Author:Robert Harris
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'The highest form of thriller . . . non-stop excitement' The Times
NOW AVAILABLE: THE SECOND SLEEP, ROBERT HARRIS'S LATEST NOVEL
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What if Hitler had won the war?
It is April 1964 and one week before Hitler's 75th birthday. Xavier March, a detective of the Kriminalpolizei, is called out to investigate the discovery of a dead body in a lake near Berlin's most prestigious suburb.
As March discovers the identity of the body, he uncovers signs of a conspiracy that could go to the very top of the German Reich. And, with the Gestapo just one step behind, March, together with an American journalist, is caught up in a race to discover and reveal the truth - a truth that has already killed, a truth that could topple governments, a truth that will change history.
Clever and ingenious... Its breeding is by Orwell, out of P. D. James, a detective story inside a future shock
—— Daily MailA writer who handles suspense like a literary Alfred Hitchcock
—— NELSON MANDELARobert Harris has recreated the whole structure of a totally corrupt society in a way that makes the flesh creep
—— JOHN MORTIMERPowerful and chilling... convincing in every detail
—— MARTHA GELLHORNGripping in the way John Buchan, Len Deighton and John LeCarré are. The writing is superb
—— WOODROW WYATTThe highest form of thriller... non-stop excitement
—— The TimesTightly constructed... grips as tightly as a Nazi's glove
—— Independent on SundayA fantastic thriller... The final solution is an utter surprise. Harris reaches it with speed, conveying a whole culture of grotesquery and kitsch
—— Mail on SundayIngenious... fast-paced and beautifully written
—— EsquireA wonderful tale of personal relationships and political drama…This is a very, very good read
—— Vince Cable , Spectator, BOOKS OF THE YEARI enjoyed romping through Robert Harris’ Munich
—— Nick Curtis , Evening Standard, BOOKS OF THE YEARTaut and finely paced novel . . . superbly observed . . . it is hard not to break out in a cold sweat just reading it….The details of railway carriages, hotel rooms, 10 Downing Street and even the Fuhrerbau in Berlin are faultless . . . an utterly compelling and fantastically tense historical thriller by a writer at the very top of his game.
—— James Holland , Literary ReviewWhat distinguishes Munich is the subtlety with which it uses the formulaic elements of the genre to explore the ethics of information and functions of bureaucracy
—— New StatesmanFascinating . . . Seamlessly weaving his fictional tale into the real events of September 1938…Harris has once again shown himself to be a master storyteller
—— Nick Rennison , BBC History MagazineA novel of ideas and a gripping thriller… Harris is a marvellously compelling story-teller
—— ScotsmanWith moral subtlety as well as storytelling skill, Harris makes us regret the better past that never happened — while mournfully accepting the bitter one that did
—— Boyd Tonkin , Financial TimesA fantastically entertaining historical novel that you won’t want to put down until you finish . . . For me, this is a better novel than Fatherland, which posited the ‘what if Hitler was still Fuhrer in 1964?’ scenario. It is altogether more grounded and serious, but equally enjoyable
—— NudgeExerts a powerful grip
—— Jasper Reese , The Arts DeskIt’s hard to imagine how history can be told better
—— Sport NewspaperLovely details. Clever Twists. Superb.
—— Evening StandardThis novel is gripping from start to finish
—— Waitrose WeekendIn recent years there have been a number of very good novels by veterans of the Global War on Terror. None is as ambitious, inclusive or powerful as Brian Van Reet's Spoils; none has this novel's range or uncanny ability to transport the reader to the battlefield and those rarely explored margins at the battlefield's ragged edge. Spoils is a fantastic debut.
—— Aaron Gwyn, author of Wynne's WarVivid and fierce, Spoils is an eloquent exploration of humanity. Depicting a world with no obvious villains or heroes, this novel is as important as it is timely. By exploring the nuances of motivation, loyalty, and sacrifice, Van Reet exposes the connections that bind us across even the greatest divides.
—— Virginia ReevesThe brilliance of Brian Van Reet’s Spoils lies not only in the sheer forward-motion velocity of its plotting, but in the psychological terrain it explores: what a generation of young women and men went looking for in Iraq, what they found, and why that discovery matters so profoundly for the rest of us.
—— Anthony GiardinaIn Spoils, Van Reet has imbued his subject with subtlety — something that it is so often stripped of, both by combatants and the media. One rarely sees a war novel by a soldier with such convincing writing on both sides of the trenches.
—— Jonathan McAloon , Financial TimesThis is a great novel… Brian Van Reet [is] a special talent.
—— NudgeAn honest glimpse into the action, emotion and futility of war.
—— UK Press SyndicationThe action is realistic and relentless, the writing lean and muscular, the tale harrowing, and the horrors seemingly inevitable but no less powerful for that.
—— John Walshe , Hot PressIn dazzling and propulsive prose, Brian Van Reet explores the lives on both sides of the battle lines… Depicting a war spinning rapidly out of control, destined to become a modern classic, Spoils is an unsparing and morally complex novel that chronicles the achingly human cost of combat.
—— Victoria SadlerSpoils reeks of the fog and futility of war… It has its own blue-collar beauty as it tells its tale from three perspectives: a gay, female US soldier, an Egyptian jihadist and a US tank commander.
—— Donal O’Donoghue , RTE GuideBrian Van Reet has firsthand combat experience to draw upon for this powerful piece of fiction, rendering it an intensely humane story, giving credible authenticity to the plot, and scenes presented to the reader… Enlightening, thought provoking and hauntingly mesmerising, I cannot recommend Spoils highly enough to anyone interested in novels about war and conflict.
—— Sharon Mills , NudgeEvery page brims with brutal authenticity.
—— The Mail on SundaySpoils bears eye-widening witness to valour, horror, violence, cruelty and absurdity.
—— Marcel Theroux , Guardian