Based on a little known and disturbing aspect of Irish history and a mix of real and fictional characters, “Ratlines” by Stuart Neville is an intriguing story.
This is clearly a work of fiction. At the beginning he lays out a few historical events. And then tells you:
The rest is just a story
But what a story.
First, the historical events that inspired this story. As I said some facts are given in the beginning of the book and then in the Acknowledgements at the end, the author list a few sources of the history including a documentary you can find on YouTube
Or if you prefer reading about this
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1538969/Ireland-welcomed-Hitlers-henchmen.html
So with a base of real characters, Neville adds fictional characters and fictional events and weaves a complicated tale of intrigue involving Nazis, the IRA, Irish intelligence, a love story, and much more. What makes it more interesting to Americans is that this story mainly takes place during the preparations for President Kennedy’s visit to Ireland.
As would be expected in a story involving Nazis, the IRA, and Stuart Neville, there is violence. But as in his previous books (reviewed here: The Ghosts of Belfast and Collusion), the violence seems to fit into the story which is more about right and wrong (often the lesser of two wrongs) and a complex character dealing with inner conflict.
In this book the complex character is Lieutenant Albert Ryan of Irish Intelligence, who left neutral Ireland to fight the Nazis for the British and now is asked by his government to protect Nazi war criminals in Ireland such as Colonel Otto Skorzeny (formerly an SS officer and now a well-connected resident of Ireland.)
I read the galley from netgalley on my Kindle and the book won’t be released until early January, 2013. I guess my only real disappointment is that the book won’t be available this year for gift giving.
Other reviews:
- http://bitethebook.com/2012/10/11/stuart-neville-ratlines/
- http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13584309-ratlines
- http://www.readmedeadly.com/2012/10/two-on-world-war-ii-book-reviews-of.html
- http://www.publishersweekly.com/978-1-61695-204-4
The book is published by Soho Crime. If you like good books, especially with an international flavor, you might want to check out Soho Press.