Author Michael Shew. Photograph: courtesy Troubadour
Are you loyal to your partner or to your country?
Not many of us have to make this invidious choice, but back in the 1930s and 1940s, civic duty pulled a huge number of our grandparents and great-grandparents away from those they loved.
John Samson is not himself destined for the trenches; instead the hero of Michael Shew’s new thriller has been called on to steal military secrets for the UK in pre-war Germany.
Betrayal in Berlin is the tale that unfurls as the young scientist is torn between love and defence of the realm.
The choice John makes will mark him, and when the full-throttle narrative sees him hurtling through time into a similar dilemma years later, the outcome seems almost predestined. Or is it?
Moral puzzles of this sort may seem a subject for esoteric philosophy journals, but the Hackney-based novelist does an admirable job of bringing to life the pull of competing demands that we all encounter in our everyday worlds.
And though Shew’s writing style is unadorned, the engaging storyline will keep your eyes on the page late into the night.
Betrayal in Berlin by Michael Shew is published by the Book Guild, ISBN: 978-1835742 358; RRP: £9.99.
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