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The Suicide Club
For all readers of Robert Harris, William Boyd and John le Carre, The Suicide Club is a First World War spy thriller set in Occupied Belgium in 1917, and tells the dark, disturbing and untold story of the shadow espionage battle fought behind the lines. Andrew Williams is 'in the front rank of English thriller writers' (Daily Mail) and his novels possess 'a richness of characterisation and intelligence that few thrillers can match' (Sunday Times).
August 1917. Britain is mired in bloody stalemate on the Western Front and questions are being asked in government about the leadership of the army. Soldier spy Sandy Innes is summoned from his undercover work in Belgium by the new Secret Service to investigate. Officially transferred to Field Marshal Haig's headquarters in France to prepare agents for the next big push, his secret mission is to spy on Haig's intelligence chiefs.
At GHQ, no one is interested in Innes's inside knowledge. Instead, he is attached to an advance assault group dubbed 'The Suicide Club'. His fellow intelligence officers have little faith in the top secret information being fed to Haig by their superior, and as Innes digs deeper he begins to suspect treachery. The stakes could not be higher: the fate of hundreds of thousands of British soldiers.
In a tense race against time, against the background of political machinations in government and at GHQ, Innes must survive membership of The Suicide Club, and then risk all by going back behind enemy lines to uncover the truth.
368 pages, Paperback
First published November 6, 2014
16 people are currently reading
101 people want to read
About the author
Andrew Williams
9 books33 followersAndrew worked as a senior producer on BBC Television's flagship current affairs programmes, Panorama and Newsnight, covering the major stories of the day. In 1997 he moved to BBC Documentaries and spent the next eleven years writing and directing television documentaries and drama documentaries for the BBC and international co-producers, including the award winning series, 'The Battle of the Atlantic'. He has written two best selling histories of the Second World War; 'The Battle of the Atlantic', and 'D-Day to Berlin'. His first novel, 'The Interrogator', was shortlisted for the CWA Ian Fleming Thriller of the Year Award and the Ellis Peters Historical Fiction Award, and it was the Daily Mail's debut thriller of 2009. His second, 'To Kill A Tsar', was one of the Daily Mail's thrillers of 2010 and was shortlisted for The Scott Prize for Historical Fiction and the Ellis Peters Award. HIs 1960's espionage thriller, Witchfinder, was one of The Times Literary Supplement Books of the Year. Set inside the British intelligence services in the weeks following the defection of master spy, Kim Philby to the Soviet Union, it tells the story of an MI5 and CIA mole hunt that spirals dangerously out of control. Andrew's latest novel, The Prime Minister's Affair, is the story of a plot to blackmail a Labour Prime Minister and bring down the British Government. The Daily Mail described Andrew 'as one of Britain's most accomplished thriller writers', and the Times Literary Supplement noted that 'if le Carré needs a successor, Williams has all the equipment for the role.'
For background to his books and more on the author, visit: http://www.andrewwilliams.tv You can follow and discuss the books with Andrew on Facebook at AndrewWilliamsbooks or follow on twitter @AWilliamswriter.
For background to his books and more on the author, visit: http://www.andrewwilliams.tv You can follow and discuss the books with Andrew on Facebook at AndrewWilliamsbooks or follow on twitter @AWilliamswriter.
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
April 27, 2015
This was an exceptional spy novel, one of the best I have read in some little time. Alan Furst, but set in WWI. Very well researched, convincing and atmospheric. I do not often stay up late with a book, but I did with this one.
May 8, 2016
I really didn't enjoy this book. I can't put my finger on why... it has all the trappings of my favourite novels, dancing over that fine line between fiction and reality during WW1. I think perhaps the density of information in this novel did not leave room for 3D characters, and too much was crammed into its pages.
October 13, 2016
This is a spy story set in the First World War with a heroic main character who manages to finish through after being buried and shot at. The plot centres on Innes a Scottish Roman Catholic being sent by the politicians in London to spy on their generals in Belgium and why they are getting it wrong. Innes becomes entangled in espionage and counter spies at the front line .The misinformation being fed to Douglas Haig, who optimistical accepts it .The way soldiers were seen as expendables, a victory was when no soldiers retreated – they had all been killed. The women prostitutes who worked as agents of information against the payment of opium. The agents sent across the line in balloons only to be shot on landing or having no clear means of sending back information if they managed to survive. The webs of deceit “who to trust” amongst the well paid double agents.
As with all historical novels, there is a fine line between where history ends and the novel begins .The book has a load of information and the author's note at the end lists the many books and documentation conducted in his research and allowing the reader to further his own. However ,this also assists the reader to wade through the various tomes on the subject of WW1 if you support the view of the author “ Entente cordial” apart what are we doing in Europe ?
As with all historical novels, there is a fine line between where history ends and the novel begins .The book has a load of information and the author's note at the end lists the many books and documentation conducted in his research and allowing the reader to further his own. However ,this also assists the reader to wade through the various tomes on the subject of WW1 if you support the view of the author “ Entente cordial” apart what are we doing in Europe ?
November 17, 2020
A riveting read for a keen scholar of the whole world of military intelligence(?!)& the Great War (1914-18)...very much a hit-and-miss business in its earliest, modern form. Andrew Williams has a fine grasp of the experimental nature of intelligence gathering during the conflict when telecommunications, air-reconnaisance & cameras were, at best, rudimentary & prone to failure. The 'agents' on the ground were desperately vulnerable to betrayal & deception; this writer acknowledges the 'fog of war' & the human cost of decisions based on unreliable intelligence...often false.
The main protagonists in this exciting novel are all flawed & haunted by their personal traumas; it is not difficult to understand the sheer trepidation of the men & women who risk everything for gobbets of information which may prove to be illusions, distorted names & figures or just downright lies.It is a sobering thought that many thousands of men went courageously to their deaths because of failures in both the tortured integrity & loyalties of 'staff officers' & poor military intelligence.
A five-star historical novel, thoroughly researched & achingly poignant; there but for the grace of God...life is a lottery in the war to end all wars.
The main protagonists in this exciting novel are all flawed & haunted by their personal traumas; it is not difficult to understand the sheer trepidation of the men & women who risk everything for gobbets of information which may prove to be illusions, distorted names & figures or just downright lies.It is a sobering thought that many thousands of men went courageously to their deaths because of failures in both the tortured integrity & loyalties of 'staff officers' & poor military intelligence.
A five-star historical novel, thoroughly researched & achingly poignant; there but for the grace of God...life is a lottery in the war to end all wars.
July 29, 2018
There is a difficulty with historical fiction: the more space that is given to history, the less is available for fiction. This book suffers from this. The first part, set inside Brigadier General John Charteris' intelligence department during the Battle of Passchendaele, was so thoroughly researched I suspected Andrew Williams had written the relevant Wikipedia pages when I cross-checked. The problem is exacerbated but his dramatisation of so many real people. Somehow putting all of this history in the background, while pushing on with the story would have been liberating. This happens in the second half, when our hero escapes GHQ and crosses into occupied Belgium. Particularly affecting was the relationship between the twenty-something Innes and his co-spy, Ramble, a middle-aged Belgian widow.
July 1, 2019
Not a bad historical WW1 thriller, interesting plot relating to intelligence services and accuracy of the intelligence coming from spy sources behind enemy lines in mainland Europe during the war.
I enjoyed this and the author does a good job of providing some context and background to the characters.
I enjoyed this and the author does a good job of providing some context and background to the characters.
September 23, 2021
An interesting insight into the world of secret agents during WW1 and the origins of MI6. However there was something in the writing that didn't always hold my attention. 3 stars from me.
May 29, 2023
DNF
Didn’t realise it was a war story, not my cup of tea, really tried to get in to it but was over it before it began
Didn’t realise it was a war story, not my cup of tea, really tried to get in to it but was over it before it began
August 14, 2016
Note - I have given this book 5 stars because of the low rating it has received on goodreads. It deserves far more than a 3.43 rating.
The best part of this book is how Andrew Williams ratchets up the tension as his hero, World War I British soldier-turned-spy Sandy Innes, searches for a double agent behind enemy lines. Innes, known as "Lazarus", because he was brought out alive after being buried for days in the mud of the battlefield, is working for Britain's new Secret Service and has been setting up a network of agents in occupied Belgium, led by a female code-named "Ramble". The bosses of that same Secret Service are desperately trying to avoid being incorporated into the British Army and are aided by people close to Prime Minister Lloyd George, Britain's political leader in World War I. Behind the scenes, British politicians and senior military officers in both camps (pro and anti an independent intelligence oranisation) are scheming as to how to further their own ends and Innes becomes a pawn in their game at the British Army's HQ, as he tries to discover why German intelligence always seem to second guess the Allies' military plans. Understandably, Innes' secret work suffers from nightmares of his time at the front and also from his protective affection for the "ordinary" British soldiers who he led in battle and are almost constantly in his thoughts. Unlike almost all of the British military and political characters in this story, Innes is a decent man, always trying to tell the truth, even though his assignments as a spy - in Belgium and at Army HQ - require him to lie. Williams marvelously captures the atmosphere of British soldiers' experiences of the First World War and the problems encountered by those civilians and professionals tasked with seeking out information that will help the Allies defeat Germany. There's even a love story, of sorts, as Innes shares stolen moments with the mysterious "Ramble", someone who tries to protect him from his night terrors and also his naivety in his duties as a secret agent. The action is very confusing in places as one tries to figure out who exactly is pulling the strings as politicians and generals - and even Britain's military supremo Field Marshal Douglas Haig ( known as "Butcher Haig" for the two million British casualties endured under his command.) - play "the blame game". Meanwhile, soldiers die in their tens of thousands in the mud of Flanders and Cambrai. The story moves from the corridors of power in London, to the front line in France and the streets of various villages and towns in Belgium and France with the prospect of death never far away. The writing is extremely good - almost poetic in parts - as is the historical research, which raises this book well above even the best spy thriller. Williams deserves a place alongside Alan Furst and John Le Carre as one of the major figures of spy fiction of the past 100 years. And, in the book's afterword, the reader will be surprised to discover how much of this fiction is based on fact. Highly recommended.
The best part of this book is how Andrew Williams ratchets up the tension as his hero, World War I British soldier-turned-spy Sandy Innes, searches for a double agent behind enemy lines. Innes, known as "Lazarus", because he was brought out alive after being buried for days in the mud of the battlefield, is working for Britain's new Secret Service and has been setting up a network of agents in occupied Belgium, led by a female code-named "Ramble". The bosses of that same Secret Service are desperately trying to avoid being incorporated into the British Army and are aided by people close to Prime Minister Lloyd George, Britain's political leader in World War I. Behind the scenes, British politicians and senior military officers in both camps (pro and anti an independent intelligence oranisation) are scheming as to how to further their own ends and Innes becomes a pawn in their game at the British Army's HQ, as he tries to discover why German intelligence always seem to second guess the Allies' military plans. Understandably, Innes' secret work suffers from nightmares of his time at the front and also from his protective affection for the "ordinary" British soldiers who he led in battle and are almost constantly in his thoughts. Unlike almost all of the British military and political characters in this story, Innes is a decent man, always trying to tell the truth, even though his assignments as a spy - in Belgium and at Army HQ - require him to lie. Williams marvelously captures the atmosphere of British soldiers' experiences of the First World War and the problems encountered by those civilians and professionals tasked with seeking out information that will help the Allies defeat Germany. There's even a love story, of sorts, as Innes shares stolen moments with the mysterious "Ramble", someone who tries to protect him from his night terrors and also his naivety in his duties as a secret agent. The action is very confusing in places as one tries to figure out who exactly is pulling the strings as politicians and generals - and even Britain's military supremo Field Marshal Douglas Haig ( known as "Butcher Haig" for the two million British casualties endured under his command.) - play "the blame game". Meanwhile, soldiers die in their tens of thousands in the mud of Flanders and Cambrai. The story moves from the corridors of power in London, to the front line in France and the streets of various villages and towns in Belgium and France with the prospect of death never far away. The writing is extremely good - almost poetic in parts - as is the historical research, which raises this book well above even the best spy thriller. Williams deserves a place alongside Alan Furst and John Le Carre as one of the major figures of spy fiction of the past 100 years. And, in the book's afterword, the reader will be surprised to discover how much of this fiction is based on fact. Highly recommended.
August 7, 2016
This novel is very well written, and shows careful research which makes it effective in the art of the historical novel - it reproduces the past.
However, although I admired the author's scholarship and literary skills, I did not admire much else, and I ploughed on through the novel with little enthusiasm. I felt that it did not succeed as a thriller - there were just too few thrills.
Also, I do not really agree with the historical interpretation offered by Andrew Williams. He takes up the interpretation that WW1 was not a futile exercise in mass casualties, but rather a principled British effort to restrain German expansionism and stand up for British allies. There are all sorts of reasons why I don't go with this. I do respect Williams for his very informed view of the era, and for the detailed touches in his portrait of a British officer who is a Scot and a Catholic, moving among the Staff Officers in Britain and the clergy and common people in Belgium. But for me, this is not enough to carry the novel. The descriptions are episodic, and do not make one think about these people's lives as whole.
There is an appearance of Field Marshall Douglas Haig, and he seems like a huge tin solider - a stiff, routinized being - in the novel - just as he seems from historical sources. Ack! I do not like to meet him on the page. He makes me think of the Memorial Grove on the road to Ballarat, in Victoria, Australia. Being driven in a car on that road, endless, endless trees by the road, each tree with a plaque, because it represents one of our "glorious dead" from 1914-18, and there are so many trees ... driving on, the Grove continuing as far as one can see ... And these are only the losses from one district in one small area of Australia. And these are only the dead - not the injured, many of whom came home useless. Oh well. That's WW1 for you ...
However, although I admired the author's scholarship and literary skills, I did not admire much else, and I ploughed on through the novel with little enthusiasm. I felt that it did not succeed as a thriller - there were just too few thrills.
Also, I do not really agree with the historical interpretation offered by Andrew Williams. He takes up the interpretation that WW1 was not a futile exercise in mass casualties, but rather a principled British effort to restrain German expansionism and stand up for British allies. There are all sorts of reasons why I don't go with this. I do respect Williams for his very informed view of the era, and for the detailed touches in his portrait of a British officer who is a Scot and a Catholic, moving among the Staff Officers in Britain and the clergy and common people in Belgium. But for me, this is not enough to carry the novel. The descriptions are episodic, and do not make one think about these people's lives as whole.
There is an appearance of Field Marshall Douglas Haig, and he seems like a huge tin solider - a stiff, routinized being - in the novel - just as he seems from historical sources. Ack! I do not like to meet him on the page. He makes me think of the Memorial Grove on the road to Ballarat, in Victoria, Australia. Being driven in a car on that road, endless, endless trees by the road, each tree with a plaque, because it represents one of our "glorious dead" from 1914-18, and there are so many trees ... driving on, the Grove continuing as far as one can see ... And these are only the losses from one district in one small area of Australia. And these are only the dead - not the injured, many of whom came home useless. Oh well. That's WW1 for you ...
July 8, 2019
A very promising idea and richly suggestive milieu, but the novel, like many a WW1 offensive, runs into the mud after a bright start. Historical detail (much of it fascinating in itself) slowly overwhelms the actual story. Characterisation is not always deep enough (Williams is no Le Carre, even where women are concerned) and the structure is too episodic to build tension. There are bit-parts for the Etaples mutiny, the Gotha bomber, grumpy Flemish clerics and tired prostitutes, but the tale never comes to life. The comparisons to Robert Harris are not wholly misleading, but this is the past-his-prime, indulgent Harris of 'An Officer and a Spy' rather than the author of 'Fatherland' or 'Archangel'. And another thing...why do spy novelists always have to kill female characters in order to demonstrate the ruthless cynicism of the whole milieu? It doesn't matter whether it's being covered in gold paint or shot in a Belgian backstreet, it's always a dead woman who shows the brutality of the foe and sensitivity of the 'troubled' or 'damaged' protagonist.
Oddly enough, while reading this book I was also I was flicking through Wilde's 'The Decay of Lying' and its debate between realism and fantasy. For Wilde, the author's job is to invent rather than record. I think this novel is too concerned with recording (and getting facts right). Williams ought to have trusted his imagination a little more. None of this answers the big question though, namely, why do I always read gloomy thrillers on hot summer days?
Oddly enough, while reading this book I was also I was flicking through Wilde's 'The Decay of Lying' and its debate between realism and fantasy. For Wilde, the author's job is to invent rather than record. I think this novel is too concerned with recording (and getting facts right). Williams ought to have trusted his imagination a little more. None of this answers the big question though, namely, why do I always read gloomy thrillers on hot summer days?
May 18, 2016
August 1917. Britain is mired in bloody stalemate at Passchendaele and the prime minister is looking for someone to blame. Soldier spy Sandy Innes is seconded to Haigs headquarters officially to train a new espionage group called The Suicide Club, unofficially to spy on the field marshals staff. Innes soon discovers few at HQ trust the top secret information being fed to Haig by his intelligence chief, and as he digs deeper he begins to suspect treachery. The stakes could not be higher the fate of hundreds of thousands of British soldiers. In a tense race against time and against the background of political machinations, Innes must survive membership of The Suicide Club, and then risk all by going back behind enemy lines to uncover the truth.
I fancied something different to read and this was the perfect book! I awarded The Suicide Club four stars as I have to admit I did not understand some of the words in the story, but that did not affect the story line for me. It is a well written brilliant story! I did not find it an easy read but I did devour it and was hooked throughout, I love a good historical fiction now and again. I would recommend this to you all, I understand it may not be everyone's cup of tea but this is the perfect story for readers who enjoy a brilliant historical fiction, war and spy thriller. It is one of those stories that will transport you into a different world from the comfort of your couch. Enjoy, I did.
I fancied something different to read and this was the perfect book! I awarded The Suicide Club four stars as I have to admit I did not understand some of the words in the story, but that did not affect the story line for me. It is a well written brilliant story! I did not find it an easy read but I did devour it and was hooked throughout, I love a good historical fiction now and again. I would recommend this to you all, I understand it may not be everyone's cup of tea but this is the perfect story for readers who enjoy a brilliant historical fiction, war and spy thriller. It is one of those stories that will transport you into a different world from the comfort of your couch. Enjoy, I did.
December 28, 2016
Very informative book obviously well researched. However, I never got inside the main characters and felt no emotion when, for instance, a key person is killed. Neither did I feel "the race against time" making my heart beat faster and so on. In fact, I've enjoyed this book almost as if it were non fiction.
December 23, 2014
A slowish start but builds up to great tension . based on real events.
April 26, 2016
Very much enjoyed this book. Lots of interesting historical detail
September 7, 2016
Interesting book about the role of British agents and collaborators in WW1. Gained an insight into the decision makers at the time of Passchendaele....the arrogance is unbelievable.
October 27, 2024
Interesting
April 20, 2017
Slow to get into, but picked up. Quite a rushed ending though.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews