The Devil's Handshake

by Murray Davies

‘Very sturdy, very sustaining’ Literary Review The compelling drama of a fugitive in a hostile land, confronted with an impossible mission. It is January 1943 and in the attic of its Baker Street headquarters, a despised department is given its most crucial task – to redeem the SOE organisation in Churchill’s eyes by assassinating Adolf Hitler. Finding the right man for the mission seems increasingly impossible, until their junior officer, Robin Lusty, volunteers himself. Dropped into Bavaria in the guise of a wounded German officer, Lusty is forced to eliminate a village policeman to protect his cover – thus putting a ruthless detective called Jäger on his trail. After winning the confidence of Hitler’s mistress, Eva Braun, the would-be assassin is getting ever closer to his target but, just as he is about to make the hit, a change in Allied policy undermines his plans. Hunted by Jäger, pursued by the Gestapo, with his escape route closing, he finds himself betrayed by London ... now alone in a darkening land, with every man turned against him. Lusty’s fate will rest in the hands of the local woman who has fallen in love with him. A well researched and gripping spy thriller. Recommended for fans of Alan Furst, Rory Clements John le Carre. ‘An authentic look at the loneliness and conflicting loyalties often thrown up in wartime’ Sunday Mirror ‘A compelling and convincing read with some memorable characters’ Tribune Murray Davies was born into a mining family in South Wales. He won a scholarship to UCW Aberystwyth where he studied International Politics, followed by an MA in First World War poetry. He worked for the Daily Mail and Mirror Group as a reporter and feature writer. After twenty years as a journalist, he became a novelist. His novel, Collaborator, won the Sidewise Award for Alternate History in 2003. His other works include The Drumbeat Of Jimmy Sands, Samson Option, The Devil’s Handshake, Dogs on the Street and the Chalke and Cheese books, Welcome to Meantime and Bad Blood in Meantime.

407 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 3, 2013

Reviews

[Greer Andjanetta · Rating 5 out of 5]

A surprisingly good story which starts out slow but rises to a captivating (no pun intended) conclusion. Very realistic in its portrayal of life in Germany during WW II and of the politics and petty rivalries that abound in government agencies and armed forces. The eventual outcome of the plot is known in advance by virtue of history but the description of the development of a plot to assassinate Hitler and the portrayal of the lives of the people involved makes for a highly entertaining story.

[Peter · Rating 2 out of 5]

The plot, of a British agent inserted into Germany in mid-1943 in order to assassinate Hitler, works well despite the obvious lack of success, but the facile explanation as to why in the final couple of pages totally destroys any goodwill left to the author for some shortcomings in the earlier 650 pages. The assassin, the setup and the wartime detail are credible, the sabotage and indifference of careerist British intelligence officers isn’t but it’s the seemingly inevitable “agent falls in love with German” subplot that really irritates

[Nadia Yusof · Rating 4 out of 5]

Its very interesting, just makes you wanna flip the pages faster and dying to know what's going to happen next, up to a point where you just don't want to put it down.

If you're on an island, relaxing on a hammock with the breeze blowing your face and munching on sugar cane...this is a must book to read.

[Julie Kellner · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was interesting but at time a bit drawn out but nevertheless still a great read