Steve Haberman (1)Reseñas

Received through Voaracious Readers. This novel is set in postwar Berlin while the Allies divide the city into zones. Charly, a war correspondent is missing. Her friend Jonas asks for help, but the various governments are overwhelmed by aftermath of war: poverty, famine, violence, rape, revenge, the building animosity between the Brits, the US and Russia. There is no capacity or willingness to look for a single woman who had gone looking for trouble. While Jonas and Charly find each other they also become embroiled in espionage and dangerous convoluted plots and counterplots. The complexity of the plot is perhaps a little entangled and the characters, other than moving closer, don’t develop very far. We don’t really know them very well. A very visceral picture of postwar Berlin.

The bones lie everywhere in post WW2 occupied Berlin, barely covered in the rubbish piles. Bones of citizens left behind by the losers of the war whether they supported that regime or opposed it, and abused by the winners, especially their old enemies the Russians. The remaining citizens are impoverished, homeless, hopeless, scavenging for anything to eat or barter. Except for the plotters and occupiers. And the rare American journalist, Charly, who is too determined to give in or give up in a time long before women got any recognition for anything they did outside the home. Jonas was a bodyguard for Churchill and is now more than a bodyguard to Charly. Together the get deeply and dangerously involved in the intrigue. Gripping, riveting tale about a time of disgrace.
I requested and received a free temporary ebook copy via NetGalley.

My thanks to the Author publishers and BookSirens for providing me with a Kindle version of this book to read and honestly review.
A clever well written and researched spy story set as the title suggests in the second World War. Our hero an American recently sacked as Churchill's bodyguard is tasked with the job of finding a German spy. Tense atmospheric descriptive and engaging this is an intriguing read from start to finish.
Recommended.

This is a slow moving suspense which action takes place against a background of violence and riots in Paris after an Austrian right winger was acquitted by jury. State criminal investigator, Stanislas Cassel, grandson of a French propagandist for the Nazis during WW11, looks into the bizarre murder of a pensioner... what will his investigation uncover?

Drawn from tragic lives of actual people this story is nevertheless fictional it’s a mix of mystery about the past, the present and about a little of everything: murder, betrayal, redemption and particularly of “who- dun-it”. This is a convoluted drama that brings to light how suffering and violence continue long after the war ended. . It may be a plus to be familiar with the Vichy Government politics during the war years and what the French citizens had to face.

The story centres mainly on Stanislas Cassel with all his faults and qualities especially his determination to get to the bottom of this case. In the course of his investigation he finds out the murdered man was keeping boxes of notes, documents and folders in German. Was this man a traitor? Why was he killed? Of course you will have to read the book to find out...

I had a hard time getting into this book it was all over the place and in no time it had lost interest. They were too many characters popping out of nowhere and too many treads that did not match...or was it that I had lost all interest by then. Yes I read it to the last words and today writing my thought I still question why did I last so long with a story that seemed at first interesting but that soon turned out to be a painful college English assignment.

This definitely was not a preferred book but it may be yours so don’t take my words have a look for yourself

Winston Churchill’s Renegade Spy Review

If you are looking for an escape from the current dangerous times, check out Winston Churchill’s Renegade Spy for a ticket to World War II Europe.

American Jonas Shaw is in Switzerland. Years ago, Shaw ended up saving Churchill’s life. After a brief correspondence by mail, Shaw tells Churchill he plans to enlist in the United States Army. Instead, Shaw ends up being one of Churchill’s bodyguards. However, he is dismissed because the British government isn’t happy with an American being on their payroll. Shaw is bitter at being fired, because he knew that being hired by Churchill was a ploy to try and get the United States involved in the war effort.

Out for a walk one day in Switzerland, Shaw finds he’s being followed. It turns out his pursuer is Cyril Cavendish, the man who signed Shaw’s dismissal letter. There are rumors of a spy at the heart of the British government, and Shaw is persuaded by Cavendish to help find who it is. Shaw reluctantly agrees, and during the course of his mission, you’re introduced to a number of characters as he winds his way through Germany, France, Portugal, Spain, and finally back to London, where he vowed never to visit again. Did I mention danger? There’s plenty of it as Shaw hides and sneaks throughout Europe, constantly looking over one shoulder as he relies on the kindness of strangers and anti-fascists in pursuit of the threat to the British empire and free Europe.

I will admit spy novels, or war novels, or war novels with spies are not my first choice in reading material. But the pacing of this novel is superb, with vivid details of Shaw’s surroundings and predicaments that will have you wondering just where it will all end. Winston Churchill’s Renegade Spy is a well-written escape back to simpler times—but just as dangerous, if not more so. World War II buffs, history fans, those in wartime Europe as well as readers looking for a damn good spy novel will be glad they checked this out.

"...tension stays with the story up to the dramatic end...a very good book, well worth reading...a 7 of 10." Mainly Mysteries
"...an admirable debut." Mystery Morgue
"an intriguing novel." Criminal History, For Fans of Historical Crime Fiction