So very different from the Department Q series (which I love), The Alphabet House was originally published in 1997 and is a stand alone novel that begins when two British pilots on a mission to photograph areas near Dresden, Germany during WWII. It is suspected that the Germans are building new factories that might be devastating to the British war effort.
James Teasdale and Bryan Young, the young pilots, are shot down during the mission; they manage to escape capture and board a hospital train, which ends up at a mental hospital deep inside Germany. Although Germany has previously made eliminating the mentally ill a matter of course, these wounded soldiers are all of high rank, and it would not serve Germany well to dispose of them.
Experimental meds and frequent shock treatments are utilized to cure these shell-shocked or mentally ill officers. As soon as possible, they are returned to the front lines. Anyone suspected of malingering is summarily executed.
As it turns out, James and Bryan are not the only ones pretending mental/emotional damage, so are a number of others in their ward. Fear of returning to the fighting, especially on the Eastern Front, keeps many from wanting to be "cured." Among the malingerers are three particularly nasty individuals who discuss their war crimes gleefully at night. When these three suspect that James has overheard their discussions of hidden war profit, they begin waging a terrible campaign against him. Both Bryan and James are unable to do much about it without revealing that they, too, are feigning insanity. Eventually, Bryan is able to escape.
The story is divided into two parts; the first part deals with the WWII portion of the story and the asylum in which the two young men find themselves, and the second portion occurs thirty years later when Bryan makes a final attempt to locate James.
The novel is long, but fascinating and horrific (the asylum).
NetGalley/Penguin Group
WWII/Suspense. 1997; Feb. 24, 2015. Print version: 480 pages.
I enjoyed reading this so much! One of my top reads last year!!
ReplyDeleteI knew you had read and enjoyed it. Then NetGalley offered it, and I was thrilled. I love Adler-Olsen's Dept. Q series, but this was so different. Parts of it were really difficult--the idea of being trapped as a patient in that asylum was almost incomprehensible. Also interesting was Adler-Olsen's comments that his father was a psychiatrist and that as a child he had wondered about what would happen if a sane person was kept for a lengthy period in such an environment.
DeleteThis is an author that I have meant to read - she says for the thousandth time! Especially the Dept. Q series. Another friend has spoken very highly of it. This one sounds horrible - not the book - the situation. I'm not ever going to get to all these books, am I? LOL
ReplyDeleteNone of will ever get to all of the books that sound interesting! We can only give it our best effort and forgive ourselves for not being able to read everything on our TBR lists. ;p
DeleteIf you get a chance to read a Dept. Q novel, I think you'd like it.
The World War II aspect particularly interests me, but so does the other part. I will definitely have to give this one a try!
ReplyDeleteCan you imagine being confined to an asylum in Germany during the war? Both Bryan and James had to keep silent all the time; James could speak German, but speaking might lead to verbal mistakes. Bryan couldn't even understand what was being said.
DeleteI think this author can really do suspense well. The Absent One had some scenes that were just intense! Anyway, I just got this review copy this weekend and am really looking forward to it. Great review!
ReplyDeleteI think he really found his niche when he started the Dept. Q novels! They really are intense, and I love the characters. Alphabet House was his first novel and is very different.
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