Murder and Masquerade by Catherine McCullagh is a suspenseful, action-packed story of double agents, twisted schemes, friendship and loyalty.
Catherine McCullagh is known for her different takes on history and for creating an alternative. She uses “what if” events that quite possibly could have happened, changing the course of history.
Murder and Masquerade is set in London, 1946. A battered London is now just rising from the ashes of German occupation.
Irish policeman Brendon O’Connor, having survived an invasion and occupation, has been running the Special Investigation Unit responsible for the capture of war criminals to be brought to the war crimes trials at Nuremberg and Hamburg. A fascist plot has emerged that is threatening Britain’s precarious democracy. Brendon is now sent on another impossible mission, to locate, expose and prevent this group from success.
Brendon’s wife, Emilia, is a former translator who is now tasked with sorting through caches of German documents to form a collection and exhibition of the occupation of Britain. A work colleague is Professor Maarstrand, a former SS General who is now hiding in plain sight as an English professor.
The fascist group of like-minded patriots, who are all devoted to the resurgence of the Reich, have a plan to change the course of Britain’s future. The members are quite diverse and from all English classes.
There are complicated connections between Brendon, Emilia and Professor Maarstand, both during the occupation and now in post-war Britain. The story takes you into a world of spying and double agents, double crossings and a loyalty to a cause, either England or Germany. Brendon’s mission is complicated, with problems of who to trust; can he trust his colleagues or even members of the government?
From the prologue, with an event in 1940 during the war and to the very end of the book, you are invested in Brendon and Emelia as he races against time to prevent a return to tyranny for Britain.
Will Brendon even survive?
There are a lot of characters to follow, each playing a role, and well researched. There is a lot of action, a lot of plots to follow and certainly a lot of murder and masquerade to keep you engaged.
This is a book for lovers of action and espionage.
A selection of our Beauty and Lace Club members are reading Murder and Masquerade by Catherine McCullaugh. You can read their comments below or add your own review.
I love to read, any book on any topic. I now love ebooks as they are easier to store, I was running out of bookshelves! My other interests are family, gardening and our beautiful King Charles spaniel dog who is my reading companion.