Ratlines

by Stuart Neville

First published 2013

Lieutenant Albert Ryan receives orders to investigate a murder at an Irish seaside guesthouse in 1963. A German guest lies dead, the third foreign national killed in recent days. Minister Charles Haughey demands answers before President Kennedy's visit reveals Ireland's shameful secret: the victims were Nazi war criminals granted postwar asylum. Ryan finds a threatening note on the corpse addressed to Otto Skorzeny, Hitler's former commando chief who now lives on a Dublin estate. The message reads "We are coming for you." Ryan's investigation exposes a network of former Nazis and collaborators operating under Skorzeny's protection. As Ryan tracks the killers, he faces an impossible choice between duty and conscience. The government expects him to shield the same men he once fought in battle. Ryan discovers that while Skorzeny may prove a valuable ally, crossing him means certain death.

Genres: historical-fiction, mystery, crime, thriller, action

Vibes: dark, fast-paced, suspenseful

Tropes: enemies-to-allies, moral-dilemma

Setting: Dublin, Ireland

Period: 1963

354 pages · Hardcover · Soho Crime

Content warnings: violence

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