THE PASSENGER BY F.R. TALLIS

I wrote this review a couple of years ago. The book is still one of my favourites.

The Passenger by F.R.Tallis. 2016. Picador. Hardback £12.99. 371pp. ISBN 978-0-230-77055-3.

F.R.Tallis is an accomplished, award winning author and a clinical psychologist. In this latest book he tells a sombre tale of SS officer Siegfried Lorenz and the happenings on his U-boat, U-330, while WWII rages around him. It is a thought-provoking read: the hero of the story and his crew are all too human and vulnerable as they struggle with the horrible conditions onboard and attempt to do their duty during the war.

All starts out ordinarily enough, despite the fact that you, the reader, empathise with a member of the "Other Side". Lorenz and his men have a mission to destroy as many enemy boats as possible but are then sent north to collect two mysterious prisoners that they are to take with them. Given no information on what they are really doing, the crew are uneasy about the prisoners but they follow Lorenz's orders and everyone soon settles down again. Lorenz is particularly disturbed by the book of ancient runes that one of his prisoners has on his person but this becomes the smallest thing for the crew to worry about because disaster strikes and the mission takes a sinister turn. Not long afterwards, the crew begin to sense something strange on their boat. People have accidents and insist they were pushed, while Lorenz himself sees people on his boat that shouldn't be there. With suspected hauntings and everyone unhappy, their home furlough is much appreciated - but when they return to the boat, Lorenzo realises their troubles are only just beginning.

I read this book while it was really cold recently. The frosty conditions outside made the icy chill of the ocean in this moving story even more unwelcoming and I could easily imagine myself to be on the U-boat with Lorenz and his crew, enduring the stench and the mound as they battled to survive. An excellent read that left me with a cold, empty feeling after it was over, as well as a new appreciation of the bravery of these vulnerable men. The book is a little different to the usual for Eurocrime, so I am grateful to both Karen and Picador for giving me the opportunity to read and review it.

Extremely Highly Recommended