Corpus: A gripping spy thriller

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In a London club, three senior members of the British establishment light the touch paper on a conspiracy that will threaten the very heart of government. Even the ancient colleges of Cambridge are not immune to political division. Dons and students must choose a side: right or left, where do you stand? The novel is inspired by the real-life events surrounding the death of King George V’s brother, the Duke of Kent, in a plane crash in the far north of Scotland in August 1942. All but one of the occupants of the plane were killed, including the Duke. The author has used the continuing mystery surrounding the circumstances of the crash as the starting point for a story involving wartime atrocities, covert operations and a conspiracy at the heart of the British establishment. This suspenseful thriller is the 3rd part of the fascinating "Tom Wilde" series from the author Rory Clements. And you have a clash of two different belief systems – in this case Communism and Fascism – with the adherents of each out to destroy the other. Finally the abdication crisis of 1936 sees a monarch in peril, with different political factions anxious either to preserve the status quo or to advance the fortunes of another candidate more sympathetic to their views. Where you have the Duke of York (later George V) in the case of Edward VIII, you have Mary, Queen of Scots in the case of Elizabeth I. As Wilde, an American of Irish heritage, ruefully observes, “You English haven’t really moved on much from the Middle Ages, have you?” There is a lot of seemingly random connection making in the book which can be hard to swallow and some of the violence is, perhaps, of the extreme variety. I did find myself having to read some sections a couple of times to figure out what on earth was going on as the language can be obfuscatory. Well worth persevering with though and has a strange ring of truth to it (as all the best Historical Fiction should).

Characters from previous books make reappearances, including the enigmatic Philip Eaton. He always makes me feel wary as I know something bad is probably going to happen to poor Tom or Lydia. IT'S NOT SOLVED. We're left wandering as to what really happened, but again, by the time I finished the novel, I couldn't care less. For all I care, she overdosed by the heroin while hallucinating about floating on a spaceship, being used as test subject by aliens who wants to invade earth.... Wilde is sent to investigate the plane crash and ends up embroiled in trouble, in danger and not sure who to trust.

Summary

As the body count rises, Wilde discovers a piece of film which casts new light on Marfield's time in Spain. Wilde realises he has been duped and that everything he knows about Marfield is a lie. But who can he trust? Almost everyone involved seems to have a secret agenda.

So begins Rory Clements’ new spy thriller, establishing that what is about to follow in this very British university town is directly linked to the tragic turmoil engulfing Europe. The rest of the action, with brief visits to the Suffolk coast and Windsor takes place in Cambridge and its environs. It is an ideal setting for the conspiracies and crimes that come to light during the course of the story, for if anywhere exemplified the polarisation of politics in Britain during the 1930s, it was here. Lingering beneath the narrative and characters’ partisan choices are the effects of the Great War, the Depression and its effect on the working population, plus the idealism that led many into communism and fascism as a means of achieving a better tomorrow, and sent young men to Spain to fight in a foreign Civil War. And amidst all this, splitting friendships and families, is the Abdication Crisis – when a British king wanted to marry a divorced American commoner, putting the role of the monarchy into jeopardy. Rory Clements is best known for his highly acclaimed Elizabethan murder/espionage books featuring John Shakespeare. Now he has another string to his bow in the form of an American professor, although there is a link between the two. Tom Wilde specialises in Elizabethan history with a particular interest in Frances Walsingham, Queen Elizabeth's secretary and one of her more successful spymasters. (Note to budding authors: make your research work doubly hard for you!) The prof therefore has a second hand knowledge of espionage that will come in very handy. That and a line in national neutrality that will come in handy when he seeks to retain a sense of objectivity when all around lose theirs. In this maelstrom of plotting and changing of allegiances , this spy story is based. I admit to 'losing' some of the characters and their loyalties in the plot as so-called allies plotted an offensive against another faction of maybe allies both sets thinking they had the Country's best interest at heart.I had previously enjoyed a book from the John Shakespeare series set in the court of Elizabeth I and when my wife mentioned the author in connection with this other series, I was interested. I reread enough of my old notes to realise that I had liked the author and had been impressed by his research and style of writing. We sourced the new series of which this is the first. As Germany and the Soviet Union divide up defeated Poland and the British and French prepare for invasion, Wilde pursues his inquiries. Soon, he is reunited with Philip Eaton, an MI6 agent who seems to know a great deal about Marcus Marfield's time in Spain, as does Eaton's colleague, Guy Rowlands. Continuing my recent found taste of thrillers set around WWII, I grabbed myself a copy of Nemesis, by Rory Clements.

Corpus is quite rich in history and detail within the plot, so there are many threads to follow. The author has done a great job of weaving it together cohesively and the end result is a highly intriguing read. The fallout of war casts its long shadow on 1930’s England. While fragile teacups clink innocently against their saucers in houses up and down the country, the elements of conspiracy are frighteningly close and its darkening divide has the potential to alter the course of history as we know it. Yes indeed, Corpus is dominated by misdirection and kept me on my toes throughout.I really don’t know how Rory Clements keeps turning out books that are more brilliantly enjoyable than the last. I was already a fan of the author’s books from his ‘John Shakespeare’ series set in Elizabethan England. I greatly enjoyed Corpus, the first in his ‘Tom Wilde’ series set in the run-up to World War 2, and loved the second book, Nucleus. However, to my mind, Nemesis is the best yet. I can’t even begin to bring myself to think about the possibility this might be the last in the series... Main character John Shakespeare is given both cases to solve. Mary, Queen of Scots, is scheduled for execution and the Spanish Armada is ready to strike. Traitors and enemies have their heads displayed on pikes high above the London Bridge. It is a time of peril for England, where chaos and fear threaten to reign. Shakespeare must go into an underworld that includes a strange array of people– including his brother Will, the struggling writer.