Shadows оf War

Traitors #2

by Michael Ridpath

A spy novel set in Holland and France during the "phony war" of September 1939 – May 1940, this is the sequel to The Sentinel

October, 1939: war has been declared, but until the armies massed on either side of the French/German border engage, all is quiet on the Western Front. But just because its quiet doesn't mean that it's not deadly. There are those who believe the war no one wants to fight should be brought to a swift conclusion, even if it means treachery. A year ago, Conrad de Lancey came within seconds of assassinating Hitler. Now the British Secret Service want him to go back into Europe and make contact with a group of German officers they believe are plotting a coup. But this is the Shadow War. And the shadows are multiplying. And it's not only disaffected Germans who are prepared to betray their country to save it.

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

448 pages, Paperback

First published August 13, 2015

About the author

Before becoming a writer, Michael Ridpath used to work as a bond trader in the City of London. After writing several financial thrillers, which were published in over 30 languages, he began a crime series featuring the Icelandic detective Magnus Jonson. He has also written five stand-alone thrillers, the latest of which is The Diplomat’s Wife, published in February 2021. He lives in London.

And if you want a free copy of his novella, The Polar Bear Killing, and to sign up to his quarterly newsletter, just click this link: http://eepurl.com/dlzgFH

Reviews

[Gram · Rating 3 out of 5]

Shadows Of War (Traitors) by Michael Ridpath tells a story of two sets of "traitors" at the outbreak of World War II. One set is in Germany, where military and intelligence leaders are conspiring to overthrow Hitler in their bid to prevent what they believe will be a disastrous war for the Fatherland. Meanwhile, in Britain, a group of far-right politicians, allied with misguided patriots and pacifists, are engineering a less spectacular coup to replace the British government with one more sympathetic to Hitler. Much of Ridpath's book is based on fact, particularly the machinations of various politicians and civil servants and private individuals to ensure that Britain would make a separate peace with Germany after the fall of France. Their plan includes a bid to restore the recently abdicated King Edward VIII (now the Duke of Windsor) to the British throne with his wife Wallis Simpson alongside as his queen. Conrad de Lancey is the "hero" who finds himself caught between these two sets of conspirators in a bid to prevent the British coup. He travels back and forth from England to France and Holland and to a final showdown near the French/Spanish border. Ridpath has obviously done a great deal of research on this period, including the various plots by the intelligence services of several different countries which had a direct influence on the German invasion of France - particularly the seemingly strange decision to halt the Germany army's advance on the French coast, thus allowing the Allied retreat from Dunkirk. Despite the historical content, the author keeps the plot speeding along, as de Lancey, realising there are very few people - including family and friends - who he can trust, tries to prevent the pro-Nazi British plotters from succeeding.

[Paul MacNamara · Rating 3 out of 5]

A decent spy novel that also at least demonstrated to some extent that there was more than a little discontent about going to war & how best to deal with Germany.
Some of the espionage seemed a little amateurish/far-fetched; Conrad in particular seems to make no effort to cover his tracks or check if he's being followed, putting himself & others in huge danger. Its hard to believe Theo for instance could go this long undetected with such a cumbersome friend in the opposition, & senior figures are too easily duped or persuaded.
I'd like to have heard more from Canaris & other senior figures pulling the strings to make some of this more believable.

[S.J.A. Turney · Rating 4 out of 5]

A year or two back I reviewed Michael Ridpath’s Traitor’s Gate, and it was in my top books of the year. I was somewhat excited to discover a sequel was out. I have little reading time these days but I shuffled this straight to the top.

Book one was set in Germany in the year before the Second World War. It was a tense thriller the built constantly and presented a time and place that was darkly fascinating to explore. I had no idea how there could be a book two.

Shadows of War presents a whole new story set in the first half year or so of the war (39-40) as Germany begins to press home its power, threatening Western Europe and Britain defies the Nazi regime, despite a strong sector that favours terms with Hitler and a cessation of hostilities.

On the face of things, I would saw SoW lacks a little of the tension and grit of the first book, but I think what it lacks in the stressful action, it makes up for in other ways. This book’s exploration of the politics and the motivations on both sides is extraordinary. And a dozen times through the novel I came across a fact that was of such intense interest and surprise to me that I had to run off to Google to convince myself that this wasn’t just hokum made up on the spot for the plot. For the record, it isn’t. The book is fictional, but everything in it is possible, even when you can’t believe it.

Though there are scenes of exciting espionage and action, much of the more military aspect in this comes from a peripheral source that, in truth, the book doesn’t specifically need, but which supplies a great deal of pertinent information in a manner that also gives us a soldier’s eye view of the frontlines of General Guderian’s blitzkrieg push into the west.

There is at least one moment in the book that utterly threw me. A totally unexpected event that I tip my hat to the author for.

It is at times poignant, at times dark and frightening, at times exciting and even uplifting. I think, though, that the thing I value most in the book is its atmosphere and its portrayal of the time and people. If the events that Ridpath recounts here happened, and they very well might have, then it casts a dark reflection of our great pride in being a nation that stood up to Nazi horror.

Shadows of War is a worthy sequel, a book that made me blink, made me think, and left me with questions and a torrent of emotion. I guess that says it all. Rest assured I shall seek out a third book if Ridpath decides to write it. I highly recommend reading this and its predecessor. Probably back-to-back they are even better.

Go get it, people.

[Paul Huggett · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not my favourite Ridpath book. I found it very hard to relate to any of the characters, although I admire some of Conrad's traits and guiding principles. I can believe in the feasibility of the story and its various threads, but it seemed a little forced. Some of the dialogue was too clipped and there were some overly simplistic aspects, particularly when Conrad makes important decisions. However, I have never experienced wartime and this simplicity of thought may be realistic.

I will continue to read work by this author but I hope future novels are better.

[Darcy Delany · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a fan of Michael Ridpath's books set in Iceland, I was curious to see him writing a WWII thriller. Unfortunately the style of writing in this book did not match, in my humble opinion, the other books I have read by this author. While the plot was intriguing once 1/4 of the way through, I did ponder giving up before then, mainly due to the large amount of telling rather than showing, which reduced the vibrancy of the writing. That said, once I overlooked that and the plot became juicy, I enjoyed the book.

[Pippo Hasbach · Rating 2 out of 5]

On one hand, a well-researched novel set in the onset of WW2 in Western Europe. On the other hand, a novel written without any palpable suspense and finesse, in which all of the characters always state their current knowledge, there is no misleading or false herring that could captivate the reader, nor is there any verisimilitude in the sense of false information spread by the different spy agencies involved.

[Eric Grounds · Rating 4 out of 5]

Michael Ridpath is easy to read and this second book in his series about Hitler's Germany is no exception. A rattling good tale, but you should read Traitor's Gate first

[Paul Markham · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF P62
I just couldn’t get into this. There were too many characters and the plot was taking too long to develop.

[David Walsh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic book, great writing

[Cerisaye · Rating 3 out of 5]

This intriguing thriller is set during the 'phoney war' period not often covered by books or onscreen because the action,such as it was, went on behind the scenes. A page-turning read crammed (perhaps overly so) with complex details of political intrigue and espionage, blending historical fact and fiction, real and imaginary characters.

I did not enjoy the novel quite as much as the previous one in the War series by Ridpath, mostly because there is less of Theo and, consequently, his relationship with Conrad I liked so much in Traitor's Gate. Again, the female characters are a little problematic (Constance in particular), and there is a bit of clumsy 'info dumping' in diary extracts from Theo's (conveniently serving under General Guderian with the Panzers) brother. However the history behind the novel is certainly interesting and made me want to read up on its background, which to me counts as a result for any work of historical fiction.

To sum up the plot, though there is a LOT more to the book, it is about an alliance of (repellent) fascist sympathisers and (misguided but understandable) pacifists in a conspiracy to restore Edward, Duke of Windsor to the throne and make Britain a satellite state of Hitler's Third Reich, while simultaneously anti-Fascist Germans, centred in the Abwehr under Admiral Canaris, attempt to subvert Hitler's planned invasion of France. Ridpath concocts a thrilling tale based on historical record, rumour and supposition, making connections and drawing conclusions that made me question some long-held assumptions. I must say, the part of the story involving the Duke of Windsor is convincing and I am most grateful to Mr Ridpath for introducing me to the delightful 'Fruity' Metcalf!

I enjoyed the novel, and hope Ridpath plans more follow-ups, covering further adventures of Conrad and Theo as the war progresses. His obvious depth of research makes his books more than entertaining thrillers.

[Elite Group · Rating 4 out of 5]

Intrigue and Drama in Pre-war Europe, 20 Aug. 2015

This is an intriguing thriller set just before the start of the Second World War, a period often ignored by authors who prefer the action and adventure of 1939-1945. Michael Ridpath works known facts into an intriguing story line with some skill. On more than one occasion he had me reaching for an online encyclopaedia to see if an event actually took place or a person really existed.

Ridpath uses Conrad de Lancey, his main character, to link his story together, moving quickly backwards and forwards through key events and places across Western Europe. He introduces real people alongside his own with ease and with a conviction that allows him to manipulate real events to his own end. Ridpath’s strengths are well identified with this genre but where unfortunately he strays into a style more suited to non-fiction it breaks the flow and readability of the story.

In a storyline full of conspiracy, deception and political manoeuvring Ridpath challenges the reader to wonder about the loyalty of some establishment figures, and especially that of the Duke of Windsor. He does this with skill but when he introduces relationships and particularly Conrad’s relationship with Anneliese his writing is clumsy and doesn’t feel right for a time almost thirty years before the liberation of women.

This is a good book where Ridpath maintains a good pace and manages to interweave some complex story lines without losing the reader. For those who love this period or genre this is well worth buying. -8848

RATING: Four Stars.

[Khoa · Rating 4 out of 5]

An intriguing work of historical fiction set in the great chaos of World War Two. This war was more than just the enmity between nations; it was a war between Good and Evil when Hitler's Nazi Germany was swallowing up Europe and subjugating the conquered peoples to Fascism. Battles fought in secret between pro-Nazi and anti-Nazi forces across Europe were as fierce as those on the battlefield. Yet, it was a "shadow war" where nobody could be sure which side anybody else was on. Bluffs and counter-bluffs were commonplace while treachery was the order of the day. Some were willing to compromise their own principles for wild personal ambitions. Some decided to betray their government and their leader in order to save the country itself. Everyone followed his own reasoning and took action, but no one could ever predict how the course of history would unfold.

[Bookread2day · Rating 3 out of 5]

Shadows Of War is a spy novel during the phoney war of September 1939 - May 1940. The author Michael Ridpath tried to tamper with historical events as little as possible. How much of this novel is based on the truth? It's a fair question. Michael Ridpath answer this question in Shadows Of War. Micheal explains in this novel to the readers how he got the idea for this novel.

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Michael Ridpath has produced a fascinating thriller with a fast paced narrative and atmospheric detail of the period,a bit of history that often gets over looked in the bigger picture of World War two.While the ending is good,i feel that there is more to come of Conrad and Theo and how they get through the next five years.

[Angshu Rai · Rating 5 out of 5]

Its an amazingly written book with tight editing, good enough to match its pace and keep up the suspense yet building up the characters and backdrops perfectly creating riveting reading experience. I love period fiction and romance of the war torn western Europe is just irresistibly portrayed by Ridpath.

[David Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book compelling. As historical fiction set in WWII it fits neatly into my favourite genre. It is entirely believable, being based in fact and kept me guessing much of the ay.

[Thomas Dale · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like his financial thrillers better.

[Vicki · Rating 4 out of 5]

On amazon audible. OK a continuation of the story of Conrad and WW2

[Richard · Rating 4 out of 5]

First book I've read by this author and one I enjoyed immensely. It cleverly weaves fact with fiction during the Phoney War period 1939-40, when the British Govt was in need of direction.