Island Reich: The atmospheric WWII thriller perfect for fans of Simon Scarrow and Robert Harris Paperback – 28 Oct. 2021

Moves along at breakneck speed, leaving you breathless by the end. A masterful thriller, weaving real characters and events into a gripping narrative.

This was a good fun and interesting read. Had to be.I haven’t read a book to the end for a year or so and needed something light and absorbing to return me to the fold.A few bits in the storyline were just so unbelievable but I was happy to suspend belief and just enjoy the tale.

Really enjoyed this story. Great characters, well written, plenty of twists and turns around historical events and a happy ending.

Good wartime story that isn't quiet the page turner of his previous books but still worth a read. Suspect some of the storyline may be very close to reality

I almost gave up on this story as it jumped about a lot between the hero on one hand, the abdicated King and his squeeze all mixed with government directives. I stuck with it however and it eventually gripped me and I felt it had been a pretty good read.

Very good book cleverly mixing real life and real lives’ situations

Being a bit of a WW2 fan, having ben born and raised on an Island in the English Channel, I knew some of the details. I enjoyed the journey the book took me on and I engaged with the characters, some more than others. If you can suspend your imagination when you need to and just enjoy the ride, you'll enjoy the faction, fiction based on fact.

THis is a superb story of a very interesting period of the history of the world. The historical snippets are fascinating, the characters likeable and the ending worthy of a big smile. Thank you very much sir

WWII erupts with a vengeance as Hitler’s hordes control Europe and Britain is an island alone.Enter the manipulations and intrigue of wartime intelligence agents and political upheaval as both sides attempt to influence the role played by the Duke and Duchess as the royal family refuses to acknowledge the former King.

The summer of 1940 found improbable team mates, Bill and Daisy, working in covert operations for their governments on Alderney, one of the Channel Islands - believed by Hitler to be "stepping stones" for England. Bill O'Hagan, burglar and safe cracker by occupation, believes that "all property is theft," thereby he is free to steal whatever and from whomever he pleases. On his last night in an Edinburgh jail waiting to be hanged, he teaches a priest to cheat at cards. Fortunately, Bill has an ace in the hole; he has an uncanny resemblance to Sir William Renhou, of Alderney, presumed missing in action at Dunkirk. Bill is saved at the very point of hanging by a persistent Colonel in order to impersonate Renhou and crack a German safe containing plans to invade England.Daisy Renhou comes from a family of operatives working for the American government- her father was a spy as was her twin sister, lately deceased after her cover was blown. Daisy is much more lethal than Bill: weapon smart, trained to kill, she is an assassin. She realizes immediately that Bill is not her husband; he may resemble him, but there is a lack of brutality in the impersonator. Both Bill and Daisy show their human side with their concern for the safety of Mignon, a young Jewish refugee, who Daisy has hidden in her home. How the two operatives with their differing missions finally bond together with Nazi activity threatening to expose them is the crux of the story.Coinciding with their affairs we have another thread concerning the Duke and Duchess of Windsor trying to find a place of refuge; one, preferably that would ensure gifts of money and/or jewelry. Hitler has extended his own overtures through a network of ambassadors to seduce the former king. The Duke has vowed not to go back to England until the return of his estate, as well as "Royal" being included in the Duchess' title of "Highness." I doubt that the English would have allowed the Duke in Hitler's predatory hands. One will never know to what extent Churchill and the government were prepared to go in order to prevent that scenario. But, ultimately, the Duke and Duchess were persuaded by whatever means to escape to the Bahamas.I understand why the author included the Duke's history. It was part of pre-World War II intrigue as were the lengthy communications between ambassadors and government agents giving us a background for the early stages of the war. However, less would have been better. I found that these constant diplomatic breaks were a distraction from the main theme of an otherwise very enjoyable read.