David O'Donnell

In 1942 Police Chief Inspector Rolf Schneider is ordered by Adolf Hitler to investigate the assassination of Reinhard Heydrich. During his investigation of Heydrich’s secret files he inadvertently discovers a sinister plot involving Heinrich Himmler – a potential death sentence for Schneider. In 1943, Schneider and Anna Weiss, the woman he loves, make their escape to Switzerland, where they believe they are safe. However, Himmler is hellbent on revenge, and Stalin is determined to find the secret information contained in the Heydrich papers and use it for blackmail. As war rages across Europe, a battle of wits ensues between Ivan Ivanov, a former chess grandmaster working for Stalin, a ruthless Nazi civil servant, Ilse Schmitt, and the two escapees.

The Reich will protect its secrets. 1942, Berlin. After Police Chief Investigator Rolf Schneider is summoned to a meeting with Himmler and tasked with investigating the assassination of Heydrich, he exposes a web of corruption and secrecy involving the highest-ranking figures in the Reich. Schneider is faced with an agonising dilemma, for the secret he discovers is both the only thing that can save his life and what will mark him down for certain death. His choice propels him into a desperate race against the clock, one in which he must travel to the very heart of darkness. Based around real World War II events. For fans of Philip Kerr, Robert Harris and Volker Kutscher.