Secret of Spandau, The

By Peter Lovesey

Rudolf Hess was the most closely guarded prisoner in the world. Forty-five years after his capture in Scotland on a supposed peace mission he was still in Spandau Prison. Why was it necessary to keep him there so long? He was a Nazi -- but one with a damaging tale to tell.

If anyone can reach him it is Berlin correspondent Red Goodbody, known for his foolhardiness, but also for his daring and panache. The fear is that the stability of Western Europe may be undermined by what Hess can reveal; and so both the KGB and MI5 move into action to protect the extraordinary secret of Spandau.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Severn House Publishers
• Release date: Jul 1, 2016
• ISBN: 9781780107707

Peter Lovesey

Peter Lovesey is a British writer of detective fiction. His work has won many awards, most notably the CWA Gold and Silver Daggers, the Cartier Diamond Dagger for Lifetime Achievement, as well as the Macavity, Barry and Anthony Awards.

Reviews for Secret of Spandau, The

[eyejaybee · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A very entertaining novel, based around the incarceration of Rudolf Hess in Spandau Prison in Berlin following his conviction in the Nuremburg Trials after the end of the Second World War.The novel opens with the flight of Rudolf Hess, then second in command within German's Third Reich, to Scotland in a bid to meet the Duke of Hamilton. However, the main part of the story takes place in 1984. Berlin is still divided by the Wall, and Hess remains in Spandau, guarded by a combination of British, American, French and Russian warders. By that time he is the sole inmate in Spandau, and is referred to solely as "Prisoner No. 7". However, in London three journalists are pulled off their customary duties to investigate rumours that Hess had smuggled out an illicit memoir, and that it might contain revelations of the most damaging type, with drastic implications for all four of the Allied Powers.Lovesey has obviously conducted extensive research and he succeeds in building up great tension as the action moves between London, Berlin and St Malo.The denouement stretched plausibility rather too far, perhaps, but the book was immensely;y entertaining.