The Man Who Played Trains

The Man Who Played Trains. Richard Whittle

The style of writing, and the story, took me back to my days reading Hammond Innes and early Robert Ludlum in the late 70’s early 80’s. Grown up boys own stories. Stories of ordinary men pushed into unusual circumstances in subtle ways that are totally realistic.
In the modern day Mining engineer, and consultant, John Spargo, receives a phone call to tell him his mother is in hospital. Rushing to her bedside he finds she has been beaten up in a home raid. Sadly she dies and John sets out to find out what the person that raided her house was after. The house is in the little run down mining village of Kilcreg, a cul-de-sac town on the Scottish coast. The town used to have a mine, run by Spargo’s father, but since it closed there has been no work and the elderly population wouldn't be responsible for the attack.

Meanwhile in 1944 a German U-boat captain, Theodore Volker is trying to get home to see his young son. He is a good man whose wife had been killed during an air raid, he looks after his crew, and speaks his mind about the state of the German war effort, and the way they are beginning to lose the war.
When Volker is confronted on a train, by a stranger, and taken to a Luftwaffe base in Berlin, it becomes obvious he is being recruited for a secret mission. A mission to the UK.
As things start to gather pace Sparo’s daughter is kidnapped and he takes on his own mission, to find his daughter and discover why his mother was killed, by who, and why.
It's no supplies that the happenings during the end of World War 2 are connected with the happenings in modern day Scotland, but how.
This book blends the two story-lines together in an intriguing novel that has been an absolute pleasure to read.

This style of book has gone missing over the last few years in favour of unrealistic adventure thrillers. It's good to have it back

Thank you Richard Whittle.

In this absolutely delicious who-dun-it, we're not quite sure what's been done or by whom. The narrative skips back and forth from present day to a German UBoat in WWII. At the center of the controversy are crates of precious art which the Germans seek to store safely as the war winds down with Germany the obvious loser.

NG: I read this EARC courtesy of Urbane Publications and Net Galley. pub date 05/25/17

An unexpected treat

I wasn't sure what to expect with this one, but Richard Whittle's tale woven between the past and the present was an unexpected treat.

Whittle's tale moves from the eastern front to a remote Scottish village and a range of vivid characters including Herman Goering. His writing keeps the pace up despite the 450+ pages to an exciting and unexpected finish.

I really enjoyed this well researched novel.