history is sworn to secrecy. Tom of course tells his wife.
Ch 9/ Plague catesby page 128
Tom and Lydia are both in the black book. Their lives are in danger.
Ch 10.
Page 141 of 654
He guessed instantly what he was seeing and wondered how it could have been missed…
“You’d better come to see this lieutenant colonel. I really don’t think it’s wise for me to touch it.”
“What is it?”
“Some sort of broken canister. There is writing on part of it which, to my untrained eye looks very like Japanese characters.”
Chapter 12. Pages 163
Word Phenol - heard the word twice - connection. It was used to kills the crippled and blind authorised by doctors.
Miranda training to be a doctor with Lydia Wilde she’s using her maiden name Lydia Morris.
Liz lightfoot is alive. Page 189. Lucas returned from war threatened violent and alcoholic. He told her he slept with other women. Lucas has nightmares at night time. Tony is besotted with his baby boy. Tony does love Liz. Luke “Lucas” twice her size, grabbed her by the neck and threw her across the room and kicked her, punched her. Liz would rather die than die like this.
Tom nearly died, motorbike accident and three men tried to kill him. He found a beaten up Liz and reunited her with her uncle.
“How has the three men known that he (Tom Wilde) Eason the coast of Norfolk?”
Page 359 Lucas murders Tony in front of Liz and Sandra, when Tony stands up to him, reveals that they’re in love and he’s leaving wife and Liz is leaving Lucas.
Sir Neville Catesby aka the English fuhrer.
(Shirin was his mistress before she married Danny Oswick) - there was a murder on his property. Tom Wilde investigated it.
Caresby was offended by Wilde.
Young Danny Oswick and his wife Shirin.
Lydia and Miranda fought for their lives when an assassin comes to murder Lydia at her hostel, pretending to be her “husband”. He gets away leaving the syringe. Lydia’s disguise is blown.
Danny was helping the wrong side but now wants to redeem himself and help Tom. Shirin is accidentally shot by Tom, as a car came at him and Danny saved both of their lives. She’s taken to the hospital but she disappears into the night to be with her lover.
Meanwhile, Liz tells Tom and Danny what she saw in the dunes. The huge vessel appearing in the sea. She can now as Tone is dead and Lucas is in prison for murder.
Dagger Templeman has been murdered. :( A good friend of Tom’s.
Page 488:
Catesby: “…had become to understand through Darwin, that this was the essence of life. Until.. Until in a blinding moment if his inspiration he realised that the struggle for survival was false. It was the struggle to dominate that was at the very core of existence. All life, however, primitive, understood that or fell by the wayside. If you only sought survival , you would be a slave, subjugated to the will of the powerful. To achieve power, you had to be ruthless as the tiger.”
Page 492 - Dr Sigmund Rascher aka Edmund Bacon:
VPs - “Versuchspersonen - experimental persons.”
“..always held a vial of phenol and hypodermic syringe for those who proved difficult.”
Page 510:
Oswick was bored and reading a book called “The Will of People” - Tom thought it was something that Neville Catesby would enjoy, he had no interest in it. He flicked through the pages and on the last page “he saw a scratched note: ‘Neville, a little light reading for you. It explains everything we both know. FB.’ How come he never seen this before.”
“Neville Catesby had extensive contacts, including the secret services.”
FB is Frank Broussard. “US Air Force officer. Lieutenant-Colonel Frank Broussard, Flowthorpe airbase.” Frank was MI5 and Catesby’s informant, that’s why they went after Tom.
Shirin’s “special skill” - she flies planes.
What’s the deal with Mrs Sylvia Keane (the Wilde’s housekeeper)? Doris the Wilde’s cleaning lady, doesn’t like her.
Then when Lydia was trying to be understanding, being a good employer and apologising for all the drama that it might be bringing Sylvia bad memories for her and time of her lost husband. Sylvia replied in a cold, scornful way back at her. Lydia worried about her son. Should she be taking care of her son? She told her husband.
Tom thinking “how did the man who tried to kill Lydia at the hostel know that she was there?”
Turns out Sylvia’s husband is in Bedford prison, not dead.
Catesby wants to be the English Stalin not the English Fuhrer. Communist bit a fascist.
“Injected phenol - it was used by the Nazis in their euthanasia programme and as a method of execution in the concentration camp.”
“Trust me. We’re a team. You and me, forever.” 💚
I liked the historical notes at the end.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 21, 2022
I was surprised to see it’s the best part of a year since I read the last book by Rory Clements. I think it’s a mark of good writing and characterisation that I found it so easy to reacquaint myself with 1940s Cambridge and Tom Wilde. He’s intelligent but fallible; much more fun than an invincible hero who’s always a step ahead. I really like Clements’ portrait of Cambridgeshire; I could almost feel the fog coming in off the coast and the damp of the fens.
I’m pleased that Wilde’s story has carried on beyond the summer of 1945. I find this a fascinating period and one ripe for fiction. The war may have been over but not its fallout: there were still shortages affecting almost everyone; tensions didn’t just evaporate so people were suspicious of unfamiliar faces. It seems inevitable that there were people on the losing side whose beliefs did not change and that some of them started (or continued) planning their next steps once the fighting had ceased. Here, the players are in plain sight but nearly everyone has something to hide and there are plenty of red herrings. We also get a glimpse of the Cambridge-based Russian spies who would be uncovered in the years to follow.
There have already been some ‘pandemic novels’ and I’m sure there will be many more. Clements gives the merest nod to the pandemic here by having a biological weapon brought to England in the autumn of 1945. The actions taken to contain the threat are all too familiar to us now yet don’t feel anachronistic. I had nearly finished reading when I was sent a link to the audiobook; I might give it a try while I wait for another welcome return to Wilde and Cambridge.
I received a free proof copy of this book via NetGalley in return for an honest review.
I’m pleased that Wilde’s story has carried on beyond the summer of 1945. I find this a fascinating period and one ripe for fiction. The war may have been over but not its fallout: there were still shortages affecting almost everyone; tensions didn’t just evaporate so people were suspicious of unfamiliar faces. It seems inevitable that there were people on the losing side whose beliefs did not change and that some of them started (or continued) planning their next steps once the fighting had ceased. Here, the players are in plain sight but nearly everyone has something to hide and there are plenty of red herrings. We also get a glimpse of the Cambridge-based Russian spies who would be uncovered in the years to follow.
There have already been some ‘pandemic novels’ and I’m sure there will be many more. Clements gives the merest nod to the pandemic here by having a biological weapon brought to England in the autumn of 1945. The actions taken to contain the threat are all too familiar to us now yet don’t feel anachronistic. I had nearly finished reading when I was sent a link to the audiobook; I might give it a try while I wait for another welcome return to Wilde and Cambridge.
I received a free proof copy of this book via NetGalley in return for an honest review.
January 9, 2023
I didn’t realise that The English Fuhrer is the seventh instalment of Rory Clements’s Tom Wilde series of books. I hadn’t read the previous books but I don’t think it’s a barrier as this book stands alone.
I thoroughly enjoyed this spy thriller which sees former spy, Professor Tom Wilde, drawn back into the world of espionage immediately after the end of World War II. I enjoyed the references to the state of England post-war with rationing and food shortages, cities still being in a state of rubble, changes to society brought in with the new Labour government.
Dark forces are at play resuscitating fascism in England. Wilde discovers that he and his wife are on a Gestapo ‘kill list’ and are in imminent danger. Adding to the drama, a village close to Wilde’s home appears to be struck with a mysterious virus and is locked down by the military. It’s a rollercoaster ride involving Fascists, Germans, Russians, Japanese, Prisoners of War and spies.
This audiobook is brilliantly narrated by Adam Sims. A couple of times I found myself double-checking to see just how many actors were narrating this book. Sims has such an amazing range and really brought the book to life with all diverse range of accents covering Russian, American and UK regional and class accents and also interchanging between male and female characters.
Huge thanks to NetGalley and the publishers Bonnier UK Audio, Zaffre for making this audio-ARC available to me in exchange for a fair and honest review. I will definitely go on and read/listen to other books/audiobooks written by Rory Clements having listened to this book.
I thoroughly enjoyed this spy thriller which sees former spy, Professor Tom Wilde, drawn back into the world of espionage immediately after the end of World War II. I enjoyed the references to the state of England post-war with rationing and food shortages, cities still being in a state of rubble, changes to society brought in with the new Labour government.
Dark forces are at play resuscitating fascism in England. Wilde discovers that he and his wife are on a Gestapo ‘kill list’ and are in imminent danger. Adding to the drama, a village close to Wilde’s home appears to be struck with a mysterious virus and is locked down by the military. It’s a rollercoaster ride involving Fascists, Germans, Russians, Japanese, Prisoners of War and spies.
This audiobook is brilliantly narrated by Adam Sims. A couple of times I found myself double-checking to see just how many actors were narrating this book. Sims has such an amazing range and really brought the book to life with all diverse range of accents covering Russian, American and UK regional and class accents and also interchanging between male and female characters.
Huge thanks to NetGalley and the publishers Bonnier UK Audio, Zaffre for making this audio-ARC available to me in exchange for a fair and honest review. I will definitely go on and read/listen to other books/audiobooks written by Rory Clements having listened to this book.
January 22, 2023
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. 😉
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. 😉
January 7, 2023
Superb thriller, verry exciting - The Second World War is over and just as Tom Wilde, Professor of History is returning to his pre-war career at Cambridge University, the Intelligence world comes back to him for help.
It's not the 'peace' Tom imagined. Many British Fascist and Nazi sympathisers have been released from internment at the close of the war, and Oswald Mosley is still around (I had no idea what became of him after the 1930s).
An outbreak of a deadly disease is confined and quarantined by the secret services and authorities to a village in Suffolk - Tom learns of this when his wife tried to contact an old friend there, and is unable to.
There are some horrifying historical facts in this book (immediately Googled by myself, in disbelief - Japanese Unit 731 being the most memorable one). Biological warfare, threats, murders, plots and double dealings abound. Alongside this, we follow Tom's family story of Lydia, trying to train as a Doctor (covering up that she is a married woman), and their young son. Everyone's in danger, everyone's under suspicion. Unputdownable; loved it!
It's not the 'peace' Tom imagined. Many British Fascist and Nazi sympathisers have been released from internment at the close of the war, and Oswald Mosley is still around (I had no idea what became of him after the 1930s).
An outbreak of a deadly disease is confined and quarantined by the secret services and authorities to a village in Suffolk - Tom learns of this when his wife tried to contact an old friend there, and is unable to.
There are some horrifying historical facts in this book (immediately Googled by myself, in disbelief - Japanese Unit 731 being the most memorable one). Biological warfare, threats, murders, plots and double dealings abound. Alongside this, we follow Tom's family story of Lydia, trying to train as a Doctor (covering up that she is a married woman), and their young son. Everyone's in danger, everyone's under suspicion. Unputdownable; loved it!
January 22, 2023
I’m a big fan of Professor Tom Wilde, and of his wife Lydia too. This finds them both back in the UK immediately after WWII, trying to settle back into a normal life. However, it never works out quite how you think it will.
I like premise of this book, and the fact that the author writes about people who lived during the time, even if we haven’t heard of some of them. There is a really good blend of fact and fiction with the fictional characters holding their own with real people who have documented histories. As always, this book is very well researched, fast paced, and plausible. I like Lydia as an independent woman, despite being married and having a son, she is still determined to have a career she has longed for, despite all the obstacles that come her way - such as not being able to acknowledge her husband for fear of being turned down for a place at Medical school, There are a few red herrings in the story that does make you wonder about a couple of the characters, but it’s a very satisfying read. Highly recommended.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book.
I like premise of this book, and the fact that the author writes about people who lived during the time, even if we haven’t heard of some of them. There is a really good blend of fact and fiction with the fictional characters holding their own with real people who have documented histories. As always, this book is very well researched, fast paced, and plausible. I like Lydia as an independent woman, despite being married and having a son, she is still determined to have a career she has longed for, despite all the obstacles that come her way - such as not being able to acknowledge her husband for fear of being turned down for a place at Medical school, There are a few red herrings in the story that does make you wonder about a couple of the characters, but it’s a very satisfying read. Highly recommended.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book.
February 3, 2023
Audio book
Are you ready for an unbiased, impartial and unprejudiced review then sorry, I have to first of all say that I am a great fan of Rory Clement’s and I have either read or listened to all the previous Tom Wilde series of novels so my review will be that of a fan but also an honest appraisal.
Tom Wilde really does need to be thankful he isn’t part of our snowflake, politically correct and health and safety correct society as he is still in the don’t worry things will turn out okay if we keep the stiff upper lip then things will turn out fine generation.
This book gives you a great insight to what really could have happened after the Second World War. Expertly researched the story takes on vivid reality and we can only be thankful that there is a fictional element to this book as after listening to the closing credits we realise just how much this book is based on fact.
Enough, if I review any further it will spoil this superb story and I really do honestly recommend you read this book but I would add that you will enjoy and benefit if you have read the previous books in the Tom Wilde series.
Enjoy.
Are you ready for an unbiased, impartial and unprejudiced review then sorry, I have to first of all say that I am a great fan of Rory Clement’s and I have either read or listened to all the previous Tom Wilde series of novels so my review will be that of a fan but also an honest appraisal.
Tom Wilde really does need to be thankful he isn’t part of our snowflake, politically correct and health and safety correct society as he is still in the don’t worry things will turn out okay if we keep the stiff upper lip then things will turn out fine generation.
This book gives you a great insight to what really could have happened after the Second World War. Expertly researched the story takes on vivid reality and we can only be thankful that there is a fictional element to this book as after listening to the closing credits we realise just how much this book is based on fact.
Enough, if I review any further it will spoil this superb story and I really do honestly recommend you read this book but I would add that you will enjoy and benefit if you have read the previous books in the Tom Wilde series.
Enjoy.
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