Katastrophe

Wars Within #7

by Graham Hurley

The new blockbuster thriller from Graham Hurley set against the final stages of the Second World War. Confidant of Goebbels. Instrument of Stalin. What's the worst that could happen? January 1945. Wherever you look on the map, the Thousand Year Reich is shrinking. Even Goebbels has run out of lies to sweeten the reckoning to come. An Allied victory is inevitable, but who will reap the spoils of war? Two years ago, Werner Nehmann's war came to an abrupt end in Stalingrad. With the city in ruins, the remains of General Paulus' Sixth Army surrendered to the Soviets, and Nehmann was taken captive. But now he's riding on the back of one of Marshal Zhukov's T-34 tanks, heading home with a message for the man who consigned him to the Stalingrad Cauldron. With the Red Army about to fall on Berlin, Stalin fears his sometime allies are conspiring to deny him his prize. He needs to speak to Goebbels – and who better to broker the contact than Nehmann, Goebbels' one-time confidant? Having swapped the ruins of Stalingrad for the wreckage of Berlin, the influence of Goebbels for the machinations of Stalin, and Gulag rags for a Red Army uniform, Nehmann's war has taken a turn for the worse. The Germans have a word for Katastrophe. Katastrophe is part of the SPOILS OF WAR Collection , a thrilling, beguiling blend of fact and fiction born of some of the most tragic, suspenseful, and action-packed events of World War II. From the mind of highly acclaimed thriller author GRAHAM HURLEY , this blockbuster non-chronological collection allows the reader to explore Hurley's masterful storytelling in any order, with compelling recurring characters whose fragmented lives mirror the war that shattered the globe. Reviewers on Katastrophe : 'A taut, detailed and compelling read' The Sun
'A penetrating, compelling, and skilfully vivid slice of historical fiction' LoveReading Expert Review
'An immaculately researched historical thriller... This series cannot be recommended too highly' Mike Ripley
'Inventive and thought provoking' Crime Time Reviewers on Graham 'Historical fiction of a high order' The Times
'Tense, absorbing and faultlessly plotted' Sunday Times
'Beautifully constructed... This is one of Hurley's finest' Daily Mail
'Hurley's capable and understated characterization makes his lead's story plausible and engaging' Publishers Weekly

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Thriller, World War II, War, Espionage

448 pages, Hardcover

Published September 1, 2022

About the author

Graham Hurley was born November, 1946 in Clacton-on-Sea, Essex. His seaside childhood was punctuated by football, swimming, afternoons on the dodgems, run-ins with the police, multiple raids on the local library - plus near-total immersion in English post-war movies.

Directed and produced documentaries for ITV through two decades, winning a number of national and international awards. Launched a writing career on the back of a six-part drama commission for ITV: "Rules of Engagement". Left TV and became full time writer in 1991.

Authored nine stand-alone thrillers plus "Airshow", a fly-on-the-wall novel-length piece of reportage, before accepting Orion invitation to become a crime writer. Drew gleefully on home-town Portsmouth (“Pompey”) as the basis for an on-going series featuring D/I Joe Faraday and D/C Paul Winter.

Contributed five years of personal columns to the Portsmouth News, penned a number of plays and dramatic monologues for local production (including the city’s millenium celebration, "Willoughby and Son"), then decamped to Devon for a more considered take on Pompey low-life.

The Faraday series came to an end after 12 books. Healthy sales at home and abroad, plus mega-successful French TV adaptations, tempted Orion to commission a spin-off series, set in the West Country, featuring D/S Jimmy Suttle.

Launch title - "Western Approaches" - published 2012. "Touching Distance" to hit the bookstores next month (21st November).

Has recently self-published a number of titles on Kindle including "Strictly No Flowers" (a dark take on crime fiction), "Estuary" (a deeply personal memoir) and "Backstory" (how and why he came to write the Faraday series).

Married to the delectable Lin. Three grown-up sons (Tom, Jack and Woody). Plus corking grandson Dylan.

You're very welcome to contact Graham through his website: www.grahamhurley.co.uk

Or direct on seasidepictures@btinternet.com.


Series:
* D.I. Joe Faraday

Reviews

[Gram · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the final months of World War II, plans are being made by the Western Allies and the Soviet Union to negotiate Nazi Germany's surrender.
Werner Nehmann, a journalist at the Promi - the Ministry of Propaganda - and a close confidant of Joseph Goebbels has spent 2 years in Soviet Gulag camps after his capture at the battle of Stalingrad. Now he is on his way back to Berlin with a message for Goebbels as Josef Stalin endeavours to discover if his Western Allies are conspiring against him to deny a Soviet victory in Berlin.
Also headed back to Germany is Willi Schultz, an officer with the Abwehr - the German military-intelligence service - who was also captured at Stalingrad. Shcultz spent two years in Moscow and was tortured by the NKVD, Russia's secret police. Now he has been brought before Stalin who gives him a letter which he is to take to Heinrich Himmler, one of the most powerful men in Nazi Germany. Stalin wants to know if there can be a return to the non aggression pact between Russia and Germany which occurred prior to the German invasion of Poland in 1939 which directly led to outbreak of the Second World War. The Soviet leader believes that the USA and Britain may be planning to do a deal with the Nazis which would lead to German surrender to the Western Allies with Germany able to free up armies to fight the Red Army on the Eastern Front.
Meanwhile, Tam Moncrieff is working for M15 and is sent to Switzerland where American and British generals have a secret meeting with a German general to broker the surrender of German forces in Italy.
This is the seventh book in the Spoils of War series and the author Graham Hurley has produced a masterful blend of thrilling fiction and historical fact as the World War II draws to an end.

My thanks to the publisher, Head of Zeus, and Netgalley for an advance copy of this book in return for an unbiased review.

[Cathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Katastrophe, the latest book in the author’s ‘Spoils of War’ series, is set in the final months of the Second World War. There’s a real sense of finality about the book as we witness the ruin of people and places. The terrible and lasting impact of war – physical and psychological – is reflected in the experiences of the four main characters – British MI5 operatives, Tam Moncrieff and Ursula Barton, journalist and propagandist, Werner Nehmann, and German intelligence officer, Wilhelm Schultz – some of whom make return appearances from the author’s previous two novels, Last Flight to Stalingrad and Kyiv.

There are some intense, dark and harrowing scenes involving Nehmann and Schultz, both survivors of the siege of Stalingrad, but now respectively subjected to the horror of a Soviet labour camp and brutal interrogation. Subsequently they find themselves pawns in a wider political game.  For Moncrieff and Barton, their experience is one of overwhelming disillusionment and a sense of betrayal. It’s something that has left Barton ‘a frail, tormented figure’ and Moncrieff with unanswered questions about the fate of someone close to him.

The title of the series – Spoils of War – is particularly apt because in Katastophe the reader sees played out the manoeuvring even amongst supposed allies for control of territory occupied during the conflict. The co-operation that existed between Western nations and the Soviet Union in order to defeat Hitler is crumbling, replaced by suspicion, secrecy and underhand tactics.  Stalin emerges as a ruthless and malevolent player in this attempted power grab. As Ursula Barton observes at one point, ‘The war’s coming to an end. Everyone knows that. The question is how, and when, and who controls which bits of our poor bloody continent when it’s over’. We also witness those formerly high up in the Third Reich, now in shattered pieces, struggling to come to terms with defeat or even in their delusion refusing to accept it.

Behind all the political manouvering the suffering inflicted on civilians on both sides is laid bare: the bombing of cities, the displacement of people, the ravages of hunger or the ruthlessness of invading forces.  It’s brought vividly to life in a way that can’t help make you think of the current situation in Ukraine. Indeed, I found myself thinking of that poor country repeatedly whilst reading the book, leaving me with an overwhelming sense of sadness that we seemed to have learned nothing. As a character observes, ‘No one was ready for Hitler, not because he hadn’t warned them what was coming, but because they hadn’t listened.’ For Hitler, substitute Putin?

Katastrophe is a brilliant blend of fact and fiction that even in its darkest moments remains utterly compelling. It takes a fair degree of skill to create a sense of tension in a series of events where the outcome is already known, but the author definitely achieves it.  I felt totally immersed in the lives of the characters and eager to learn their fate. None of them emerge unscathed but there are one or two glimmers of hope that demonstrate perhaps war hasn’t robbed them all of everything. If Katastrophe does mark the conclusion of the series, it’s definitely ended on a high note.

[Keith Currie · Rating 4 out of 5]

The gang's all here

Perhaps the final volume in The Spoils of War series sees almost all the cast of the previous novels assembled in the race to capture Berlin and end WW2. Present on the allied side are old friends, Tam Moncrieff and Ursala Barton, while on the German side there are Werner Nehmann and Willi Schultz, resurrected from the carnage of Stalingrad and made offers they cannot refuse by their new Russian masters. There is a supporting cast of characters also from previous novels in the series, as well as cameos from real life participants, a tired Churchill, scheming Stalin, sinister Kim Philby and Nehmann’s old nemesis, Joseph Goebbels.

What is at stake is not the end of the war, Germany has clearly lost, but the advantage each side can carve out for themselves in a post-war world. After Yalta, Stalin does not trust his American and British allies. Defeated Germans plot for survival, and in the meantime, the brutal violence of war continues.

This is not the best of the novels in the series, but it is still very good. It is perhaps disappointing that the fall of Berlin is almost an afterthought following the big build up throughout the narrative. And there are times when there appear to be almost too many references to events and characters in the previous novels. However, I did enjoy it a lot, especially as a conclusion to the series, and at times with its parallels to current events in Ukraine and wider Europe.

Enough of the cast too, survive war’s end to carve out new roles for themselves in the new world order.

[Diogenes · Rating 4 out of 5]

At the end of World War II with the espionage services of UK, USA, Russia and Germany maneuvering for the best advantage when peace arrives, each one featuring a complex, well-crafted and believable character. The detail of events and the history is fascinating. Interesting to the very end.

One minor criticism is the abrupt switching of characters, making it somewhat puzzling to follow at times. This might be due to the ePub format of the review copy received

Highly recommended.

[Randy Nielsen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I’d just finished Len Deighton’s “Winter,” and this book was a great follow-up. Highly recommend!

I’d like to thank the publisher for making this book available in a Goodreads giveaway

[RichardGreen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Set in the final weeks of WWII in Europe, the book is an excellent blend of historical fact and fiction. The presentation of this from a German perspective, and with a huge amount of descriptive detail, is indicative of extensive research.

The plot moves along steadily until the final quarter of the book when the pace really picks up. I’m not sure this is a good thing as it left me wondering about a number of threads - although they could always be picked up and explored in a post-war follow up.

It works as a stand alone novel but, on balance, I would rather have read the preceding 3 books first. This would have filled in the relationships between the main characters and provided more context for the story starting at Stalingrad! But still very enjoyable.

[Simon Gosden · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s January 1945, the thousand year Reich is imploding but Werner Nehmann is in a Russian work camp having been captured at Stalingrad. Life is unbearably hard but out of the blue the NKVD have need of him. This a thrilling work, incredibly well researched, that maps the final collapse and the political and human ramifications of the end of the Hitler regime.

[Sue · Rating 5 out of 5]

January, 1945: The war in Europe is in its death throes. The allies are advancing on Berlin and German territory is shrinking by the day. Even Goebbels, the master of propaganda, can no longer hide the fact that Hitler's dream of the Thousand Year Reich is now in tatters.

As the Allies try to out manoeuvre each other with powerplays to achieve a peace that gets them the pick of the spoils of war, Stalin is out to stake his claim to what he feels is his by right. At the centre of his scheming are two men who thought their lives would come to an end in the rubble of Stalingrad... two men who have each spent the last two years trying separately to survive as prisoners of war in Russian hands.

Journalist Werner Nehmann has been pulled from the horror of the gulags to be sent back to Germany with a message from Stalin for his former boss Goebbels. What he doesn't know is that his old friend, German military intelligence officer Willi Schultz, who barely survived interrogation at the hands of the NKVD in Moscow, is also being sent back to Germany on a mission for Stalin - with a letter for Heimlich Himmler. Meanwhile, MI5 agent Tam Moncrieff has been set a task by his spymasters to try to discover what exactly is going on between British and American agents and a German General in Switzerland, as they try to put into action their own secret plans to gain an edge in the fall of Nazi Germany. Are they each heading for Katastrophe?

I first came across the Spoils of War books from Graham Hurley last year when I read the spectacular Kyiv, about Operation Barbarossa and the siege of Kyiv in 1941. Impressed with the way Hurley immersed me right into the compelling history of World War II, bringing to life the complex political and military events of the time through the use of excellent characterisation, and throwing in a good dollop of delicious spy shenanigans, I couldn't wait to read more.

The latest book in the series, Katastrophe, takes you into the fascinating realms of a different period of World War II - the months leading up to the surrender of Nazi Germany. The scale of this book is immense, and covers a lot of ground considering the timescale it focuses on is rather brief, starting at is does in January 1945 and ending around VE Day in May of the same year. The story follows the adventures of three main characters who will be familiar to fans of this series, Nehmann, Schultz and Moncrieff, as they go about their undercover exploits, and through them we get an intriguing glimpse of the lay of the land in a number of European locations - most importantly in Stalin's Russia, and in crumbling Nazi Germany.

I have read a little about the happenings of this time, when the Allies were vying for position, and more than one significant Nazi heavy-weight was making a play to ensure that they would survive the fall of the Third Reich - but I have never read anything that lays everything out in such an engaging way as this, turning the complicated history into a cracking page-turner of an affair that keeps you gripped throughout. Hurley touches on the significant details of the political and military events that dictated how history played out through the use of characters from the pages of the history books, and those of his own invention, and blends fact and fiction to fashion a gripping story of danger and double dealing that keeps you on the edge of your seat. His skill in concentrating on the people involved and tying you to their fate works so well, whilst conveying a wealth of history at the same time.

To go into all the themes that Hurley packs into this book would be impossible here because there are so many, but the insight he displays into how these events influence what follows once Germany falls is impressive. I was really struck by the way he explores the interplay between Britain, America and Russia, especially the fracturing of relationships, the misconceptions, and the naked ambition of Stalin that inevitably leads on to the start of the Cold War. There is a rich seam to be mined in terms of the world of espionage, and what the secret services might look like post-war, that is very thought provoking too - made extra gritty by Moncrieff's continued sparring with the yet unmasked traitor Kim Philby. I also have to say that I have rarely seen the black art and chilling effectiveness of propaganda so thoroughly laid bare in a work of fiction.

This book has everything you want from historical fiction. It's beautifully constructed, tense and completely absorbing, with the kind of characters that sweep you along and make history a living, breathing thing. As someone obsessed with Cold War fiction, I adored the way Hurley plants the seeds for what comes post-war, and I very much hope he takes up his pen to delve into where history goes next. In any case, wherever his writing adventures take him I will certainly be along for the ride.

This book can be read as a stand-alone, but is so much better if you have read other books from the Spoils of War series - I am gradually working my way through them all and highly recommend you do the same if this period of history is your bag! I promise it will send you down a wealth of rabbit holes!

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have been a fan of Graham’s work for a while now. By no means have I read all of the books that he has released to date but I have read several of them. I have to confess that not only am I a book geek but I am also a history nerd with a particular interest in the Second World War, so you can imagine why the synopsis of ‘Katastrophe’ appealed to me. I couldn’t wait to start reading so I jumped straight in. Overall I did enjoy reading ‘Katastrophe’ but more about that in a bit.
I have to admit that it took me a little while to get into ‘Katastrophe’, but that has more to do with the fact that I was tired and finding it hard to concentrate than anything else. Once I got used to the characters and the author’s writing style, then I just couldn’t get enough of the story. This was a book that got under my skin somewhat- if I wasn’t reading the book then I was thinking about it. If I had to put the book to one side for any length of time then I would immediately look forward to being able to pick it up again. I had my own theories as to how the story was going to develop so I had to keep reading to see if I was anywhere near the truth or if I had the completely wrong end of the stick. This wasn’t a book that I was able to read over the course of a single day but I managed to finish it over the space of three days. I found ‘Katastrophe’ to be a gripping, tense and dramatic read, which kept me guessing and which kept me on the edge of my seat throughout.
‘Katastrophe’ is superbly written but then I have come to expect nothing less from Graham Hurley. He certainly knows how to grab the reader’s attention and draw them into what proves to be one hell of a read and then some. Graham has clearly done a lot of research into the period in which the story takes place and this helps the story seem that bit more authentic. I found it rather interesting to read a story which featured real life historical figures as characters. I hope that makes sense. For me the story hit the ground running and maintained a fast pace throughout. Reading ‘Katastrophe’ felt like being on a scary and unpredictable rollercoaster ride with several twists and turns along the way. I love the way in which the author makes the reader feel as though they are part of the story themselves and at the heart of the action.
In short and overall, I did enjoyed reading ‘Katastrophe’ and I would recommend it to other readers. I will certainly be reading more of Graham’s work in the future. The score on the Ginger Book Geek board is a very well deserved 4* out of 5*.

[William de_Rham · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’d never before read anything by English author Graham Hurley. But, based on his newest novel, “Katastrophe,” I’m certain I soon will be reading his other works.

“Katastrophe” is a very well-written tale of espionage and suspense set in Russia, Germany, and England during the closing months of WWII. It features three well-drawn characters: an English intelligence officer (MI5), a German military intelligence officer (Abwehr), and a Soviet Georgian who once served as a writer of propaganda for Joseph Goebbels. Through the eyes of these three agents—each sent on a mission of high importance by Churchill, Stalin, and Goebbels—we experience Germany’s defeat and what it was like to be in Berlin, London, and even Joseph Stalin’s dacha outside Moscow as the Allied powers--not to mention various Nazi leaders-- jockeyed for position in the coming post-war world. In other words, “Katastrophe” is as much a story of the beginnings of the Cold War as it is of the end of WWII.

Mr. Hurley is a popular and prolific English novelist. His prose is a pleasure, well-constructed, and often dryly humorous, or at least subtle, reminding me a little of works by John Le Carre and/or Graham Greene. I especially enjoyed the scenes involving Churchill, Stalin, and Goebbels and thought Mr. Hurley was quite successful at giving readers a good idea of who these men were. His settings are brilliantly drawn and highly varied, invoking the sights, sounds, and smells of, among other places, a Soviet gulag, Berlin’s bomb shelters and ruined streets and ministries, and even a rather odd celebration amongst intelligence officers inside the Tower of London. And he injects a goodly amount of history into his story, including explanations as to how and why the Nazis came to power and of the Allied pre-war failures that enabled WWII.

There were times when I found “Katastrophe” somewhat long and attenuated—even convoluted—and myself struggling to remember who’s who and how their stories fit together. Part of the problem, for me, may have been that this is the fifth book in Mr. Hurley’s “Spoils of War” series and that I had not read any of the previous works. Nevertheless, by the end of the novel, all was made clear and I had a good understanding of all that had happened.

My thanks to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for providing me with an electronic ARC. The foregoing is my independent opinion.

[Karen Morgan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Katastrophe Graham Hurley

4 stars

An absorbing account of the end of World War 2

I have read a couple of Graham Hurley’s books and enjoyed his writing style. The subject matter appealed to me as I have an interest in history and in particular the end of the 2nd World War. I had no idea that this was the latest book in a series so all the fictitious characters were totally new to me but I found the way the author combines truth with fiction fascinating.

Everyone knows the war is ending and that Germany has lost but how are the spoils of war going to be divided up? Even in those days the Russians, the British, the Americans and many high-ranking Germans are desperate to gain the best advantage they can from the situation.

The two main characters, Werner Nehmann, a Georgian German who was a journalist at the Minister of Propaganda and a close confidant of Joseph Goebbels and Willi Schulz, an officer with the German military intelligence have both been imprisoned by the Russians and suffered excruciating torture.

However Stalin now wants to use both these men to use their German connections, Nehman with Goebbels and Schulz with Himmler to discover what the German plans are and try to ensure that he becomes the dominant leader in Berlin.

Meanwhile an MI5 officer, Tam Moncrieff is despatched to Switzerland where one of the German commanders General Karl Wolff is trying to surrender to the Americans.

This book is full of so many characters that sometimes it is difficult to follow exactly what is happening where but I found the whole subject matter so interesting as we learn more about the real life people such as Churchill, Stalin and Roosevelt and how they are intriguing and plotting to gain the most advantage. Obviously I was aware of a lot of the characters involved but the fictitious ones are so cleverly interwoven into the story that it brought home to me very clearly how things were for not only the main protagonists but for the ordinary people caught up in this terrible time.

The only slight criticism that I have is that sometimes there were just so many characters involved that I lost track of what was actually happening from time to time but I suspect that may be because I have not read any of the other books in this series.

If you are at all interested in the way World War 2 ended I would heartily recommend this book.



Karen Deborah

[Macclesfield Library · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you to @ReadingAgency and @HoZ_Books for providing copies of Katastrophe by Graham Hurley. Here are the thoughts of our members –

• We thought the author writes very well with excellent descriptions and fascinating historical details. The book felt incredibly well-researched but we questioned if perhaps there was too much detail, because the plot got a little lost within all the description. The only other thing we disliked about the style of writing was the depiction of women – with the exception of Ursula Barton, women always seemed to be described only in terms of appearance but the male characters were more fleshed out from the get go
• It was interesting to see the war from a German perspective but we still struggled to empathise with characters such as Schultz and Nehmann, even knowing that they had both suffered terribly. These characters might not have been members of the Nazi party themselves, but they still enabled the regime and both worked directly for incredibly influential Nazis, so we couldn’t quite bring ourselves to root for these men – there was always a disconnect
• Our favourite character was Ursula Barton. We thought that she was the most relatable character and her reaction to the death of her friend in the bombing felt so natural and human. Her death, therefore, was a bit of a shock because we were quite attached to her! But, we did then think that this storyline could be picked up in a later book focusing on Philby and Liddell and Tam’s disillusionment with the services
• We discussed the wisdom of including real people as characters in novels and whether they can ever be accurately portrayed in fiction. This was of particular concern in this book because there were just so many characters based on actual people, but at least they were secondary characters to Moncrieff, Barton, Schultz and Nehmann. However Hurley did manage to skilfully intermingle the likes of Stalin and Himmler into his plot alongside his totally fictional characters
• Books such as this one about WW2 make it so obvious that history continues to repeat itself. Not only that, but the world is still feeling the affects of WW2 in current conflicts because the war influenced geopolitics in such a huge way that it continues to ripple in global decisions happening today. Ultimately, ordinary people suffer while a small group of bigwigs get together and decide the fate of the world – overall a very bleak take away from this book!

[Kim Pet · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Wars..are so easy to start. And after that..they demand a constant surrender. Katastrophe indeed.”
This gem about World War II, from the perspective of a European point of view delves into espionage, national intelligence, traitors and spies. Topics of German and Russian refugees, prisoners, Stalingrad, rebuilding as it’s all being torn down and torture all make an appearance. Heavy hitters Stalin, Giebbels, Himmler, Wolff & Hitler are represented as well, and everyone’s looking out for themselves.

The main characters who drive the story are varied, from a former German intelligence enforcer, Goebbels’ propaganda and speech writer for Hitler and a government intelligence agent, all with connections to each other personally and professionally. You learn that you could trust no one in the ‘despairing resignation’ of doing what you had to do to survive.

Katastrophe is cleverly written, heady and surprisingly accurate for a historical fiction novel. It even has messages we should be heeding today. “..1939, and everything that followed, need never have happened. Not if we’d been listening properly.”

This is not your slow, easy, beach read, so saddle up when you begin. I had to read in increments just so I could process the characters, code names, events and the plot current as I combined it with WWII history, but it was in a word, magnificent. True WWII history buffs, this story is for you.
*I received an arc from the publisher through NetGalley for an honest review

[Bethany Smith · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley and Head of Zeus for giving me an advanced copy of this book. This is another book in “The Spoils of War” series by Graham Hurley. Unfortunately, I was unaware that it was part of a series, otherwise I would have read book 1 first.
This is the story of three main characters at the end of WWII, when Germany surrenders. Two of the characters Werner Nehmann, a German journalist and Willi Schultz, a German Abwehr officer are being held in captivity in Russia, but get released to deliver a message and gain intelligence on behalf of Stalin, as Russia gets closer to invading Berlin and the other Allies get closer to gaining surrender of Germany. The third main character is Tam Moncrief, a British MI5 operative, who is following a lead on secret meetings between Germany and the Allies.
I found it extremely difficult to connect to the characters, which I fully attribute to not having read the other books. In addition, as the author was trying to tell the historical facts of things that were happening towards the end of the war, he introduced so many different characters that I found myself getting lost a lot. It would have been helpful for me, if each chapter indicated where the chapter was taking place, and who was the main character for that chapter, as I kept finding myself three pages into the chapter, asking myself “OK who are we with now and who are all these other characters?”. As such, I did not enjoy this book.
My recommendation is read book 1 first, if you like that book keep reading.

[Andy Wormald · Rating 5 out of 5]

Anyone who has read previous books by Graham Hurley knows what an outstanding writer he is, and Katastrophe is a classic example. This book forms part of the Spoils of War series, so we see the return of some characters, one thing the author always does is give each a real strong voice and identity. There is richness and feeling to this book combined with real depth and quality of writing

The plotting is wonderfully multifaceted and intricate in its construct and superbly executed on the page, blending fact with fiction to deliver a rich and highly engaging story, dealing with some of the harsh realities of war, the book pulls no punches and portrays a vivid slice and descriptive feel for the times showing the frailties of War and the human endurance people had to go through. How do you set the Allied forces against each other? This is an intelligent in depth read and book where you need to take in every sentence and word, savour in the writing

The book is told form the viewpoint of the differing characters and the author cleverly intertwines the different threads, bringing the characters to life, showing their personality and traits. The way they are written you can feel their pain and anguish, the toils of war etched into their very being. The landscape and the setting drawn out on the page gives you feeling of being there, bringing everything to life, giving real feeling to the realities of War.

The book moves at a pace befitting the period and slowly draws out the plot with its rich narrative and passages which draws you into the characters world.

One thing that does shine out is the research that has clearly gone into the book, this comes across strongly as you read on and make the book what it is, a first class thrller, full of tension and suspense

Overall this is historical fiction at its finest, a compelling read which lures you in, a deeply absorbing read

Graham Hurley is a wonderful crime writer especially the acclaimed Faraday and Winter series, he has followed that up with The Spoils of War series, each a masterclass is thriller writing

[Natalie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Katastrophe
By Graham Hurley

Another World War II novel. Filled with characters representing the whole gamut of participants in the European war, some real, some fiction. The author changes perspective from chapter to chapter to give the reader the war from multiple viewpoints as the it winds down. We see Germans, both soldiers and civilians, who have been captured, tortured and sent to gulags when the tide of war has turned in favor of Russia, only to be returned to Germany to further Stalin's agenda. We see Goebbels and Himmler jockeying for position as the Reich goes down in flames. We see members of Britain's MI5 and MI6 as they try to "stay in the game" being taken over by the Russians and the Americans. We see the various spies and counterspies interacting across Europe.

The writing here is good; the story might have been better with fewer characters. In the interest of generating back-story, the book became somewhat hard to follow. And in the end, I couldn't quite grasp what it was all about – war is hell? there are no good guys and bad guys? we are all responsible? God is the final resort? The author is ambitious and I look forward to his next book.

[L M · Rating 2 out of 5]

Since they Yalta Conference, Churchill knows the days of the British Empire are over and Stalin fears the Americans want to make a separate peace with Germans. To discover what Nazis are planning, Stalin sends two German POWs , Willi Schultz, an Abwehr spy, and Werner Nehmann, propaganda writer; back to Berlin. In the meantime, the British instruct MI 5 agent Tam Mongrieff to find proof of the secret American/ German meetings.

Not a bad storyline except the plot jumps around too much, the book lacks cohesiveness. Furthermore, the characters are underdeveloped, for instance, we know that Ursula Barton, a German working at the top level of British intelligence is divorced from a British diplomat , but the author provides little else about her. How did she secure such a high level position in MI 5 ?Also, she reaches across too many areas within the agency to be believable , no one has that kind of access.
However, Moncrieff and Barton suspecting Kim Philby of being a Russian mole adds a nice twist. Nonetheless, this book is only for diehard fans of spy novels.

Thanks to NetGalley .

[KOMET · Rating 5 out of 5]

Katastrophe, the seventh novel in the Spoils of War series, covers the last 5 months of the Second World War in Europe. Two of the main characters from a previous novel in the series - Werner Nehmann, a former skilled writer and journalist in Goebbels' Propaganda Ministry (who also carried out special missions on behalf of his erstwhile boss which led to him being caught up in the Battle of Stalingrad) and Willi Schutz, a former Abwehr (German military intelligence) agent, who, like his friend Nehmann, was captured at Stalingrad - have been resurrected from captivity by the Soviets and put on differing paths that take both men back to Germany shortly before the country entered its death throes.

There is also a parallel story involving a number of British agents in the UK and Europe caught up in rival intrigues amidst secret talks in Switzerland between a high-ranking German SS officer and two Allied generals to end the fighting in Italy. Both stories are compelling and give the novel a palpable sense of how seemingly divergent events helped bring peace to Europe on May 8, 1945.

[Steve Cripwell · Rating 3 out of 5]

By January 1945 the map of the Third Reich is shrinking. An Allied victory is inevitable. Werner Nehmann’s war ended in Stalingrad two years before when, with the rest of the sixth army, he was captured and imprisoned in a Gulag. But now he is heading back home with a message for Goebbels, the man who consigned him to Stalingrad.

This story is told from an interesting viewpoint as Nehmann is a journalist, part of Goebbels’ Ministry of Propaganda but grouped with the other 91,000 German soldiers placed into captivity. It's written well in the style of classic spy stories. With MI5 and the Russians involved it reminds me of a Robert Harris/John LeCarre novel, and I think those books are excellent. This is one of a series of books but works well as a stand-alone novel. I found it a little heavy for my taste, a little overlong and it slowed down in the middle. It is, however, very well written and researched.

My thanks to #NetGalley, #GrahamHurley, and #HeadofZeus for this free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Ryan Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kept me engaged from the first page. The book follows several characters throughout the final months of WWII. These characters are all involved in the intelligence service. The stories eventually intertwine and the reader gets to thoroughly enjoy the experience of these characters, whom you start to really get involved with due to the great character development by Hurley, as they start to interact with each other. The novel has thrills and surprises but the best part is that it doesn't overly rely on violence. It is refreshing to get an espionage novel that isn't just a bunch of explosions or sex. Hurley also does a great job portraying the different views of the war, and of peace, through the different characters experience. So many novels I've read focus on the Blitz, it was a good exercise for me to envision the German experience during Allied bombings. Hurley does well to focus on that and helps the reader realize the fear and danger that exists in Germany towards the end of the war.

[Simon Clayton · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is my first novel by Graham Hurley and I enjoyed his sophisticated writing style. The story, unbeknown to me, is the conclusion of a series. A testament to his writing, it stands alone very well, creating a believable blend of fiction and historical characters, as WWII comes to its conclusion.

I was drawn into each of the four main characters’ stories, how they were woven into historical events and intertwined with the titans of WWII: Stalin, Churchill, Goebbels, Himmler and interestingly, Kim Philby.

His vivid descriptions of the various locations, the lapping of a Swiss lake, the taste of the air in crumbling Berlin, to mention but two, were excellent and created wonderfully detailed images in my mind

The end came a little too quickly for me but on reflection, has left me pondering how the next steps of the characters’ lives might be taken…..

I’ll be coming back to this author

[Monica · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have not read any of this series, but the publisher, Head of Zeus asked me to read this one. I love Historical Fiction, especially dealing with WWII.

This book was just okay to me. I had no vested interest in any of these characters, because I have not read any of these books, and this is the last one, so I didn't really care what happened. I finished the book and I think had I read the others, I would have liked it more. I plan on reading the series now, but maybe a little before I get to it.

If you have read the series, I think you need to read this one. It seems to tie stuff altogether. It comes out June 7, 2022.

Thanks to Netgalley, and Head of Zeus for the Kindle Version of the book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

[Amina Kara · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a very enjoyable read with a very good blend of fact and fiction.

It was harrowing at times when reading about the torture/interrogations Nehmann and Schultz were put through. Same could be said when reading about the devastation they passed through as they were taken from place to place.

It was fascinating reading about the political game played out by various sides, from the US, to the UK, to Russia, to Germany itself.

I was also intrigued with the whole Minister of Propaganda aspect. I hadn't realised that had been a thing. Although I suppose it had to have occurred in order to keep people in line.

I haven't read the previous books in the Spoils of War collection, so I'm definitely going to read them as soon as possible.

Thank you to PH and Graham Hurley for the chance to read this excellent book.

[Diane · Rating 4 out of 5]

WWII books are widely available these days, both in novel form as well as recent history books. However, this novel provides a different slant to many fictionalized tales of that time, featuring German propagandists starting out as prisoners of war in the USSR, and then being released--with the promise of death if they don't carry out their mission--to give the Soviets an edge to winning the war over their German adversaries. It was an intriguing way to see the war fought, and the high price paid by so very many.

My thanks to NetGalley for providing an ebook ARC of this book; all opinions are my own.

[Heather Chambers · Rating 4 out of 5]

The end of WW2 is in sight and the Allies are jockeying for position, whilst the German leadership are trying to ignore the inevitable.

Katastrophe follows several protagonists, each with their own part to play in what happens next. This is the seventh book in a series, none of which I had previously read, but will look for now. The historical detail is fascinating but the story is all about the human angle, Set at a critical point in the war, it seems everyone has an ulterior motive.

Thank you to the author, Head of Zeus and NetGalley for this advanced readers copy. Katastrophe is now in general sale.

[Steve Capel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was familiar with author through the Faraday and Winter series but this is the first book in the Spoils of War series. Although I believe the books in this series are meant to able to be read as stand alone books I feel I would have benefitted from reading the earlier books first. That being said I thoroughly enjoyed this book.
Set in the last throes of WWII it explores the power struggle between the western allies and Russia as the latter closes in on Berlin. Well written and well researched it will be a good addition to the novels written about that time in our history. A book a can recommend to all those with an interest in that time

[Richard · Rating 4 out of 5]

An explosive start that immediately drags you in. It’s a well-written, realistic and engaging read that doesn’t pull any punches and maintains a vice-like grip and genuine sense of intrigue throughout its 400+ pages—an absolute must for all fans of WWII historical fiction.
I haven’t read Graham Hurley’s other books in this series, but that didn’t affect my understanding or enjoyment. I’ll certainly check out his work.
Recommended!
My thanks to NetGalley and Head of Zeus for granting this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Laura Hamilton · Rating 3 out of 5]

More 3.5
This was a very detailed WW2 thriller. Told from multiple viewpoints, it covered the days and weeks leading up to the German surrender and covered plots from both the British & American's and the Soviet sides within the allies, to further ease and hasten the end of the war.
This was part of a series and although I was able to read it as a standalone, I feel reading earlier books might have helped me understand the main characters and their backstories.
If you like WW2 thrillers then you will enjoy this.
With thanks to Pigeonhole and the author for the opportunity.

[Bill Todd · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's 1945 and German journalist Werner Nehmann is in a Soviet prison camp. He was captured two years earlier at Stalingrad with his friend, spy Wilhelm Schultz.
Now the Russians are about to take Berlin and their ruthless leader Stalin, fearing he will be cheated by the Brits and Yanks, sends the two captives back to sow disruption.
Nehmann and Schultz struggle to survive as they come face-to-face with some of history's most evil players including Stalin, Nazi death camp boss Himmler and propaganda guru Goebbels.
Taut, detailed and compelling, this is 440 pages with not a word wasted.

[Diane · Rating 4 out of 5]

WWII books are widely available these days, both in novel form and as recent past history books. However, this novel provides a different slant to many fictionalized tales of the time, with German propagandists starting out as prisoners in Soviet Russia, and then being freed to give the USSR an edge on winning the hard fought war against the Germans. It was an intriguing way to see the war fought, and the high price paid by so very many.

Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC of this ebook to read and reviews; all opinions are my own.