Rory Clements has written a series of thrillers set in Cambridge in and around WW2. Nucleus is the second of these and I have previously read Corpus which was the first – I don’t think that you need to have read the first to understand this one. These books feature a Cambridge history professor (speciality, the spies and activities at the Elizabethan court) Tom Wilde who gets drawn into the intelligence world. This book is set in June 1939 when war looks likely.
Tom is an American and on a visit to his parents he is encouraged to spy on the sister of a Cambridge friend who is a Hollywood star and her very rich lover who are staying nearby. In addition, British intelligence wants him to report back on Cambridge scientists who they fear may really be working for the Nazis (or worse, for the Americans) and are researching atomic fission. His female friend/lover/companion Lydia finds herself involved in the settling of German refugees in England and the case of a missing boy which involves her travelling to Berlin. Wilde also encounters a cousin of his in the area who is mixed up with the IRA and the fight for full Irish independence.
The author takes all these strands and weaves them into a coherent storyline which all connects together. Various people are not what they seem and no one appears to be telling the truth, or at least not all of the truth. The book is fast paced and there is real tension, especially in the sections where Lydia visits Berlin (although the reason for her visit doesn’t completely add up for me). The whole plot takes place in the shadow of a war which is looming but not yet quite real.
I enjoyed reading this book although I thought that the Hollywood star was a bit overdone and Tom’s attraction to her was overdone. I also thought that quite a lot of the plot was obvious from the start of the book although that didn’t spoil the enjoyment value for me. This novel reminded me of the thrillers set in the same period by Jane Thynne where her heroine is a British actress living in Berlin – you can read reviews of that series here and here.
Anne Is Reading 