An alternative history that has aged well. The premise is quite common: what if Nazi Germany had invaded Britain in the Spring of 1941, and succeeded? The plot revolves around rescuing the King and retrieving atomic secrets, both to be sent to America.

But it’s the politics of a Nazi occupation that clearly most fascinated Deighton, because he build a labyrinth of plots and counter-plots between Army, SS, British Resistance, and American isolationism. These internecine struggles are actually quite familiar from the actual history of Nazi occupations, so it’s quite fascinating to see them transplanted to a fictional Britain. It’s so well done that it’s a shame it isn’t part of a series (of which Deighton wrote several).

4/5. Finished Saturday 3 August, 2024.

(Originally published on Goodreads.)