Wednesday, November 13, 2019

A Hidden Story of WWII Espionage


During WWII a number of individuals in Great Britain sympathized with the Nazis and were eager to supply secret information to them. This is the story of Eric Roberts, a bank clerk, who as Jack King formed these traitors into a network that supplied him with information that he passed to MI5.

Roberts was known a something of a daredevil, but was very personable and able to attract people to him. He had done some spy work for MI5 before the war and wanted to get back into the game. He got his chance and was able to infiltrate Fascist and Nazi groups. He became a leader, Hitler’s man in Britain, and was able pass on information that the traitors were trying to send to Germany. Information on Bletchley Park, a secret radar named Windows, and other to secret plans that would have severely hampered Britain’s war effort were among those Jack intercepted.

The book is exceptionally well researched. The author did an excellent job of digging deep into the past and bringing to life episodes that were classified until 2014. Sometimes the book reads like a thriller. At other times it gets bogged down in a tremendous amount of detail. Even minor characters are introduced with their full histories. If you love history, you enjoy these excursions. However, it does interfere with the flow of the narrative.

I received this book from St. Martin’s Press for this review.

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