The Information Officer
A Novel
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3.8 • 17 Ratings
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- $6.99
Publisher Description
In the summer of 1942, Max Chadwick is the British officer charged with manipulating the news on Malta to bolster the population’s fragile esprit de corps, as the small windswept island endures relentless Axis air raids. The fiercely independent Maltese, and a few broken-down fighter planes, are all that stand in the face of Nazi occupation and perhaps even victory—for Malta is the stepping-stone the Germans need between Europe and North Africa.
When Max learns of the brutal murder of a young island woman—along with evidence that the crime may have been committed by a British officer—he knows that the Maltese loyalty to the war effort could be instantly shattered. Max must investigate the murder—beyond the gaze of his superiors, friends, and even the woman he loves—as the clock ticks down toward all-out invasion.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
The prolonged and intense Axis bombing of Malta and the British efforts to deliver squadrons of new Spitfire fighters in aid of the strategic Mediterranean island's defense provide the dramatic backdrop for Mills's WWII spy thriller. Maj. Max Chadwick negotiates a narrow path feeding info via his weekly bulletin in the Maltese newspaper Il-Berqa, putting a positive spin on Malta's depressing situation, and seeking to separate rumor from fact. When Chadwick learns that a British submariner may be a serial killer targeting "sherry queens" (e.g., "dance hostesses who worked the bars and bawdy music halls" in the capital city's disreputable quarter), he has to consider carefully what to reveal. If the murders become public, they could tip the precarious balance of local support against the British. Mills (Amagansett) paints a vivid portrait of a tenacious people, embattled and besieged troops, and a principled man trying to resolve the conflict between duty and justice.
