Finisterre: A gripping World War II thriller
3.5/5
()
Currently unavailable
Currently unavailable
About this ebook
Germany, October 1944: Dozens of cities lie in ruins. Enemy armies are at the gates. For the Thousand Year Reich, time is running out.
Desperate to avoid the humiliation of unconditional surrender, German intelligence launch Operation Finisterre – a last-ditch plan to enable Hitler to deny the savage logic of a war on two fronts and bluff his way to the negotiating table.
Success depends on two individuals: Stefan Portisch, a German naval officer washed ashore on the coast of Spain after the loss of his U-boat, and Hector Gomez, an ex-FBI detective, planted by Director J. Edgar Hoover in the middle of the most secret place on earth: the American atomic bomb complex. Both men will find themselves fighting for survival as Operation Finisterre plays itself out.
Finisterre is part of the SPOILS OF WAR Collection, a thrilling, beguiling blend of fact and fiction born of some of the most tragic, suspenseful, and action-packed events of World War II. From the mind of highly acclaimed thriller author GRAHAM HURLEY, this blockbuster non-chronological collection allows the reader to explore Hurley's masterful storytelling in any order, with compelling recurring characters whose fragmented lives mirror the war that shattered the globe.
Graham Hurley
Graham Hurley is a documentary maker and a novelist. For the last two decades he's written full-time, penning nearly fifty books. Two made the short list for the Theakston's Old Peculiar Crime Novel of the Year, while Finisterre – the first in the Spoils of War collection – was shortlisted for the Wilbur Smith Adventure Writing Award. Graham lives in East Devon with his lovely wife, Lin. Follow Graham at grahamhurley.co.uk
Read more from Graham Hurley
Spoils of War
Related to Finisterre
Related ebooks
When Wolves Gather: Shadows of War, #6 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHere, There and Back: Jamie Ballard books, #1 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHopscotch Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Lieberman's Folly Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Sardine Deception Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsRise Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Famous All Over Town: A Novel Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5Smoke-Filled Rooms: A Smokey Dalton Novel: Smokey Dalton, #2 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsUndertow: A B.C. Blues Crime Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Collaborators Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Flights and Falls: A B.C. Blues Crime Novel Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Second Violin Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Iron Storm: Shadows of War, #4 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Empire of Night Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Nazi's Wife: A Thriller Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsEstocada Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Night Sky Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Seven Men of Gascony Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Red Icon: An Inspector Pekkala Novel of Suspense Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Reluctant Hero Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Oslo Affair: Shadows of War, #2 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Lost and the Blind Rating: 1 out of 5 stars1/5Dilly: The Man Who Broke Enigmas Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Telegram For Mrs. Mooney Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Thin Line Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Cast Net Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMunich: The Man Who Said No! Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsTRANS-SIBERIAN EXPRESS Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Spies & Sweethearts: A Christian WWII Romance Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBrotherhood of Fear: A Willi Kraus Novel Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5
War & Military Fiction For You
The Book of Lost Names Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Farewell to Arms Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Winemaker's Wife Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Mash: A Novel About Three Army Doctors Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Things They Carried Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Cold Mountain: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Last Kingdom Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5For Whom the Bell Tolls: The Hemingway Library Edition Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Huntress: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Rose Code: A Novel Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The End of the Affair Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Forest of Vanishing Stars: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Diamond Eye: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Grapes of Wrath Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5When I Come Home Again: 'A page-turning literary gem' THE TIMES, BEST BOOKS OF 2020 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5In the Lake of the Woods: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Paris Daughter Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5All Quiet on the Western Front Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Visitors Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The War of the Worlds Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Room on Rue Amelie Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Like the Appearance of Horses Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Memory Keeper of Kyiv: A powerful, important historical novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5North and South Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Titans Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5All Quiet on the Western Front Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Soldier of the Great War Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Three Fates Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5From Here to Eternity Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Reviews for Finisterre
13 ratings3 reviews
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Extremely cleverly plotted story about Nazi attempts to broker a peace treaty once the allies took back France. For half the book the two parallel stories have no apparent link until suddenly the two pieces slot together seamlessly. Clearly very well researched with several real characters scattered within the plot. Highly recommended.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5It is September 1944: knowing that the war cannot be won, and desperate to avoid having to accept unconditional surrender, the German intelligence service launches Operation Finisterre in the hope of convincing the British and American governments to negotiate a peace deal with Hitler. The success of this mission is dependent on the actions of two men, who are involved in two apparently unconnected incidents. Twenty four year old Stefan Portisch, the experienced and well-decorated captain of a German U-boat, is charged with taking five SS men, along with their mysterious cargo, to Lisbon on a top-secret mission. However, when crossing the Bay of Biscay in a storm, his vessel sinks and the crew is forced to abandon ship. Badly injured, Stefan is washed ashore at a small fishing village on the coast of Spain and subsequently discovers that he is the only survivor. He is cared for by Eva, an activist during the Spanish Civil War, and soon falls in love with her. Disillusioned about continuing to fight for a cause which is both flawed and doomed, whilst he is recovering from his injuries he realises that he must make a decision about his future. However, when is betrayed to the Germans he discovers that achieving what he wants, a future with Eva, will depend on his cooperation with German intelligence agents in their plan to feed false information to the Allied Forces.On the other side of the Atlantic, Hector Gómez, an ex-FBI agent, now a counter-intelligence officer with the US Army and based at the American atomic bomb complex at Los Alamos, is investigating the apparent suicide of one of the scientists, a German Jew who had escaped to America before the war. Unconvinced by the evidence presented, his investigations finally lead Hector across the border into Mexico where, uncovering a complex espionage plot, he finds himself in grave danger. Along the way he meets Yolanda, a Spanish American woman who is fighting for civil rights in the USA, and, like Stefan, he too falls in love. The narrative switches every few pages as it tells the parallel stories of the two main characters. Initially I found theses frequent switches rather frustrating but, once I had adapted to the style, I found that this device helped to increase the dramatic tension in a very effective way. There is, of course, an assumption that the apparently disparate scenarios will eventually merge to make a coherent whole, but there were enough mysteries along the way to make it an interesting, and not too predictable, journey. I particularly enjoyed the descriptions of life on a U-boat and thought that the author captured the atmosphere of camaraderie, trust and loyalty which develops between men forced to live in such an isolated, claustrophobic world – comparisons between the highly evocative descriptions in Das Boot and this book are well-deserved. Although much of the historical background was very familiar to me, I thought that the author used his research in a very effective way, blending fact and fiction in a way which felt convincing. I thought that the rivalry and power-games between the respective governments’ agencies, as well as between the countries involved, were very well-portrayed, adding an extra layer of confusion to the intricate negotiations needed in order to broker a face-saving peace treaty for the Germans. I found this an entertaining and engaging read but do have a couple of niggling criticisms. I thought that the romantic relationships were portrayed rather less successfully than other character-development, and that there were times when they distracted from the developing tension. I also found the ending to be rather rushed after the slow, but engagingly reflective build-up. This is the first book I have read by this author and, based on the overall quality of his writing, and his convincing plotting, I feel encouraged to try another of his novels.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5In September 1944, decorated German U-boat captain Stefan Portisch has been ordered to take five SS men to Lisbon on a top secret mission. While crossing the Bay of Biscay the submarine founders on rocks during a storm and the entire crew have to take their lives into their own hands by abandoning ship. Portisch is washed ashore and must make a decision. On the other side of the Atlantic, in Los Alamos, New Mexico, Hector Gómez investigates the supposed suicide of a Jewish scientist working on America’s best-kept secret, the atom bomb. But Gómez is suspicious and doesn’t believe Sol Fiedler shot himself. His investigation takes him across the border into Mexico, where he makes a surprising discovery.I was sure after reading the synopsis that this book would prove to be a sure-fire hit but I thought it rather disappointing after the few rave reviews I’d read. The beginning aboard a German submarine is tense and atmospheric and brought to mind scenes of the German TV series (and film) Das Boot but for a book set at such a crucial turning point in the war the novel is surprisingly light on tension. The narrative alternates between Stefan Portisch, the U-boat captain turning his back on his country, and Hector Gómez, a counter-intelligence officer with the US Army, stationed at Los Alamos. The link between the two threads is revealed only very gradually and what is supposed to be a big reveal at the end falls curiously flat – considering the explosive subject material the plot rather fizzles out, in my opinion. There is no doubt that the author has researched the period extremely well, even placing a few historical figures into the narrative, and I can see this being turned into a successful film (but maybe with a different ending), but it didn’t grab me and the fate of each of the two principal characters left me quite cold. I’m wondering whether this is the result of the format, which jerks the reader from one man and place to the other, not allowing a rapport to develop. Certainly I query the author’s need to run both men’s lives in parallels to such a degree that fairly large sections of the book felt like padding, with romantic subplots added that only distract when more attention should have been paid to establishing a convincing, tense and nail-biting narrative.While this book can stand as a stand-alone novel, the author states on his website that there will be a “soft-linkage” between Finisterre and the two subsequent novels in the Wars Within series, with minor characters flitting in and out of the narrative as the plot demands. As yet I haven’t quite decided whether I will be on board again for the sequels.(This review was written for Amazon's Vine programme.)