Working the Dead: The tenth Otto Fischer novel

Otto Fischer #10

by Jim McDermott

Moscow, 1961. General Zarubin, Special Advisor to the First Secretary, worries about his prospects. His power-base consists of the goodwill of just one man, but Nikita Khrushchev is tiring of his 'nagging' and avoiding him. KGB, nursing old, deep grudges against Zarubin, have an ambitious new Deputy Chairman, who senses a long-overdue opportunity to correct the balance of power in the Kremlin. He begins to manufacture evidence that will expose the General as a traitor and put him above an execution-cell sluice.

None of this should be of any concern to Otto Fischer. He is, after all, dead, and dead men have the right not to be tormented by more than the gentle nibbling of worms. But the plot against Zarubin needs a credible prosecution witness who will perform to order and allow himself to be buried quietly thereafter.

From a hillside in northern Portugal to London, from there to Bonn and finally Berlin, Fischer dances on strings pulled by men he'll never meet or identify. He's resigned to his probable fate, until they give him a reason to fight back. After that, they find reason enough to wish they'd let this dead dog lie.

Genres: Fiction

488 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 19, 2021

About the author

For some reason Goodreads have pinned me as a New Hampshire man. No idea why. Actually a Lancashire man, b&b. No Yankee genes whatsoever.

Reviews

[Mieczyslaw Kasprzyk · Rating 5 out of 5]

Otto is dead.
Actually, he isn't and we know within a couple of pages... and, as it turns out, so do others who are less friendily disposed to our hero than we are... and therein lies the rub.
Otto is known for having bad luck which made up by good friends and a brain that works out the best way out of difficulties, and he needs them now! It's all about office politics and knives in backs... except this isn't a school staffroom or your local insurance agent's... this is the Soviet Union and the machinations are about whether you end up with a bullet hole in the back of your head or supervising the ventilation.
And so a story unweaves that is both gripping and yet has its moments of humour...
There are days I thank God I discovered Jim McDermott's books.

[Mike Collins · Rating 4 out of 5]

Each book in the excellent Otto Fischer series has the reader wondering if this will be the final part of our hero's life, but this one starts off by confirming it! It's virtually impossible to not give away some of the story (spoiler alert box ticked!), but Working The Dead (great title) contains the trademark combination of intrigue, bad luck, political posturing and interest that we've come to expect, albeit partly in a different setting.
I think that the books have got more complex, as the series has progressed and this one is definitely in Le Carré territory.
Is this A Farewell To Otto? I hope not!