Im a big fan or historical fiction but all of the books I have read have never been one where history was changed. This book was my first and it won’t be my last. I was interested once I found out this book was written where Germany won WWII and the impact it had on Great Britain. I like how that wasn’t the main focus of the story but was an important part. We follow John who works for the police force who is investigating a drug called Yonder that is sweeping through the country. I loved the twists and turns this book took and highly recommend it!!

An interesting AR where German won WWII and the implications. Loved the world building and little pieces throughout the story. The ending felt rushed to wrap up all the lose ends. Overall enjoyed.

this had me thinking. and over thinking. it also sat deep within my soul and brain longer after i finished. and i found myself looking even at the world around me a little differently. or contemplating certain things going on very differently. as i think this is a very cautionary warning of just where things can go. the end of the war when the "baddies" win doesnt just mean someone lost. it means a whole regime and sense of life and how we live would be altered. and not for the better at all. i cant fathom living under that kind of rule. and this leaves a fearful feeling all the way through the book and well after. thats not to say people shouldnt read this book because it was excellent. and i think the way it makes you think and feel only means more people should read it.
i dont think any of us want or can possibly think of how our lives would be now if the Nazis wouldve run. it sends shivers. day to day life feels spoilt at the hands of that group.
this book does manage to make a tale within the tale though and so we also have a focus on one character trying his best to uphold this way of life when it is threatened.
this book is deep. and brilliant. and scary in all the right but unsettling ways it should be.

It's London in 1969, and roughly twenty years ago Germany and the Axis powers won WWII. London, and Great Britain as a whole, has become the industrial powerhouse of the new Reich.

The alternate history was incredibly well-considered and researched and our main character was compelling despite basically being a Nazi. I just found the ending rather lacklustre. The brainwashing of political propaganda is certainly no joke; I understand how hard it can be to break free. But our narrator is repeatedly being told, either by his own conscience or his peers, that the Reich doesn't care for him. Even when he acknowledges it, he doesn't change his life. As a series (or even a slightly longer novel), where he continued to examine and question his role in a society that is willing to throw him away, I would've been hooked. But he died having done almost nothing. The mystery was neat and the worldbuilding was incredible, but the main character left something to be desired from me.

This is an excellent story from an entirely different perspective and one that is relevant in today’s world.
I gave it the following SCORE:
Setting: London, 1960’s
Characters: Detective Sergeant John Highsmith, his wife, members of the British police force and the Reich’s service
Overview: World War II is over and Germany rules mainland Europe and the British Isle. There is still conflict with Russia on the Eastern Front and, in this alternate history, the United States is not directly involved. British born John Highsmith has been brought up and schooled under socialism and is a practitioner of the rules imposed by the Reich. His assignment, with other detectives, is to uncover and terminate the network of the suppliers and distributors of a new drug called “Yonder” that may or may not have underlying consequences to society beyond a recreational drug and may possibly be part of an underground resistance movement.
Recommendation: I rate this book 5 stars
Extras: This book is highly recommended for several reasons. It is thought-provoking on many levels, not the least of which is pertinence to contemporary issues. It makes the reader take sides – should you want Highsmith, representing the Reich, to succeed, or do you support what may be an underground, insurgent group? And, brilliantly, this story does not follow the standard, formulaic plot with an unexpected conclusion.
Thanx to NetGalley and Troubador Publishing Ltd. for the opportunity to provide this candid review.