Ratlines (edition 2013)

Ireland 1963: JFK is coming to visit and a rash of murders whose victims are WWII Nazis is causing the intelligence department concern.
Is it the Mossad? Patriotism, betrayal, honor and evil are themes explored within the search for the assasins-fast moving, historically interesting and authentic. ( )

As the author points out, in his author note at the beginning, there are a number of facts in this book, Charles Haughey was the minister for Justice at the time, and Otto Skorzeny was in Ireland and met him at one stage. Nazis and Axis collaborators sought, and obtained refuge in Ireland after the Second World War (the late Cathal O'Shannon made a documentary on this topic, Ireland's Nazis). The rest of this story is fiction.

The story starts with death and then has Albert Ryan of the Army investigation unit being strongarmed by Haughey into investigating the murders quietly. His investigation berings him down some dark alleys and into some secrets and lies some of which people are willing to kill to keep.

It's an interesting read, the characters are well-drawn and from what I've read Haughey was quite like he's depicted. Gruesome in places, but interesting. ( )

"Ratlines focuses on the investigation into a series of murders of ex-Nazis who are living in Ireland 18 years after the end of World War II, or the Emergency, as it was called in Ireland. The novel takes place in the weeks leading up to President Kennedy’s first scheduled visit to Ireland. The main character is Albert Ryan, currently employed by the Directorate of Intelligence after a military career (he left Ireland as a teenager to fight with the British in World War II). He is a man who isn’t sure how to have a life outside the military, and he does not feel welcome at home because he fought with the British.

While Albert works for the Irish intelligence agency, his investigation is overseen in part by the Irish Minister of Justice and Colonel Otto Skorzeny, an Austrian ex-Nazi who is the target of the murderers. Albert’s investigation takes him to politicians and military folks, and it’s a very violent investigation.This book is more violent than books I typically read. Also, the book is almost entirely made up of male characters, which is quite a switch from what I usually read.

The novel delves into something I didn’t know about Ireland, namely its harboring of ex-Nazis after World War II. (I thought that was confined to South America.) A ratline is a way out for ex-Nazis: providing them homes and funds to start new lives in new places. This political and historical background is the strongest part of the book. The plot itself is not the strongest part in my opinion because I went into the book expecting a significant amount of violence and crosses and double crosses based on the other Stuart Neville book I read, The Ghosts of Belfast. It is a briskly paced book with a vivid historical background, but the actual resolution of the murders was not the most interesting part of the book for me."
source: publisher via NetGalley

I won a copy from a Goodreads First Reads giveaway.
The book was good, interesting and compelling. The reason I do not give it more stars is because it was a little slow to get started and also the graphic violence and torture that I do not enjoy reading about. ( )

If you like intrigue, double-crosses, secret agents, and a protagonist that is rock solid to his core beliefs, this is a very satisfying read.
Lieutenant Albert Ryan left Ireland to fight with the British against the Nazi’s in WWII. Upon his release he soon discovered he had no civilian qualifications and was recruited by military intelligence.

It’s 1963 and as his country anticipates the arrival of American President John F. Kennedy, Ryan finds himself tracking down a killer of German nationalists and being ordered to ally with a Colonel Otto Skorzeny, ‘Hitler’s favorite commando’. Caught in a maelstrom of lies and deceit, Ryan finds there is only one person he can rely on, himself, but will that prove to be enough?

Stuart Neville introduces a sometimes naïve, but not innocent individual in his latest stand-alone novel. Set against a backdrop of espionage and distrust, misplaced loyalties, he drops the reader into a world of political chess and greed, then deftly leads us through a minefield and turns the lights out.

Having read Ghosts of Belfast recently, I was expecting this book to shoot out of the starting blocks, and instead found the pacing much slower than I had anticipated in the beginning. There is a lot of history involved in Ratlines and Stuart’s meticulous research shines through by not losing the reader, rather enlightening those of us who aren’t as familiar with the political landscape of the time. Upon reading about celebrations thrown after Kennedy’s assassination, it struck home just how well of a job he’d done when it played perfectly well with Skorzeny’s character.

Another solid read that I will be highly recommending. ( )