Amongst My Enemies - William F. Brown

Title: Amongst My Enemies
Author: William F. Brown
Genre: Thriller
Published: 2011
Formats: Ebook

Available at:
Amazon
Amazon UK

Review:
“Amongst My Enemies” is the 2nd novel I have read by William F. Brown and I have to admit I was looking forward to reading it as I had enjoyed the other novel which was entitled “The Undertaker”. I wasn’t disappointed as I found “Amongst My Enemies” to be an enjoyable thriller that kept me entertained from start to finish.

The plot itself follows Michael Randall, an American who is shot down over Germany during the latter stages of WWII and is captured alongside his friend, Eddie Hodge. They are soon taken to the frozen submarine port of Konigsberg where Eddie soon succumbs to the hard environment. Michael determined to ensure his death is not in vain manages to stow away on a German U-boat which is heading out on a secret mission. What occurs on the submarine defines Michael’s path for the next few years of his life as he becomes the lynchpin in an adventure involving Nazi war criminals, stolen treasure, Russian spies and Mossad agents.

I have to admit I really did enjoy this book with Brown’s wonderful descriptive writing set the initial scenes wonderfully so that I was engrossed from the first chapter. The adventure is intelligent, thought-provoking and unfolds in a manner which keeps the reader wanting more. Whilst this is an enjoyable story with murder, mystery, romance and action it does lack any real twists and turns in the plot which would help to build up the suspense a bit more. This is actually similar to the previous novel I read by Brown in that he doesn’t bother with red herrings or blind alleys, he just sticks with a thoroughly enjoyable yet rather direct story.

The characters are compelling, realistic and developed in a manner that the reader gets a sense of who they are. Michael himself really draws the reader as you get to understand his suffering and the needs which are driving him on to avenge his dead friend and heal his own spirit. However, Brown also spends time developing the villains of the story with former SS officer Heinz Kruger being a real stand out for me. The reader is actually shown what is going on in Kruger’s head which whilst not being pleasant as the man really is a murderous psychopath; it was very interesting to see.

Overall this was another enjoyable thriller by Brown that has made me yearn to read a few more of his books. The plot is entertaining and intelligent enough to keep the reader interested although there are no real twists or turns in the story. Basically, if you like your thrillers to take you down a more direct path then you won’t go wrong with this book.