"Unlikely Spy" by Daniel Silva. This book is published by Penguin in 2003 and has 752 pages. As the name suggests, it's a spy thriller, but during World War II.
England thinks that they have rolled up the German spy network in England by either arresting or turning all known spies. Attack of allied forces on France is around the corner. But where will the forces land? Allied forces have chosen Normandy and are building large concrete structures that will be sunk at Normandy to create artificial harbor.
How to keep location of attack secret? Are there unknown German spies in England? Hitler is hell bent on finding location of attack. Can he? What can England do to salvage the plan? What is the contribution of a certain american engineer?
Although Daniel Silva is a well known name, I think this was his first book that I read. The story is set in the WW II era, about 75 years ago. Germany used an ingenious method to disguise spies. They sent spy posing as someone through regular transport. Then this spy murdered a lonely person, disfigured the body and left his passport near the corpse. The foreigner was presumed dead and the spy became one of the English citizens with no one looking for him.
Daniel has created the old English atmosphere very well. The functional bureaucracy, egoistic Churchill, academics working in war offices, rivalry between Hitler's generals etc is painted vividly.
Attack on Normandy on D-day turned the outcome of WW II in favor of allied forces and that secret is the crux of the story. In short success of this fiction was the tipping point of WW II.
Author has delivered a good thriller. The slowish pace is in line with the old times where means of instant communication were still to be invented.
A good book. Recommend reading.
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