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Liberation Square
After the disastrous failure of D-Day, Britain is occupied by Nazi Germany, and only rescued by Russian soldiers arriving from the east and Americans from the west. The two superpowers divide the nation between them, a wall running through London like a scar.
On the Soviet side of the wall, Jane Cawson calls into her husband's medical practice, hoping to surprise him. But instead she detects the perfume worn by his former wife, Lorelei, star of propaganda films for the new Marxist regime.
Jane rushes to confront them, but soon finds herself caught up in the glamorous actress's death.
Her husband Nick is arrested for murder. Desperate to clear his name, Jane must risk the attention of the brutal secret police as she follows a trail of corruption right to the highest levels of the state.
And she might find she never really knew her husband at all.
On the Soviet side of the wall, Jane Cawson calls into her husband's medical practice, hoping to surprise him. But instead she detects the perfume worn by his former wife, Lorelei, star of propaganda films for the new Marxist regime.
Jane rushes to confront them, but soon finds herself caught up in the glamorous actress's death.
Her husband Nick is arrested for murder. Desperate to clear his name, Jane must risk the attention of the brutal secret police as she follows a trail of corruption right to the highest levels of the state.
And she might find she never really knew her husband at all.
400 pages, Hardcover
First published April 18, 2019
25 people are currently reading
216 people want to read
About the author
Gareth Rubin
15 books45 followersGareth Rubin is a British journalist and author. His journalism covers social affairs, travel, architecture, arts and health. His novel Liberation Square is a mystery thriller set in Soviet-occupied London.
In 2013 he directed a documentary, Images of Bedlam, about the connection between art and mental illness and how art can help people express that which they cannot put into words. It was filmed at the Bethlem Royal Hospital (‘Bedlam’) and interviews artists with a history of psychiatric illness.
He previously worked as an actor on stage and television.
In 2013 he directed a documentary, Images of Bedlam, about the connection between art and mental illness and how art can help people express that which they cannot put into words. It was filmed at the Bethlem Royal Hospital (‘Bedlam’) and interviews artists with a history of psychiatric illness.
He previously worked as an actor on stage and television.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 39 reviews
April 17, 2019
Book Reviewed by Stacey on www.whisperingstories.com
The year is 1952 and World War Two ended seven years ago, but not how we remember it. In Liberation Square, the British lost the war and now the UK has been split into two sections, the Democratic United Kingdom lead by the Americans and Republic of Great Britain which is run by the Russian, all that separates the two areas is a huge war, guarded by armed soldiers.
Jane Cawson and her new husband Nick, a doctor, have been married for just six months. Jane is a teacher currently out of work. One afternoon Jane comes down with a migraine and goes to her husband’s doctors surgery to see him. When she arrives she is informed that he left to go for a walk about an hour ago and they don’t know when he will be back.
Jane decides to wait for him and enters his office where she discovers a pile of letters, one is scented and she is certain that the smell is that of her husband’s ex-wife, actress Lorelei. Convinced that her new husband is having an affair with his ex-wife, Jane goes to Lorelei’s house to confront them. However, when she arrives Lorelei is in the bath, dead. Jane goes for help and the police and her husband soon arrive at the scene.
After some questioning, the police let her go but not before she sees her husband being arrested for Lorelei’s murder. Convinced he is innocent, Jane and a British officer, Sergeant Frank Tibbot work together to discover what really happened to Lorelei and try to clear Nicks name, but Jane might just discover that her new husband isn’t exactly who he says he is.
This is the second book that I have read this year which is set in an alternative history after World War Two. Alternative histories are quite popular at the moment and I can see why.
The book had me engrossed in the plot from the opening scene. The UK is split into two sections, Democratic United Kingdom and Republic of Great Britain, both areas divided by a high wall, protected by soldiers reminded me of a certain president’s plans. A handy map at the front of the book shows you exactly where that divide is, just below Oxford. There is also a map showing you the centre of London as it stands now – or in 1952 when the book is set.
What is truly frighting about the book is how realistic it is and how the UK could of very much ended up as it is within the pages. It also has you questioning how well you can actually ever know a person.
There is great chemistry between the characters which radiates off the pages. The book is exciting and draws you into the events and has you eagerly waiting for the pieces to unfold and the plot to reveal what really happened to Lorelei.
The book is filled with rich secrets, at times I found myself rushing through the pages needing to know more. The story has been very cleverly written and is a complete mixture of genres thrown into one. From crime to thriller, mystery to historical fiction and even espionage too. It is incredible that this is Gareth Rubin’s debut novel as the writing is spot on and the plot is flawless.
The year is 1952 and World War Two ended seven years ago, but not how we remember it. In Liberation Square, the British lost the war and now the UK has been split into two sections, the Democratic United Kingdom lead by the Americans and Republic of Great Britain which is run by the Russian, all that separates the two areas is a huge war, guarded by armed soldiers.
Jane Cawson and her new husband Nick, a doctor, have been married for just six months. Jane is a teacher currently out of work. One afternoon Jane comes down with a migraine and goes to her husband’s doctors surgery to see him. When she arrives she is informed that he left to go for a walk about an hour ago and they don’t know when he will be back.
Jane decides to wait for him and enters his office where she discovers a pile of letters, one is scented and she is certain that the smell is that of her husband’s ex-wife, actress Lorelei. Convinced that her new husband is having an affair with his ex-wife, Jane goes to Lorelei’s house to confront them. However, when she arrives Lorelei is in the bath, dead. Jane goes for help and the police and her husband soon arrive at the scene.
After some questioning, the police let her go but not before she sees her husband being arrested for Lorelei’s murder. Convinced he is innocent, Jane and a British officer, Sergeant Frank Tibbot work together to discover what really happened to Lorelei and try to clear Nicks name, but Jane might just discover that her new husband isn’t exactly who he says he is.
This is the second book that I have read this year which is set in an alternative history after World War Two. Alternative histories are quite popular at the moment and I can see why.
The book had me engrossed in the plot from the opening scene. The UK is split into two sections, Democratic United Kingdom and Republic of Great Britain, both areas divided by a high wall, protected by soldiers reminded me of a certain president’s plans. A handy map at the front of the book shows you exactly where that divide is, just below Oxford. There is also a map showing you the centre of London as it stands now – or in 1952 when the book is set.
What is truly frighting about the book is how realistic it is and how the UK could of very much ended up as it is within the pages. It also has you questioning how well you can actually ever know a person.
There is great chemistry between the characters which radiates off the pages. The book is exciting and draws you into the events and has you eagerly waiting for the pieces to unfold and the plot to reveal what really happened to Lorelei.
The book is filled with rich secrets, at times I found myself rushing through the pages needing to know more. The story has been very cleverly written and is a complete mixture of genres thrown into one. From crime to thriller, mystery to historical fiction and even espionage too. It is incredible that this is Gareth Rubin’s debut novel as the writing is spot on and the plot is flawless.
April 7, 2019
I have always enjoyed alternative histories and this is something a little unusual. There are lots of novels where the Germans won the Second World War, but this book takes things in a slightly different direction. Imagine the Germans won and were then overthrown by the Russians, leaving a wall which goes right through London and splits the country in two. To the North, the Americans look down on a battered, war torn city, which is slowly re-building itself. To the South, the Russian occupy the land.
Part of this country is recognisable, while other sections are different. It is 1952 and those in power include Anthony Blunt and Guy Burgess, while Teddy Boys lurk outside milk bars, rationing, as it was despite actually winning the war, was very much in place, the Royal Family are in Scotland and George Orwell was re-educated after a book set on a farm, but is, at least, still alive.
Into this city we meet Jane Cawson, married to a doctor, Nick, for just six months. She is more concerned with personal matters, than political ones, believing her husband is having an affair with his ex-wife, actress Lorelei, the beautiful star of propaganda films. When her husband is missing from the office, she fears he is with her and storms around to her house, only to find her dead. This leads to Nick being accused of the murder and Jane, along with British policeman, Sergeant Frank Tibbot, investigating the crime.
This is something between a crime and a spy novel, with Jane investigating a world which is full of lies and secrets. It has an interesting premise and the author has created a believable, alternative scenario. I received a copy of this book from the publisher, via NetGalley, for review.
Part of this country is recognisable, while other sections are different. It is 1952 and those in power include Anthony Blunt and Guy Burgess, while Teddy Boys lurk outside milk bars, rationing, as it was despite actually winning the war, was very much in place, the Royal Family are in Scotland and George Orwell was re-educated after a book set on a farm, but is, at least, still alive.
Into this city we meet Jane Cawson, married to a doctor, Nick, for just six months. She is more concerned with personal matters, than political ones, believing her husband is having an affair with his ex-wife, actress Lorelei, the beautiful star of propaganda films. When her husband is missing from the office, she fears he is with her and storms around to her house, only to find her dead. This leads to Nick being accused of the murder and Jane, along with British policeman, Sergeant Frank Tibbot, investigating the crime.
This is something between a crime and a spy novel, with Jane investigating a world which is full of lies and secrets. It has an interesting premise and the author has created a believable, alternative scenario. I received a copy of this book from the publisher, via NetGalley, for review.
April 15, 2019
Entertaining alternative Cold War history thriller
Gareth Rubin has come up with a fascinating alternative universe where a Nazi occupied UK is liberated by Soviet Russia and the USA , and subsequently divided by the two superpowers in a mirror of East & West Germany and East & West Berlin.
The action focuses on a London in the early 1950s divided by a wall on which Checkpoint Charlie is on Oxford Street and the Wall divides Trafalgar Square much like Potsdamer Platz ion Berlin.
Rubin uses known personalities of the period to further create an alternative history where the Cambridge Five are holding powerful government positions and Orwell has been sent off for "re-education".
The plot centres around Jane Cawson who suspects her husband of still having a relationship with his former wife, Lorelei, star of propaganda films for the new Marxist regime.
As you can imagine all is not what it seems and what follows is an entertaining read as she follows a trail of corruption right to the highest levels of the state.
The book moves along at quite a pace, with the well observed historical details twisted to make them recognisable but disturbing at the same time..
I enjoyed this entertaining thriller with an alternative history that begs for more exploration.
I received a review copy of this book from the publisher, but was not required to write a positive review.
Gareth Rubin has come up with a fascinating alternative universe where a Nazi occupied UK is liberated by Soviet Russia and the USA , and subsequently divided by the two superpowers in a mirror of East & West Germany and East & West Berlin.
The action focuses on a London in the early 1950s divided by a wall on which Checkpoint Charlie is on Oxford Street and the Wall divides Trafalgar Square much like Potsdamer Platz ion Berlin.
Rubin uses known personalities of the period to further create an alternative history where the Cambridge Five are holding powerful government positions and Orwell has been sent off for "re-education".
The plot centres around Jane Cawson who suspects her husband of still having a relationship with his former wife, Lorelei, star of propaganda films for the new Marxist regime.
As you can imagine all is not what it seems and what follows is an entertaining read as she follows a trail of corruption right to the highest levels of the state.
The book moves along at quite a pace, with the well observed historical details twisted to make them recognisable but disturbing at the same time..
I enjoyed this entertaining thriller with an alternative history that begs for more exploration.
I received a review copy of this book from the publisher, but was not required to write a positive review.
April 15, 2019
Having recently read up on WWII and the roles the Germans, Americans and Soviets, as well as others, played in it, this was the perfect, if terrifying, follow-up. It is a work of alternative history genius and it's intriguing and quite frightening to read such an intense book based on what could have been. What makes it frightful is that Stalin and Hitler have been shown to have at the least respected each other's positions - probably because psychopaths tend to recognise their fellow kind.
This piece of highly original speculative fiction tells of the takeover of British shores by Nazi Germany before the Soviets and Americans invade and split the country in two with the addition of a partition wall, much like the Berlin wall. You can tell almost instantaneously that the author knows his onions when it comes to WWII and he fills the story full of spies, intrigue, political upheaval, corruption, treachery, duplicity, secrets, lies, constant security threats and a whole host of other themes. It is a thrilling, gripping, intelligent and all too plausible historical mystery.
Liberation Square is well written and impeccably paced with twists and turns aplenty, and I feel this could be enjoyed by a wide range of people but especially those who appreciate murder mysteries, speculative fiction/alternative histories, espionage. Historical fiction aficionados will also find much to admire here as the period detail is very accurately portrayed. It beggars belief that this is Mr Rubin's debut. I look forward to reading more from him in the future.
Many thanks to Michael Joseph for an ARC.
This piece of highly original speculative fiction tells of the takeover of British shores by Nazi Germany before the Soviets and Americans invade and split the country in two with the addition of a partition wall, much like the Berlin wall. You can tell almost instantaneously that the author knows his onions when it comes to WWII and he fills the story full of spies, intrigue, political upheaval, corruption, treachery, duplicity, secrets, lies, constant security threats and a whole host of other themes. It is a thrilling, gripping, intelligent and all too plausible historical mystery.
Liberation Square is well written and impeccably paced with twists and turns aplenty, and I feel this could be enjoyed by a wide range of people but especially those who appreciate murder mysteries, speculative fiction/alternative histories, espionage. Historical fiction aficionados will also find much to admire here as the period detail is very accurately portrayed. It beggars belief that this is Mr Rubin's debut. I look forward to reading more from him in the future.
Many thanks to Michael Joseph for an ARC.
April 18, 2019
This book has a fascinating 'what if' alternative history background: the UK was occupied by Nazi Germany then liberated by Soviet Russia helped by the Americans, and was divided by the two superpowers by a wall, re-positioning the Iron Curtain across the UK. Rubin handles this part of his book very well, working out the implications and peopling this alt universe with likely candidates: Blunt, Philby and Burgess all have powerful government positions, George Orwell (surely his friends wouldn't have called him by his pen name?) is 're-educated' after writing his Animal Farm.
Sadly, the plot in the foreground is less satisfying. It's hard to believe that a grieving wife and a local policeman should a) trust each other from the outset given the political environment, and b) manage to find out what they do while evading the equivalent of the KGB. Some of their dead-ends are just silly (the codes that they think are Dewey library numbers: anyone familiar in the slightest with this system knows they're not immediately). And the final revelations are underwhelming.
But I'm being picky - as an entertaining switch-off thriller this works fine. It's just that perhaps more could have been done with the interesting background.
Sadly, the plot in the foreground is less satisfying. It's hard to believe that a grieving wife and a local policeman should a) trust each other from the outset given the political environment, and b) manage to find out what they do while evading the equivalent of the KGB. Some of their dead-ends are just silly (the codes that they think are Dewey library numbers: anyone familiar in the slightest with this system knows they're not immediately). And the final revelations are underwhelming.
But I'm being picky - as an entertaining switch-off thriller this works fine. It's just that perhaps more could have been done with the interesting background.
May 7, 2019
I have read alternate historical fiction before but never one as convincing or a fascinating as this. It takes place in London in 1952. It isn’t the London that I normally read about, there is a wall through the middle that separates the Soviet side from the rest of England. I spent some time looking at the map, comparing it to the London that I am aware of. The Royal family and Churchill are in the North. Jane lives on the Soviet side with her doctor husband Nick.
When Nick’s first wife, Lorelei, is found dead and Nick is arrested Jane is determined to help. But fear of the security services, his unfriendly secretary and a feeling of being spied on by neighbours makes it very difficult. Whilst she doesn’t give up, she also finds out more than she thought she would. Things that suggest she has never really known him.
The murder investigation is an interesting one and even though I really wanted to know if Nick was guilty or innocent, the more captivating part of the novel for me was how people had to live their lives. How propaganda was used, how people were judged by which radios stations they listened to and the fact that they could be reported for listening to the wrong one. The rations, the teddy boys, a feeling of not being able to trust anybody, National Security, and most of all the fear of anyone with power.
When Nick’s first wife, Lorelei, is found dead and Nick is arrested Jane is determined to help. But fear of the security services, his unfriendly secretary and a feeling of being spied on by neighbours makes it very difficult. Whilst she doesn’t give up, she also finds out more than she thought she would. Things that suggest she has never really known him.
The murder investigation is an interesting one and even though I really wanted to know if Nick was guilty or innocent, the more captivating part of the novel for me was how people had to live their lives. How propaganda was used, how people were judged by which radios stations they listened to and the fact that they could be reported for listening to the wrong one. The rations, the teddy boys, a feeling of not being able to trust anybody, National Security, and most of all the fear of anyone with power.
February 9, 2020
A really clever premise is ruined by a really twittish plot. It’s 1952 and the Russians occupy Britain with London replacing Berlin as a divided city. A woman is on the chase of her husband whom she suspects of having an affair with a movie star. It all unfolds from there with a nod or two to the Third Man.
April 19, 2019
Well, here is a frightening scenario.
The year is 1952. The setting is London. But not the London we all know. D-Day was an enormous failure and the war was lost. The United Kingdom has been divided in two with a wall running through London. Jane and her husband Nick live in the Republic, under Russian control. Jane suspects her husband of having an affair with his first wife, Lorelei. When Jane decides to confront them, she finds Lorelei dead in the bathtub and soon, husband Nick is arrested by the National Secret Service. But all is not what it seems.
Jane is just your average woman who suddenly finds herself in the middle of extraordinary circumstances. Not only is goodness knows what happening to her husband while he’s being held but she also suddenly finds herself responsible for his daughter from his previous marriage. Desperate to find evidence that will help free her husband, she soon ends up in situations she is wholly unprepared for.
Life is not a bed of roses on this side of the wall. Corruption is rife and the things that have been promised do not come to fruition. Danger lurks around every corner. People are arrested and disappear. You can’t even trust your neighbours, who seem to be watching your every move, ready to inform the authorities. Some try to escape, making desperate attempts to reach the other side of the wall. Most fail.
The cover of this book is black and white with some red highlights standing out and that’s exactly how I saw things in my head while reading. At its heart, Liberation Square is a murder mystery and I felt it had a bit of a noir vibe to it. As Jane digs deeper, trying to figure out who was responsible for Lorelei’s death, she uncovers a multitude of secrets and is left to wonder if she knows her husband at all. With so much deceit going on everywhere, I ended up being suspicious of just about everyone and had a hard time imagining living my life like that. Scary.
With a fascinating and original premise, Liberation Square turned into quite the surprising read for me. I say that because dystopian stories don’t always hit the right spot with me but this one most definitely did. Having the added bonus of a murder mystery and a bit of a spy thriller touch to it, made this an enjoyable, atmospheric and gripping story. One that had me guessing until the end and in awe of the utterly believable alternative scenario.
The year is 1952. The setting is London. But not the London we all know. D-Day was an enormous failure and the war was lost. The United Kingdom has been divided in two with a wall running through London. Jane and her husband Nick live in the Republic, under Russian control. Jane suspects her husband of having an affair with his first wife, Lorelei. When Jane decides to confront them, she finds Lorelei dead in the bathtub and soon, husband Nick is arrested by the National Secret Service. But all is not what it seems.
Jane is just your average woman who suddenly finds herself in the middle of extraordinary circumstances. Not only is goodness knows what happening to her husband while he’s being held but she also suddenly finds herself responsible for his daughter from his previous marriage. Desperate to find evidence that will help free her husband, she soon ends up in situations she is wholly unprepared for.
Life is not a bed of roses on this side of the wall. Corruption is rife and the things that have been promised do not come to fruition. Danger lurks around every corner. People are arrested and disappear. You can’t even trust your neighbours, who seem to be watching your every move, ready to inform the authorities. Some try to escape, making desperate attempts to reach the other side of the wall. Most fail.
The cover of this book is black and white with some red highlights standing out and that’s exactly how I saw things in my head while reading. At its heart, Liberation Square is a murder mystery and I felt it had a bit of a noir vibe to it. As Jane digs deeper, trying to figure out who was responsible for Lorelei’s death, she uncovers a multitude of secrets and is left to wonder if she knows her husband at all. With so much deceit going on everywhere, I ended up being suspicious of just about everyone and had a hard time imagining living my life like that. Scary.
With a fascinating and original premise, Liberation Square turned into quite the surprising read for me. I say that because dystopian stories don’t always hit the right spot with me but this one most definitely did. Having the added bonus of a murder mystery and a bit of a spy thriller touch to it, made this an enjoyable, atmospheric and gripping story. One that had me guessing until the end and in awe of the utterly believable alternative scenario.
December 7, 2019
I had this one recommended and in terms of alternate histories it seemed a neat and somewhat different concept. Elegant prose and a very easy read allowed me to get through it at a nippy pace. In all it was quite an interesting tale and my hunch about the killer was half right.
The only detraction I had was while the imagery and setting was vivid, I didn’t especially engage with the main characters and their backstory - what it was, was a bit light for me.
I liked the concept, and even if D-day went pear shaped, I’m struggling to imagine a western expansion by German forces, even with an increase in V weapons. Air and Sea is a fraction of the earlier potency and Armies exist in Southern France, Italy and the Far East. I could see a stand off for some time until the Red Army arrives and the USA nukes Japan into a crater. As with Germany, what invasion fleet has Russia available to emulate a 1940 Seelion?
Liberation Square certainly provokes the mind and could be a wargamers delight if it transferred mediums.
The only detraction I had was while the imagery and setting was vivid, I didn’t especially engage with the main characters and their backstory - what it was, was a bit light for me.
I liked the concept, and even if D-day went pear shaped, I’m struggling to imagine a western expansion by German forces, even with an increase in V weapons. Air and Sea is a fraction of the earlier potency and Armies exist in Southern France, Italy and the Far East. I could see a stand off for some time until the Red Army arrives and the USA nukes Japan into a crater. As with Germany, what invasion fleet has Russia available to emulate a 1940 Seelion?
Liberation Square certainly provokes the mind and could be a wargamers delight if it transferred mediums.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 7, 2019
A fairly intriguing alternate-history thriller in which Britain lost WWII to Germany, only then to be "liberated" by Soviet Russia. For a new author, Gareth Rubin does a surprisingly good job at evoking the Orwellian atmosphere of a communist England. The thriller aspects were a bit hit and miss. I felt there could have been more action and espionage, less to do with Jane and her husband. Jane was a bit of a boring protagonist. But overall the serviceable characters work well enough for this story to move along.
September 14, 2020
Thoroughly engaged in this book right from the first page. There were twists and turns on every page and a face slap when it is all finally bought to light. Fantastic book
June 2, 2019
This was mostly a DNF. I sped through a bunch of it to find if it got any better but it didn't seem to.
I was quite excited to read about an alternate history of London being divided by an iron curtain but it was really just a geographical shift of the real history more than anything novel.
Mostly what ruined it for me was too much pining over unrequited love and not enough cool alternate soviet history.
I was quite excited to read about an alternate history of London being divided by an iron curtain but it was really just a geographical shift of the real history more than anything novel.
Mostly what ruined it for me was too much pining over unrequited love and not enough cool alternate soviet history.
May 13, 2019
I was in the mood for something frivolous after plodding through Book 3 of Kristin Lavransdatter, and I succumbed to impulse buying when I saw this book on the stands in the bookshop at Palmerston North.
The premise, an alternative history of postwar Britain, could have worked really well.
But alas, it's a very silly book. The plot is an awful muddle of completely unbelievable events, tangled into a plot that's hard to follow (if, that is, the reader can be bothered to invest time in trying). In a book with multiple flaws, the biggest one is that Rubin chose to narrate the book through a female character, and he doesn't seem to have any idea about how women think and behave.
I came to the conclusion that the author wrote it because he was a bit alarmed by the popularity of Jeremy Corbyn's 'democratic socialism' and wanted to show his idealistic adherents what they would be letting themselves in for. The central character Jane believes the Soviet rhetoric about a fairer society with better housing, free health care and education, but as the plot progresses and she witnesses the privileges, the corruption, and the excessive power that the Soviet leadership has, lo! she realises that it's not a utopia after all.
I left the book in the airport lounge at Napier.
The premise, an alternative history of postwar Britain, could have worked really well.
But alas, it's a very silly book. The plot is an awful muddle of completely unbelievable events, tangled into a plot that's hard to follow (if, that is, the reader can be bothered to invest time in trying). In a book with multiple flaws, the biggest one is that Rubin chose to narrate the book through a female character, and he doesn't seem to have any idea about how women think and behave.
I came to the conclusion that the author wrote it because he was a bit alarmed by the popularity of Jeremy Corbyn's 'democratic socialism' and wanted to show his idealistic adherents what they would be letting themselves in for. The central character Jane believes the Soviet rhetoric about a fairer society with better housing, free health care and education, but as the plot progresses and she witnesses the privileges, the corruption, and the excessive power that the Soviet leadership has, lo! she realises that it's not a utopia after all.
I left the book in the airport lounge at Napier.
January 23, 2020
RUBIN’S DEBUT IS A LIBERATION FROM OTHER FAR FETCHED ALT. HISTORY BOOKS
This week, the Crystal Palace and Welsh International goalkeeper Wayne Hennessy was accused by a Football Association hearing of “lamentable” ignorance towards Fascism and Adolf Hitler. This came after he used the excuse that he didn’t know what a Nazi salute was. This thirty-year-old highly paid premier league footballer’s appearance before the tribunal came after images of him emerged last year, at a Crystal Palace team dinner, making what was construed as a Nazi salute.
There have been enough movies and video games made, as well as books published in the past three decades,(Schindler’s List, The Boy in The Stripped Pyjamas, Inglorious Bastards and Call Of Duty) to leave only someone living in a cultural vacum or a hermitage, in this position. Following the decision of the Football association conduct hearing which cleared the player, he was sent informative material by The Auschwitz Memorial about Fascism.
Mr Hennessy, like quite a large number of people in the UK and across Europe, lives a good life owing to the sacrifices made by their grandparents and hopefully will never experience the constraints of Fascism or even Socialism, except in the realms of video games or as alternative history story lines in TV programmes and books. One of those books is this month’s second review, its Liberation Square by Gareth Rubin, published by Michael Joseph (www.penguin.co.uk/company/publishers/...) on the 18th April .
Its 1952, in a divided European country following the end of the second world war. But instead of hearing German accents as you travel around this place they are English … Yes, the D-Day landings failed and England is divided following a German invasion. The Democratic United Kingdom controlled by the Allies lies beyond a border stretching from Bristol to the Norfolk coast. Beneath that line, is the Soviet controlled Republic of Great Britain and inside it is London a city divided in two by a large wall.
In the Soviet controlled sector of the city Jane Cawson, a school teacher, suspects her doctor husband Nick is having an affair with his first wife, Lorelei an actress and star of numerous propaganda films. Jane goes to Lorelei’s house in the hope of confronting the two of them, but finds the former Mrs Cawson murdered in her bath. Nick is arrested on suspicion of murder and held by the brutal Secret Police.
Jane then starts trying to prove her husband’s innocence to get him released, she starts probing Nicks relationship with his former wife, why are there coded messages hidden in a book in Lorelei’s house. All the while trying to protect her step-daughter, as well as not arousing suspicion from the authorities and nosy neighbours who are all too eager to tow the party line and curry favours. With the help of Tibbot, a middle-aged East End bobby, Jane starts to piece together the identity of Lorelei’s murderer and hopefully prove Nick’s innocence. But is he innocent? Was Lorelei consorting with the Allies and what does it have to do with her recent miscarriage…?
As alternative history driven plot lines go, this in the current climate is not too far from the truth. With Brexit looming over the United Kingdom, the country is divided and becoming even more fractured by the day.
Rubin’s book is superbly crafted and drives the imagination from the first page to its conclusion, with its Sliding Doors – “What If” scenario. Along the way it asks the reader to imagine what might have happened if the course of history had changed.
The description of the remnants of war-torn London and the citizens trying get by under a brutal socialist regime are thought provoking and envelopes the reader into the story with every turn of the page. The historical nuances are superb, especially when you have Jane coming up against the likes of Burgess and Blunt and other members of the Cambridge five spy ring, who in this story have been exalted into running the country for their soviet bosses, as a reward for their cowardice and betrayal.
As for the characters, Jane is an excellent heroine, whose simplicity allows her to be believable and sets her apart from the all too often, highly skilled, super spy protagonist you expect to find in these types of books. She’s a school teacher, in well over her head, but allowed to follow the course of her investigations by the assistance of some other remarkably drawn characters, such as Tibbot the police officer working up to his retirement and the cagey and mysterious Charles, Nicks practice manager. Not forgetting the other host of run of the mill cockney characters and party hangers on and apparatchiks who help drive the story forward, as well as making it as wholly believable as it.
This is English Author Gareth Rubin’s (http://gr8502.wixsite.com) first novel, he’s written one previous book, an anthology of mistakes which have changed the course of British history, called The Great Cat Massacre A History of Britain in One Hundred Mistakes (2014). He’s journalist also a covering social affair, travel and the arts for various newspapers. In 2013 he directed a documentary about therapeutic art at The Royal Bethlehem Hospital in London, otherwise known as ‘Bedlam’.
Liberation Square asks the unthinkable; what if for example Alan Turing and his secret team at Bletchley hadn’t broken the Enigma machine or Churchill’s government hadn’t found enough little boats to Sail twelve miles across the channel to rescue the Allies from Dunkirk? It makes the reader realize how much of what happened during that time in history is down to coincidences and a stroke of luck, as well as how easily things could have gone awry. If things had happened as in this book, where would the likes of Wayne Hennessy be now? Would they have been even born?
So if you are looking for deeply engrossing debut thriller, to read over the Easter break, which will make you think twice about how good your life is now, then get down to your local book shop or download a copy.
Reviewed by Adrian Murphy on www.thelibrarydoor.me
This week, the Crystal Palace and Welsh International goalkeeper Wayne Hennessy was accused by a Football Association hearing of “lamentable” ignorance towards Fascism and Adolf Hitler. This came after he used the excuse that he didn’t know what a Nazi salute was. This thirty-year-old highly paid premier league footballer’s appearance before the tribunal came after images of him emerged last year, at a Crystal Palace team dinner, making what was construed as a Nazi salute.
There have been enough movies and video games made, as well as books published in the past three decades,(Schindler’s List, The Boy in The Stripped Pyjamas, Inglorious Bastards and Call Of Duty) to leave only someone living in a cultural vacum or a hermitage, in this position. Following the decision of the Football association conduct hearing which cleared the player, he was sent informative material by The Auschwitz Memorial about Fascism.
Mr Hennessy, like quite a large number of people in the UK and across Europe, lives a good life owing to the sacrifices made by their grandparents and hopefully will never experience the constraints of Fascism or even Socialism, except in the realms of video games or as alternative history story lines in TV programmes and books. One of those books is this month’s second review, its Liberation Square by Gareth Rubin, published by Michael Joseph (www.penguin.co.uk/company/publishers/...) on the 18th April .
Its 1952, in a divided European country following the end of the second world war. But instead of hearing German accents as you travel around this place they are English … Yes, the D-Day landings failed and England is divided following a German invasion. The Democratic United Kingdom controlled by the Allies lies beyond a border stretching from Bristol to the Norfolk coast. Beneath that line, is the Soviet controlled Republic of Great Britain and inside it is London a city divided in two by a large wall.
In the Soviet controlled sector of the city Jane Cawson, a school teacher, suspects her doctor husband Nick is having an affair with his first wife, Lorelei an actress and star of numerous propaganda films. Jane goes to Lorelei’s house in the hope of confronting the two of them, but finds the former Mrs Cawson murdered in her bath. Nick is arrested on suspicion of murder and held by the brutal Secret Police.
Jane then starts trying to prove her husband’s innocence to get him released, she starts probing Nicks relationship with his former wife, why are there coded messages hidden in a book in Lorelei’s house. All the while trying to protect her step-daughter, as well as not arousing suspicion from the authorities and nosy neighbours who are all too eager to tow the party line and curry favours. With the help of Tibbot, a middle-aged East End bobby, Jane starts to piece together the identity of Lorelei’s murderer and hopefully prove Nick’s innocence. But is he innocent? Was Lorelei consorting with the Allies and what does it have to do with her recent miscarriage…?
As alternative history driven plot lines go, this in the current climate is not too far from the truth. With Brexit looming over the United Kingdom, the country is divided and becoming even more fractured by the day.
Rubin’s book is superbly crafted and drives the imagination from the first page to its conclusion, with its Sliding Doors – “What If” scenario. Along the way it asks the reader to imagine what might have happened if the course of history had changed.
The description of the remnants of war-torn London and the citizens trying get by under a brutal socialist regime are thought provoking and envelopes the reader into the story with every turn of the page. The historical nuances are superb, especially when you have Jane coming up against the likes of Burgess and Blunt and other members of the Cambridge five spy ring, who in this story have been exalted into running the country for their soviet bosses, as a reward for their cowardice and betrayal.
As for the characters, Jane is an excellent heroine, whose simplicity allows her to be believable and sets her apart from the all too often, highly skilled, super spy protagonist you expect to find in these types of books. She’s a school teacher, in well over her head, but allowed to follow the course of her investigations by the assistance of some other remarkably drawn characters, such as Tibbot the police officer working up to his retirement and the cagey and mysterious Charles, Nicks practice manager. Not forgetting the other host of run of the mill cockney characters and party hangers on and apparatchiks who help drive the story forward, as well as making it as wholly believable as it.
This is English Author Gareth Rubin’s (http://gr8502.wixsite.com) first novel, he’s written one previous book, an anthology of mistakes which have changed the course of British history, called The Great Cat Massacre A History of Britain in One Hundred Mistakes (2014). He’s journalist also a covering social affair, travel and the arts for various newspapers. In 2013 he directed a documentary about therapeutic art at The Royal Bethlehem Hospital in London, otherwise known as ‘Bedlam’.
Liberation Square asks the unthinkable; what if for example Alan Turing and his secret team at Bletchley hadn’t broken the Enigma machine or Churchill’s government hadn’t found enough little boats to Sail twelve miles across the channel to rescue the Allies from Dunkirk? It makes the reader realize how much of what happened during that time in history is down to coincidences and a stroke of luck, as well as how easily things could have gone awry. If things had happened as in this book, where would the likes of Wayne Hennessy be now? Would they have been even born?
So if you are looking for deeply engrossing debut thriller, to read over the Easter break, which will make you think twice about how good your life is now, then get down to your local book shop or download a copy.
Reviewed by Adrian Murphy on www.thelibrarydoor.me
April 19, 2019
My thanks to Penguin Random House/Michael Joseph for an eARC via NetGalley of Gareth Rubin’s debut novel ‘Liberation Square’ in exchange for an honest review.
I quickly found myself totally caught up in the story and so opted to buy its Audible edition narrated by Nicola Walker and Gareth Rubin to combine listening with my reading.
I am always intrigued by alternative histories. Rubin has set his Cold War crime thriller in an alternative 1952 setting in which Britain was invaded and occupied by Nazi Germany after D-Day had failed disastrously and was liberated in 1945 by Soviet and American (with the remains of the British) troops.
As with real-life Germany in 1946 the country was then divided with the Soviets declaring their part as the Republic of Great Britain led by a committee chaired by Anthony Blunt. London is also divided with a wall erected to surround the Democratic United Kingdom (DUK) section of the city.
The main character, Jane Cawson, recently married Dr. Nick Cawson. When she calls into his medical practice she finds that he is not there. She detects the scent of the perfume worn by his ex-wife, Lorelei, a glamorous actress who had been the star of propaganda films of the new Marxist regime. She is immediately suspicious and goes to Lorelei’s house to confront them.
Instead, she finds Lorelei’s body though the circumstances of her death are unclear. The police arrive and interview Jane, who is confused due to a fall and possible concussion. However, it isn’t long until agents of the National Security Police (NatSec) are also on the scene and take over. Then Nick is arrested for murder.
Despite being warned off by the lead NatSec agent, Jane is determined to clear her husband’s name. In addition, Nick’s 14-year old daughter, Hazel, is placed in Jane’s care. Jane is quite unprepared for the network of secrets and lies she encounters though finds an unlikely ally to assist in her investigation.
‘Liberation Square’ is expertly plotted and had me enthralled from start to finish. Rubin creates such a detailed sense of a divided London, deeply scarred by the war as well as by the imposed division. From his Historical Notes it’s clear that he has researched the division of Berlin and the role of the Stasi and applied this to his alternative vision of Britain.
I trust that this innovative and entertaining novel will find a wide audience. After such an amazing debut I look forward to Rubin’s future projects. Highly recommended.
I quickly found myself totally caught up in the story and so opted to buy its Audible edition narrated by Nicola Walker and Gareth Rubin to combine listening with my reading.
I am always intrigued by alternative histories. Rubin has set his Cold War crime thriller in an alternative 1952 setting in which Britain was invaded and occupied by Nazi Germany after D-Day had failed disastrously and was liberated in 1945 by Soviet and American (with the remains of the British) troops.
As with real-life Germany in 1946 the country was then divided with the Soviets declaring their part as the Republic of Great Britain led by a committee chaired by Anthony Blunt. London is also divided with a wall erected to surround the Democratic United Kingdom (DUK) section of the city.
The main character, Jane Cawson, recently married Dr. Nick Cawson. When she calls into his medical practice she finds that he is not there. She detects the scent of the perfume worn by his ex-wife, Lorelei, a glamorous actress who had been the star of propaganda films of the new Marxist regime. She is immediately suspicious and goes to Lorelei’s house to confront them.
Instead, she finds Lorelei’s body though the circumstances of her death are unclear. The police arrive and interview Jane, who is confused due to a fall and possible concussion. However, it isn’t long until agents of the National Security Police (NatSec) are also on the scene and take over. Then Nick is arrested for murder.
Despite being warned off by the lead NatSec agent, Jane is determined to clear her husband’s name. In addition, Nick’s 14-year old daughter, Hazel, is placed in Jane’s care. Jane is quite unprepared for the network of secrets and lies she encounters though finds an unlikely ally to assist in her investigation.
‘Liberation Square’ is expertly plotted and had me enthralled from start to finish. Rubin creates such a detailed sense of a divided London, deeply scarred by the war as well as by the imposed division. From his Historical Notes it’s clear that he has researched the division of Berlin and the role of the Stasi and applied this to his alternative vision of Britain.
I trust that this innovative and entertaining novel will find a wide audience. After such an amazing debut I look forward to Rubin’s future projects. Highly recommended.
May 3, 2019
When I was at secondary school, I read Making History by Stephen Fry. At that time I was new to the idea of ‘what if’ and alternate history dystopia, and it absolutely blew my mind. When I saw the synopsis for this book, therefore, I knew instantly that it was one I wanted to read.
Set in London in 1952, this novel takes a look at what could have happened if D-Day had been a complete and utter failure. In our revised history, we were occupied by Nazi Germany, but later liberated by the Americans and the Russians, who divided Britain between them, running a wall of separation through London.
This provides the backdrop for the plot, as Jane Cawson, wife of a GP, stumbles upon the death of her husband’s ex-wife, the glamourous actress, Lorelei Addington. With her husband arrested for Lorelei’s murder, Jane is determined to clear his name, but in doing so discovers far more than she bargained for and threatens to blow her own life apart.
I found the concept of Liberation Square absolutely fascinating, and I loved finding out about this alternate history. It was chilling to read, the realisation being that this really could have happened. The inclusion of a map of the divided United Kingdom and the location of the wall throughout London was a perfect opening visual to set the story up. I liked how the author didn’t immediately launch into a blow by blow account of this alternate world, instead it was accepted as the norm and the reader is allowed to learn all about it at a tantalising pace as the story unfolds, which held me completely enthralled.
The plot itself is incredibly compelling; murder mystery, corruption, lies and deceit! There were shades of hardboiled detective fiction, with a femme fatale in Lorelei, the dark and heavy atmosphere, but I enjoyed the twist that the ‘detective’ of the piece was a young and unassuming woman; Jane Cawson. The meek wife of a GP, she strikes much more as the damsel in distress type, yet her journey throughout the novel sees her character develop realistically into someone far more strong and capable. I found myself utterly gripped and swept along by some truly fantastic story-telling.
An intelligent, immersive and thrilling read for fans of alternate histories and crime/detective fiction alike. Thoroughly enjoyable!
Set in London in 1952, this novel takes a look at what could have happened if D-Day had been a complete and utter failure. In our revised history, we were occupied by Nazi Germany, but later liberated by the Americans and the Russians, who divided Britain between them, running a wall of separation through London.
This provides the backdrop for the plot, as Jane Cawson, wife of a GP, stumbles upon the death of her husband’s ex-wife, the glamourous actress, Lorelei Addington. With her husband arrested for Lorelei’s murder, Jane is determined to clear his name, but in doing so discovers far more than she bargained for and threatens to blow her own life apart.
I found the concept of Liberation Square absolutely fascinating, and I loved finding out about this alternate history. It was chilling to read, the realisation being that this really could have happened. The inclusion of a map of the divided United Kingdom and the location of the wall throughout London was a perfect opening visual to set the story up. I liked how the author didn’t immediately launch into a blow by blow account of this alternate world, instead it was accepted as the norm and the reader is allowed to learn all about it at a tantalising pace as the story unfolds, which held me completely enthralled.
The plot itself is incredibly compelling; murder mystery, corruption, lies and deceit! There were shades of hardboiled detective fiction, with a femme fatale in Lorelei, the dark and heavy atmosphere, but I enjoyed the twist that the ‘detective’ of the piece was a young and unassuming woman; Jane Cawson. The meek wife of a GP, she strikes much more as the damsel in distress type, yet her journey throughout the novel sees her character develop realistically into someone far more strong and capable. I found myself utterly gripped and swept along by some truly fantastic story-telling.
An intelligent, immersive and thrilling read for fans of alternate histories and crime/detective fiction alike. Thoroughly enjoyable!
October 3, 2025
This has an alternate history setting and that is what drew me to the book. Unfortunately, the story set in this new time line was not a great story. I enjoy a good alternate history story as long as it is told in a straight forward manner and not trying to return to the history we know and have lived. This book does this part very well.
Set in 1952, London is a divided city, with the soviet backed government controlling most of the city and the southern part of England. Think of divided Berlin, with it's East Berlin and West Berlin isolated in East Germany. This is the world the book is set in. Germany never attacked Russia in WWII and when the D-Day landings were a complete disaster, Germany invaded Britain. This was when Russia entered the war and occupied all of Europe and parts of Britain, only being stopped by an American force parachuting into the English midlands.
In this world we have Jane Cawson, living in the soviet controlled part of London, who suspects her husband is having an affair with his ex-wife. When she goes to confront the ex-wife she finds her dead in the bathtub. Thus begins an investigation into the death and reveals the hidden past of her husband. When the secret police become involved and arrest her husband she does all she can to get him released. The story turns into a mystery spy drama thriller. But a badly executed one.
In the end I didn't really enjoy the story as I thought it was a convoluted soap opera drama. It lacked a certain logic and believably. Performing CPR in a burning house instead of dragging them outside through the nearby door just doesn't make any kind of sense. It's little things like this that annoy me about the book.
Set in 1952, London is a divided city, with the soviet backed government controlling most of the city and the southern part of England. Think of divided Berlin, with it's East Berlin and West Berlin isolated in East Germany. This is the world the book is set in. Germany never attacked Russia in WWII and when the D-Day landings were a complete disaster, Germany invaded Britain. This was when Russia entered the war and occupied all of Europe and parts of Britain, only being stopped by an American force parachuting into the English midlands.
In this world we have Jane Cawson, living in the soviet controlled part of London, who suspects her husband is having an affair with his ex-wife. When she goes to confront the ex-wife she finds her dead in the bathtub. Thus begins an investigation into the death and reveals the hidden past of her husband. When the secret police become involved and arrest her husband she does all she can to get him released. The story turns into a mystery spy drama thriller. But a badly executed one.
In the end I didn't really enjoy the story as I thought it was a convoluted soap opera drama. It lacked a certain logic and believably. Performing CPR in a burning house instead of dragging them outside through the nearby door just doesn't make any kind of sense. It's little things like this that annoy me about the book.
May 20, 2019
London, after WW2, separated by a wall, half of it run by the Russians. This is the scary, exciting and somewhat dystopian premise for Liberation Square.
Caught not only in the midst of the drab Soviet madness but also in the murder of her husband's glamorous ex-wife, is Jane, a normal young woman minding her own business and just trying to survive without getting on the wrong side of the state. Her husband is a charismatic and extremely charming doctor, his ex-wife Lorelei the beautiful propaganda face of Russian London. Jane, plagued by jealousy, ends up half-witnessing Lorelei's murder, finding the body and watching her husband get arrested by national security.
Rubin beautifully portrays his protagonist and all her very human insecurities and confusions that I am sure most of us can relate to. He writes with great sensitivity from this female perspective without falling into stereotypes, no mean feat for a male author.
This is an intelligently and perceptively written book which explores how our lives are, for the most part, really just ruled by a roll of the dice. Just as we can find ourselves on the right or wrong side of the wall, we can find ourselves on the right or wrong side of a dead body. And often the unlikeliest of people show the most gumption in trying to find out why.
Caught not only in the midst of the drab Soviet madness but also in the murder of her husband's glamorous ex-wife, is Jane, a normal young woman minding her own business and just trying to survive without getting on the wrong side of the state. Her husband is a charismatic and extremely charming doctor, his ex-wife Lorelei the beautiful propaganda face of Russian London. Jane, plagued by jealousy, ends up half-witnessing Lorelei's murder, finding the body and watching her husband get arrested by national security.
Rubin beautifully portrays his protagonist and all her very human insecurities and confusions that I am sure most of us can relate to. He writes with great sensitivity from this female perspective without falling into stereotypes, no mean feat for a male author.
This is an intelligently and perceptively written book which explores how our lives are, for the most part, really just ruled by a roll of the dice. Just as we can find ourselves on the right or wrong side of the wall, we can find ourselves on the right or wrong side of a dead body. And often the unlikeliest of people show the most gumption in trying to find out why.
April 22, 2019
It’s the year 1952 and Europe is divided by a wall: Russian Comunism on the east side and American Capitalism on the west side. But the wall is not in Berlin, as it says on all the history books, because, in Gareth Rubin’s version of World War II, D-Day failed, Nazi Germany occupied England, and only the intervention of Russian and American troops brought the war to an end. While the royal family and Winston Churchill escaped to Scotland, a wall was erected in London dividing the capital and the nation between the Russian Republic of Great Britain on one side and the American Democratic United Kingdom on the other side.
With an atmosphere that reminded me of 1984 by George Orwell (who, by the way, makes a surprising small appearance), LIBERATION SQUARE kept me completely engrossed. The protagonist is Jane Cawson. Newly married to local GP Nick, when he is accused of the murder of his first wife Lorelei, Jane is sure he is innocent and, as she investigates on her own, she uncovers a web of lies and deceit that make her question not only the government, but also her marriage and her trust in her husband. At the beginning, Jane seems like any average woman until unexpected and exceptional circumstances turn her into a spy, a determined and fearless woman ready to do anything to find out the truth, including breaking into a house, impersonating someone one else, and sneaking into parties to mingle with very powerful people.
Very well-written and self-paced, LIBERATION SQUARE describes a scary and dark world where the government encourages procreation for the welfare of the nation, where opponents of the regime are sent to mental institutions to be reprogrammed, where people who try to escape to the other side of the wall are shot by the soldiers guarding it.
I loved how Gareth Rubin perfectly mixes crime, dystopian, spy thriller, and historical genres to create a remarkable and gripping novel that features a likable and strong heroine and a twisty and engaging plot that made it almost impossible to put the book down!
With an atmosphere that reminded me of 1984 by George Orwell (who, by the way, makes a surprising small appearance), LIBERATION SQUARE kept me completely engrossed. The protagonist is Jane Cawson. Newly married to local GP Nick, when he is accused of the murder of his first wife Lorelei, Jane is sure he is innocent and, as she investigates on her own, she uncovers a web of lies and deceit that make her question not only the government, but also her marriage and her trust in her husband. At the beginning, Jane seems like any average woman until unexpected and exceptional circumstances turn her into a spy, a determined and fearless woman ready to do anything to find out the truth, including breaking into a house, impersonating someone one else, and sneaking into parties to mingle with very powerful people.
Very well-written and self-paced, LIBERATION SQUARE describes a scary and dark world where the government encourages procreation for the welfare of the nation, where opponents of the regime are sent to mental institutions to be reprogrammed, where people who try to escape to the other side of the wall are shot by the soldiers guarding it.
I loved how Gareth Rubin perfectly mixes crime, dystopian, spy thriller, and historical genres to create a remarkable and gripping novel that features a likable and strong heroine and a twisty and engaging plot that made it almost impossible to put the book down!
October 23, 2019
Alternative histories can be fascinating. The Plot Against America, SS-GB, The Man in the High Castle, The Underground Railroad, Fatherland, Guns of the South. The titles are many. And many imagine a world where Hitler won. In this novel, the Soviets sweep Europe after watching the Nazis and the Allies bash each other about. The fighting ends in London where a wall akin to Berlin’s is erected both practically and symbolically.
As cool as this Soviet world is as a backdrop, it unfortunately remains just that. The novel is primarily a murder mystery and one that is not very compelling. Mostly, that is attributable to a main character who is too ditzy and suspect. In other words, a deliberate feint distracts rather than builds suspense.
Pockets of the book are cool especially when it involves a good police officer, Sergeant Frank Tibbot. When he appears, the book speeds along. It may have been better to set it from his perspective though I understand what the author was trying to accomplish. All-in-all, it is a decent read but there are better picks in the genre.
As cool as this Soviet world is as a backdrop, it unfortunately remains just that. The novel is primarily a murder mystery and one that is not very compelling. Mostly, that is attributable to a main character who is too ditzy and suspect. In other words, a deliberate feint distracts rather than builds suspense.
Pockets of the book are cool especially when it involves a good police officer, Sergeant Frank Tibbot. When he appears, the book speeds along. It may have been better to set it from his perspective though I understand what the author was trying to accomplish. All-in-all, it is a decent read but there are better picks in the genre.
May 25, 2019
In the Republic of the United Kingdom in 1952 the people work hard to support the communist ideals that they are exposed to. Jane Cawson is married to a doctor who deals with members of the Party and who has a glamorous ex-wife. Suspecting her husband of cheating on her with his ex, Jane goes to her house and finds her dead. Her husband is arrested and Jane starts to unravel the secret deals that he is involved with, deals that are treachery to the State but which also involve influential politicians. Naive Jane and a supportive police officer realise what is going on but can they prove anything?
The best part of this book is the setting. Rubin has imagined an alternative ending to the Second World War where D-Day was a failure and the Russians managed to reach Britain. London is segregated by a 'Berlin Wall' and Britain is the former Germany. This is very well done and creatively imagined. Beyond that the book is a fairly decent period thriller.
The best part of this book is the setting. Rubin has imagined an alternative ending to the Second World War where D-Day was a failure and the Russians managed to reach Britain. London is segregated by a 'Berlin Wall' and Britain is the former Germany. This is very well done and creatively imagined. Beyond that the book is a fairly decent period thriller.
September 9, 2019
What if the Nazis won the war? Those books are common, here we have a Soviet victory, sweeping across Europe after D-Day failed and the Nazis crossed the Channel. It's well thought out but a little implausible, America sweeps in from the Midlands as the Soviets sail up the Thames, and Britain becomes the epicentre of the Cold War. Checkpoint Charlie in Trafalgar Square, and a London Wall.
The alternative history aside, this is just a murder mystery, and it all gets a bit too complicated, with a dead ex wife, and the current one dying her hair and faking it just for scraps of information... We think we know whodunnit, then we don't, then we definitely do, except we don't.
The novelty of the setting works better than the crime really...
The alternative history aside, this is just a murder mystery, and it all gets a bit too complicated, with a dead ex wife, and the current one dying her hair and faking it just for scraps of information... We think we know whodunnit, then we don't, then we definitely do, except we don't.
The novelty of the setting works better than the crime really...
December 25, 2018
A new writer to me who has come up with something original. What if the Germans had won the war but had then been defeated by the Russians who occupied England before the Americans arrived and the country was then divided up between the 2 superpowers with the British version of the Berlin wall dividing the protagonists?
That is the backdrop for a fascinating tale of treachery and double dealing tied up in a murder mystery.
The historical background is well told and Mr Rubin has an eye for period detail and conversation.
Th characters are well drawn and credible and the plot drew me in from the start.
He has come up with a winner which fully deserves a wide readership.
That is the backdrop for a fascinating tale of treachery and double dealing tied up in a murder mystery.
The historical background is well told and Mr Rubin has an eye for period detail and conversation.
Th characters are well drawn and credible and the plot drew me in from the start.
He has come up with a winner which fully deserves a wide readership.
October 7, 2023
I found it difficult to get into the story but the concept is intriguing. Instead of a divided Germany and Berlin, the UK has been split into East and West.
We see the world through the eyes of Jane who goes from unquestioning acceptance to doubting everything.
It is the character of Jane that I found troublesome as too often she just seems to let things happen to her. Maybe that is realistic though.
The novel also includes a murder of a famous film star who is the first wife of Jane's husband. He is a doctor but is there more to him than Jane, or we, knows.
There are layers upon layers in this book.
It is worth reading and the twist at the end is nigh shocking and sad.
We see the world through the eyes of Jane who goes from unquestioning acceptance to doubting everything.
It is the character of Jane that I found troublesome as too often she just seems to let things happen to her. Maybe that is realistic though.
The novel also includes a murder of a famous film star who is the first wife of Jane's husband. He is a doctor but is there more to him than Jane, or we, knows.
There are layers upon layers in this book.
It is worth reading and the twist at the end is nigh shocking and sad.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 4, 2020
A fascinating idea, as books about an alternative outcome to WW II are few and far between, with Robert Harris's Fatherland being the most well known.
Also, a good start to the novel, and I had high hopes, but ... I felt the book got weighed down by gloom and doom, and there didn't seem to be enough in the book about the regime, although others may disagree. I'm afraid that it just didn't grip me in the same way that Fatherland did many years before it. Perhaps I had unrealistic expectations though.
Also, a good start to the novel, and I had high hopes, but ... I felt the book got weighed down by gloom and doom, and there didn't seem to be enough in the book about the regime, although others may disagree. I'm afraid that it just didn't grip me in the same way that Fatherland did many years before it. Perhaps I had unrealistic expectations though.
July 23, 2019
A twisting thriller set in an alternative history, both a page turner, and also very thought provoking about life behind the iron curtain. The book brings to life the alternative history very vividly, of life under a communist regime in London, a place familiar to me. This really brings home how life in much of eastern Europe must have been, barely believable that it really happened and so many people were trapped by the regimes.
December 17, 2019
I'm with some of the there other reviewers - I loved the premise of a London divided like Berlin during the cold war but didn't find the story itself that interesting or believable. And althought there are clever ideas like the roles of Anthony Blunt and Guy Burgess, the world Mr Rubin has created is a little too cookie-cutter of the old Soviet regime. However, if this is just the beginning, I'm willing to wait and try the next book by Mr Rubin set in this same world.
May 27, 2020
Loved this book - absolutely nothing like I what thought it would be. Picked it up very quickly in the bookshop thinking it would be historical fiction of some sort - a really intriguing story line. Not the kind of book (knowing now what it is about) that I would normally gravitate towards - but so glad I do. Loved it.
June 12, 2019
A very disappointing read. The premise seemed interesting: England being split between the Americans and the Russians after WWII, but nothing really comes of it. Nothing really comes of the whole book really.
May 27, 2020
An interesting take on alternative history was the reason I picked up the book, and I definitely wasn't disappointed on that front.
However, the plot isn't quite the page turner some may be looking for and that would be the only downfall. It made for an interesting read nonetheless.
However, the plot isn't quite the page turner some may be looking for and that would be the only downfall. It made for an interesting read nonetheless.
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