Synopsis
BERLIN. JANUARY 1940.
After Germany’s invasion of Poland, the world is holding its breath and hoping for peace. At home, the Nazi Party’s hold on power is absolute.
One freezing night, an SS doctor and his wife return from an evening mingling with their fellow Nazis at the concert hall. By the time the sun rises, the doctor will be lying lifeless in a pool of blood.
Was it murder or suicide? Criminal Inspector Horst Schenke is told that under no circumstances should he investigate. The doctor’s widow, however, is convinced her husband was the target of a hit. But why would anyone murder an apparently obscure doctor? Compelled to dig deeper, Schenke learns of the mysterious death of a child. The cases seem unconnected, but soon chilling links begin to emerge that point to a terrifying secret.
Even in times of war, under a ruthless regime, there are places in hell no man should ever enter. And Schenke fears he may not return alive . . .
My Review
Anybody who knows me well, knows that not only am I a book geek but I am also a huge history nerd and I especially love historical fiction with a particular interest in the Second World War. So you can probably imagine why the synopsis of ‘Dead Of Night’ screamed ‘read me’ at me. ‘Dead Of Night’ is the second book in the ‘Berlin Wartime Thriller’ series. The first book in the series is called ‘Blackout’ and it was released in 2021. I loved the first book and I had high hopes for ‘Dead Of Night’. I wasn’t to be disappointed. I thoroughly enjoyed reading ‘Dead Of Night’ but more about that in a bit.
I was drawn into ‘Dead Of Night’ from the synopsis alone and as soon as I started reading, that was it I was hooked. I picked the book up only intending to read a chapter or two but I became so wrapped up in the story and in the lives of the characters that I was still sat there reading a couple of hours and several chapters later. This story stayed with me whether I had the book in my hand or not – if I wasn’t reading the book then I was thinking about it and if I had to put the book to one side for any reason then I would immediately look forward to being able to pick the book up again. The story even kept me awake at night! I think that part of the reason as to why this story affected me so much was because I studied the Nazis and their abhorrent actions as part of my ‘A’ Level Modern History course and so I already had a fair idea of the evil that men can do. The murder of the SS Doctor in this book intrigued me and I had my own suspicions as to how this particular story was going to pan out so I had to keep reading to see if I was anywhere near the truth or if I had wandered off in the opposite direction. All too quickly I reached the end of ‘Dead Of Night’ and I had to say goodbye to Horst Schenke and his team. I found ‘Dead Of Night’ to be the true definition of an unputdownable page turner of a read. ‘Dead Of Night’ was a tense, dramatic, gripping and an emotional read, which certainly kept me guessing and which kept me on the edge of my seat.
‘Dead Of Night’ is superbly written but then I have come to expect nothing less from Simon Scarrow. Simon has one of those writing styles that grabs the reader’s attention from the start and draws them into what proves to be one hell of a story. Simon has clearly done an awful lot of research into the time period in which the story takes place and this shines through in the quality of the story and makes it seem that bit more authentic. For me, the story hit the ground running and maintained a fast pace throughout. Reading ‘Dead Of Night’ felt like being on a scary and unpredictable rollercoaster ride with more twists and turns to it than you would find on a ‘Snakes & Ladders’ board. Simon tells the story in such a vivid and realistic way that I really felt as though I was part of it and I had been transported back to 1940. Simon certainly doesn’t shy away from covering difficult subjects in the story but he deals with them in a matter of fact way.
In short, I thoroughly enjoyed reading ‘Dead Of Night’ and I would highly recommend this book to other readers. I know it’s still early in 2023 but I would go so far as to say that ‘Dead Of Night’ is one of my top reads of 2023. I will definitely be reading more of Simon’s work in the future. The score on the Ginger Book Geek board is a very well deserved 5* out of 5*.
gingerbookgeek 