The Secret of Spandau [Hardcover]

Peter Lovesey (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 27, 2001

Spandau Prison has only one inmate: the most closely guarded prisoner in the world. His name is Rudolf Hess. A Nazi -- and one with a damaging tale to tell. Only Berlin correspondent Red Goodbody -- a newshound with courage and panache -- will be able to get close enough to the prisoner to unravel the mysteries of Spandau. But the KGB and M15, for opposing reasons, must protect the dangerous secret Hess may feel compelled to reveal.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

In May 1941, Hitler's Deputy Fuhrer, Rudolf Hess, parachuted from his Messerschmidt and fell to earth near Glasgow, Scotland. Hess claimed he had come to negotiate peace between England and Germany. That much is true; what happens next in this well-researched novel (originally published in England in 1986 but appearing in the U.S. for the first time) is very plausible fiction. The bulk of the story is set in the mid-1980s when Hess, now an elderly man, is the only surviving prisoner in Spandau Prison. Only Hess knows the real reason for his flight to Glasgow in 1941, and he's kept the facts to himself. But now a manuscript, supposedly written by Hess in the 1960s, has come to light, and a publisher is threatening to rush it into print. Meanwhile, a maverick newspaper reporter, Red Goodbody, is hot on a story that may prove Hess was not looking for peace at all, that he was working with a group of British citizens to sell out their own country. A thought-provoking, entirely believable novel. David Pitt
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

About the Author

Peter Lovesey is the author of 26 highly praised mystery novels and has been awarded the CWA Gold, Silver, and Diamond Daggers (for Lifetime Achievement) as well as many US honors. He lives in West Sussex, England.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: Severn House Publishers (March 27, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0727856596
• ISBN-13: 978-0727856593
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.8 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,591,797 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

PETER LOVESEY is the author of the Peter Diamond mysteries, well known for their use of surprise, strong characters and hard-to-crack puzzles. He was awarded the Cartier Diamond Dagger in 2000, the Grand Prix de Litterature Policiere, the Anthony, the Ellery Queen Readers' Award and is Grand Master of the Swedish Academy of Detection. He has been a full-time author since 1975, and was formerly in further education. Earlier series include the Sergeant Cribb mysteries seen on TV and the Bertie, Prince of Wales novels. The Diamond novels, set in Bath, England, where Peter lived for some years, feature a burly, warm-hearted, but no-nonsense police detective whose personal life becomes as engaging to the reader as the intricate mysteries he solves. His team in Bath CID includes the ex-journo Ingeborg Smith, the long-serving Keith Halliwell and the meticulous John Leaman, all involved in what is essentially a fair-play procedural mystery series. Peter and his wife Jax, who co-scripted the TV series, have a son, Phil, also a teacher and mystery writer, and a daughter Kathy, who was a Vice-President of J.P.Morgan-Chase, and now lives with her family in Greenwich, Ct. Peter currently lives in Chichester, England. His website at www.peterlovesey.com gives fuller details of his life and books. "Try him. You'll love him," wrote the doyen of the mystery world, Otto Penzler, in the New York Sun.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Excellent "What If" about World War II, June 13, 2001

By 

Martha W. Bonney "Bonney_Blue" (Syracuse, New York USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Secret of Spandau (Hardcover)

There are a great many unanswered questions about World War II, and most of those who know the answers have died, forgotten, or refused to speak. This is a plausible account of what MIGHT have been the historical (and political) truth that powerful forces wanted to keep hidden, though we'll never be sure. But Rudolph Hess was kept isolated behind the walls of Spandau Prison until his death for a compelling reason, more than simply revenge or retribution, since his cellmates were all released decades before he died. Well written, thought provoking, full of tension, it races to a bombshell climax.