#22 Fatherland, by Robert Harris (Arrow Books)

Well, I’m back. After the trials and tribulations of life - chiefly work - interrupted this here challenge, it’s finally time to chalk another book off the list, and remove the last ‘Mathematics’ post from the top of my blog, where it has been quietly mocking me for the past month.

“Oh, so you’re not doing that badly, are you?” it chides. “Oh, so you’re only slightly behind schedule? Well, you’re miles behind now!” Yeah, cheers for that…

To Fatherland, my second Robert Harris book for the year and somewhat topical, given a film of the first, Ghost, has just been released in the cinemas.

I had heard many good things about Fatherland, the story of an SS officer conducting an investigation in mid-1960s Berlin, after Germany had won the Second World War. It didn’t ultimately live up to my expectations, but it was still a good read.

Where the novel scores is in its historic setting, interweaving the fictional scenario with real places, real people and real events and creating an entire society which is all too readily, and terribly, believable. I didn’t find the central story gripping enough, however, even though it deals with the issue of arguably the greatest crime of all – ‘the millions of Jews who vanished in the war’ to quote an oft-repeated phrase.

Like most detective novels, there are twists and turns along the way, most of which come as no surprise, and it’s a shame Harris was unable to devise a plot, despite some interesting characters, which is able to live up to the setting and the meticulous research he must have conducted.

So, rating time:

#22 Fatherland, by Robert Harris (Arrow Books) - 7/10

Next up: The New York Trilogy, by Paul Auster (Faber and Faber Limited)

Click here for the full list of books so far, and their rating