THE UNDERTAKING by Audrey Magee

THE UNDERTAKING Audrey Magee (audreymagee.com) Atlantic Books (atlantic-books.co.uk) £12.99 In order to temporarily escape the madness of the Eastern Front, German soldier Peter Faber turns to marriage. It is a marriage of convenience, the bride one Katharina Spinell, chosen from a catalogue, a girl he has never met. The benefits are mutual: ten days’ honeymoon […]

PLAN D by Simon Urban

PLAN D Simon Urban (www.simonurban.de/) Translated by Katy Derbyshire Harvill Secker (www.vintage-books.co.uk/about-us/harvill-secker/) £14.99 October, 2011. Much of the gas used by Western Europe comes from Russia, via a pipeline network that runs through the middle of the German Democratic Republic. Weeks before the leaders of the two Germanys are due to come together to discuss […]

An Interview with CHRIS MORGAN JONES

Photograph © Alexander James Name: CHRIS MORGAN JONES Author of: AN AGENT OF DECEIT (2011) On the web: http://www.chrismorganjones.com On Twitter: @chrismjauthor Chris Morgan Jones’ first novel, An Agent of Deceit, was published in 2011 to widespread critical acclaim, with many outlets comparing his work to that of John Le Carré. Before setting pen to […]

AN AGENT OF DECEIT by Chris Morgan Jones

AN AGENT OF DECEIT Chris Morgan Jones (www.chrismorganjones.com) Pan Books (www.panmacmillan.com) £7.99 There seems to be cyclic nature to the popularity of certain, seemingly long-dead, genres. In recent years we have seen upsurges in the popularity of westerns and pirates, for example, while the most recent rebirth, helped along greatly by Tomas Alfredson’s big screen […]

SORRY by Zoran Drvenkar

SORRY Zoran Drvenkar (www.drvenkar.de) Translated by Shaun Whiteside Blue Door (www.harpercollins.co.uk/…/blue-door) £12.99 I will admit that when I saw the cover of Zoran Drvenkar’s Sorry – the first of the German author’s novels to be translated into English – my first thought was that it was a novel aimed at a young adult audience. What […]