SS-GB

Len Deighton

May 2009 · HarperCollins UK

About this ebook

In February 1941 British Command surrendered to the Nazis. Churchill has been executed, the King is in the Tower and the SS are in Whitehall...

For nine months Britain has been occupied - a blitzed, depressed and dingy country. However, it’s ‘business as usual’ at Scotland Yard run by the SS when Detective Inspector Archer is assigned to a routine murder case. Life must go on.

But when SS Standartenfuhrer Huth arrives from Berlin with orders from the great Himmler himself to supervise the investigation, the resourceful Archer finds himself caught up in a high level, all action, espionage battle.

This is a spy story quite different from any other. Only Deighton, with his flair for historical research and his narrative genius, could have written it.

Ratings and reviews

After reading reviews on here & Amazon & having just read 8 other alternate history books re WWII, this is by far my least favourite. I found it dragged on, had no "page turning" qualities or cliffhanging chapters. I found it confusing, couldn't tell who was on who's side and couldn't wait to finish it so I could move on to my next book. Of the 40 chapters only the last 2 had me intrigued. Not at all exciting. Totally boring! Others may love it but for me... what a flop!! This is my 1st negative review!!

An interesting idea but very difficult to follow who is doing what, with all the army units: SS, SAID, Gestapo, army etc. Quite confusing in the end...

Really not a good book. The plot is incoherent, the characters are not convincing. The idea is good, but not the best delivery.

About the author

Born in London, Len Deighton served in the RAF before graduating from the Royal College of Art (which recently elected him a Senior Fellow). While in New York City working as a magazine illustrator he began writing his first novel, The Ipcress File, which was published in 1962. He is now the author of more than thirty books of fiction and non-fiction. At present living in Europe, he has, over the years, lived with his family in ten different countries from Austria to Portugal.