About the Book
Late 1916. Europe is tearing itself apart in the Great War. Harry Draffen, part Greek, part Scottish, British secret agent, cosmopolitan, polyglot, man of violence, is having a bad war. He is instructed to uncover a plot by the Central Powers against England.
From the slums of East London to an Oxford college, from the trenches on the Western Front to an isolated house on the Scottish coast, on to a bloody showdown in the North of England, he chases a phantom and elusive German messenger.
Betrayed, deceived, under attack from many enemies, bringing death to those he does not hate and even to those he loves, Draffen tries to reach the heart of the mystery.
Format: ebook (222 pages) Publisher: Crime Wave Press
Publication date: 24th May 2016 Genre: Historical Fiction, Thriller
Find The German Messenger on Goodreads
My Review
With it’s WW1 setting, its intricate plot involving foreign spies, coded messages and breathless pursuits from the wilds of Scotland to London, Oxford and France, there’s more than a touch of the Buchanesque about The German Messenger. Indeed, the author borrows a character – spymaster Sir Walter Bullivant – from John Buchan’s most famous novel, The Thirty-Nine Steps. But Harry Draffen is no Richard Hannay. He’s utterly ruthless, prepared to lie, cheat and manipulate in order to achieve a mission. He’s seen – and done – a lot of bad things in his time and bears the physical and mental scars of these.
Like Hannay, Harry Draffen has his loyal comrades, although being a friend of Harry is a hazardous occupation. As one character remarks, ‘Dead bodies rather do seem to pile up in your presence.’ However you definitely wouldn’t get Hannay involved in steamy sex scenes of the sort in this novel. (One of these I thought rather gratuitous.)
If Harry is a rather tortured figure then he’s not alone. At this point in the First World War, the lifespan of a soldier in the trenches on the Western Front can be measured in days or weeks, not months. ‘How can you describe Hell? The trenches were beyond words. You can say: the matchstick trees, the mud and the wire, the stench of human ordure and dead bodies, the reek of unwashed men, the constant, never-ending fear, the noise. But they’re just words. The reality was beyond any words in any human language.’ Along with the dead, there are the wounded and those emotionally scarred as a result of their experiences. And, of course, the bereaved.
As well as being a cracking spy thriller with plenty of twists and turns, The German Messenger actually contains some quite nuanced reflections on the war and its impact. Many of those who signed up out of a feeling of duty have become quickly disillusioned or feel betrayed by the high command. Those deemed unfit to serve on the front line often bear intense feelings of guilt. Others, because of personal loss, or moral or religious beliefs, doubt the rightness of the war. And the war has changed Britain as well. On a trip to Oxford, Harry notes on the streets there are ‘too many uniforms, too few men, too many women in black’.
If you’re on the search for an espionage thriller that will keep you turning the pages, then The German Messenger will fit the bill.
I received a digital review copy courtesy of (the now sadly defunct) Crime Wave Press.
In three words: Compelling, twisty, suspenseful
Try something similar: The Cold North Sea by Jeff Dawson
About the Author
David Malcolm was born in Scotland. He was educated in Aberdeen, Zürich, and London.
For over thirty years he has lived and worked in Japan, the USA, and Poland. He lives in Sopot, Poland.
His collection of short fiction, Radio Moscow, and Other Stories, was published by Blackwitch Press in 2015.
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