Evil in High Places by Rory Clements
Evil in High Places continues Rory Clements’ new crime series featuring Detective Sebastian Wolff, set in pre-war Nazi Germany. It is a complex and well-researched story of lost love and resilience, set against the backdrop of the 1936 Winter Olympics.
Elena Lang, a famous English film star, is found murdered. Wolff, a detective in Munich’s criminal police (Kripo), is ordered to find her killer without revealing that she has been murdered. There can be no murders overshadowing the Olympic Games, Hitler’s showcase event for the new Nazi State.
Wolff is therefore hampered by having to deal with the murder as a missing persons case. When she disappeared, Elena Lang was a guest of the von Starks, a wealthy and extremely well-connected family, and many of the last people to have seen her alive are leading society figures.
Wolff must therefore tread carefully, pursuing the line of inquiry that Lang is missing in the hope that it will lead him to the killer. He has already had to search for Lang once before, when she disappeared during the shooting of her film. Maintaining the façade of a missing person investigation causes both amusement and annoyance among the society lounge lizards he must interview, who cannot understand his obsession with Lang.
Unity Mitford, the notorious British socialite and close friend of Adolf Hitler, is one of the witnesses and a sworn enemy of Wolff’s. Sparks fly as they continue their verbal fencing from Munich Wolff, the first book in the series. As the plot develops, there is an impression that there might be more than contempt behind Mitford’s sharp barbs.
The case is further complicated when it transpires that Elena Lang was the mistress of Joseph Goebbels, the Minister of Propaganda and a central figure in the Nazi government.
When the body of an SS trooper, who has links to the underworld, is found, Wolff must broaden his investigation and uncovers corruption and double-dealing in all corners of Nazi society.
Wolff, a vehement anti-Nazi, has already had his card marked and is only being kept out of a concentration camp by his own family connections, but he is determined to find the killers and seek justice.
The police detective also has serious issues in his personal life to deal with. Wolff’s son, Jurgen, has been indoctrinated by the Hitler Youth, and their relationship deteriorates as Wolff tries to lead him in a different direction. When Ulrike Brandt (Wolff’s first love, Jurgen’s mother, and a committed communist) turns up out of the blue, Wolff believes a very volatile situation could end in catastrophe.
Wolff’s sergeant Hans Winter, a member of the Bavarian Political police, also goes on a moving journey of self-discovery through the brutal regime of Dachau, coming to terms with his identity.
This is a captivating murder mystery, with an enigmatic espionage plot running through it. The writing is crisp, and the characters never fail to engage. Clement continues to ask the essential question – how can a good man serve an oppressive and murderous regime, and bring justice in a corrupt system?

Evil in High Places is published by Viking

Reviewer Alan Bardos Hunter Class is published by Sharpe Books