Tag: Reading Challenges

Book Review – Munich Wolf by Rory Clements

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About the Book

Book cover of Munich Wolf by Rory Clements

Munich, 1935 – The Bavarian capital is a magnet for young, aristocratic Britons who come to learn German, swim in the lakes and drink beer in the cellars.

What they don’t see – or choose to ignore – is the brutal underbelly of the Nazi movement which considers Munich its spiritual home.

When a high-born English girl is murdered, Detective Sebastian Wolff is ordered to solve the crime. Wolff is already walking a tight line between doing his job and falling foul of the political party he abhors. Now Hitler is taking a personal interest in the case.

Followed by the secret police and threatened by his own son, a fervent member of the Hitler Youth, the stakes have never been higher. And when Wolff begins to suspect that the killer might be linked to the highest reaches of the Nazi hierarchy, he fears his task is simply impossible – and that he might become the next victim.

Format: ebook (400 pages) Publisher: Zaffre
Publication date: 18th January 2024 Genre: Historical Fiction, Crime, Thriller

Find Munich Wolf on Goodreads

My Review

I’m a huge fan of Rory Clements’ novels. I loved his John Shakespeare historical crime series set in Elizabethan England comprising Martyr, Revenger, Prince, Traitor, The Heretics, The Queen’s Man and Holy Spy. And I absolutely adore his Tom Wilde series set in WW2 Cambridge comprising (so far) Corpus, Nucleus, Nemesis, Hitler’s Secret, A Prince and a Spy, The Man in the Bunker and The English Führer. [Related posts: Book Review – Hitler’s Secret, Book Review – A Prince and a Spy, Book Review – The English Führer]

So I came to Munich Wolf with high expectations; I wasn’t disappointed. Sebastian Wolff is, if you like, Tom Wilde’s German alter ego. Like Wilde, he has a strong sense of justice. And in the same way Wilde has his trusty Rudge Special motorcycle, Wolff has his beloved Lancia Augusta cabriolet. But in their personal lives they differ. Wolff’s barely disguised loathing for Hitler’s regime has created a breach in his relationship with his son Jurgen, who is a fervent admirer of the Führer and a member of the Hitler Youth. It’s only when an act of violence comes close to home for Jurgen that their frosty relationship thaws a little.

The book sees Wolff’s commitment to uncovering the truth come slap bang up against political interests, both domestic and international. There’s a quite complex structure of different security and police institutions, but stick with it. Given the period in which it’s set and what we now know about the dreadful acts perpetrated by the Nazi regime, it’s probably no surprise that the story goes to some dark, sinister and perverted places, places populated by fanatics. ‘Paganism, ritual murder, sex magic, the Thule Society [a German occultist and Völkisch group founded in Munich shortly after World War I], Hitler’s obsession with the occult, the runic symbol for the sun, the geblōt places of ancient Nordic sacrifices…’

In pursuing his investigation, Wolff faces personal risks but he doggedly persists resulting in confrontations with some particularly ruthless individuals and a spell in a concentration camp. He’s also hampered in his enquiries by being assigned an assistant, Sergeant Hans Winter, with whom Wolff had already had an inauspicious first meeting, and who in reality is his minder, informing his bosses in the Bavarian Political Police (the forerunner of the Gestapo) about Wolff’s movements. Things really hot up when Wolff gets a little too close to implicating some influential figures in the regime.

Real life figures abound, in particular English socialite Unity Mitford who as well as coming across as an utter snob, shows herself to be an antisemite and vile apologist for the Nazi regime.

Sebastian Wolff is a great character. He’s a man of action but the author has also given him an interesting personal hinterland. (He’s rather swoonworthy as well.) Although badged as a standalone novel, I can see Munich Wolf being the first book in a series – in fact, I’d be overjoyed if it is.

Action-packed, full of twists and turns, and with fascinating historical detail, Munich Wolf is another powerful thriller from the pen of Rory Clements. If you were a fan of the late lamented Philip Kerr’s Bernie Gunther series, this is one for you.

In three words: Gripping, intriguing, pacy
Try something similar: March Violets by Philip Kerr

About the Author

Author Rory Clements

Rory Clements was born on the edge of England in Dover. After a career in national newspapers, he now writes full time in a quiet corner of Norfolk, where he lives with his wife, the artist Naomi Clements Wright. He won the CWA Historical Dagger in 2010 for his second novel, Revenger, and the CWA Historical Dagger in 2018 for Nucleus. Three of his other novels – Martyr, Prince and The Heretics – have been shortlisted for awards.

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Book Review – Back Trouble by Clare Chambers

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About Back Trouble

Book cover of novel, Back Trouble by Clare Chambers

On the brink of forty, newly single with a failed business, Philip thought he’d reached an all-time low.

Paper bag containing French fries

It only needed a discarded chip on a South London street to lay him literally flat. So, bedbound and bored, Philip naturally starts to write the story of his life.

But between the mundane catalogue of seaside holidays and bodged DIY, broken relationships and unspoken truths, more surprises are revealed, both comic and touching, than Philip or his family ever bargained for.

Perhaps there will even be a happy ending.

Format: Paperback (224 pages) Publisher: Arrow Books
Publication date: 3rd January 2002 Genre: Contemporary Fiction

Find Back Trouble on Goodreads

My Review of Back Trouble

Book cover of Small Pleasures by Clare Chambers

I absolutely adored Clare Chambers’ novel Small Pleasures. [Related post: Book Review – Small Pleasures] It made me keen to explore more of her backlist so I added this and another of her books, A Dry Spell, to my reading list for my personal Backlist Burrow reading challenge. Unfortunately, I ran out of time and A Dry Spell is still patiently waiting in my TBR pile.

Philip, the book’s rather hapless hero, has a ton of problems on his plate. The failure of his business means he fears every knock on the door may be a bailiff, his relationship with his girlfriend Kate seems as if it might be at an end, and his relationship with his rather bombastic father is strained. His life has been one of serial underachievement and a reluctance to commit. ‘I was addicted to the idea of transition – in jobs that couldn’t last, in temporary accommodation, in transient relationships.’

Philip’s enforced period of immobility provides the motivation he needs to embark on – finally – writing a book: the story of his life. He is determined to recount events with total accuracy, noting ‘After all, this is an autobiography, not fiction’. Excerpts from his autobiography alternate with more recent events in his life, particularly the course of his relationship with Kate.

The author has unerring eye for the little details of domestic life. If you are a child of the 1960s, many of Philip’s memories of his early years will strike a chord – Friday bath nights, the unvarying weekly menu of familiar dishes, the annual holiday in seaside guest houses. Episodes are described with humour and often a touch of the absurd. But there also some touching scenes.

Although Back Trouble doesn’t have the emotional heft of Small Pleasures, it’s still an enjoyable read with some amusingly eccentric characters and an engaging protagonist. And it’s ending is certain to leave you with a warm feeling.

In three words: Well-observed, engaging, funny
Try something similar: Everyday Magic by Charlie Laidlaw

About Clare Chambers

Author Clare Chambers

Clare Chambers’ first job after leaving university was working with Diana Athill at André Deutsch. They published her first novel Uncertain Terms in 1992. Clare is also the author of Back Trouble, Learning to Swim, A Dry Spell, In A Good Light, The Editor’s Wife and Small Pleasures.

She lives with her husband in south-east London.