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The Information Officer

by Mark Mills
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Overview

In the summer of 1942, Max Chadwick is the British officer charged with manipulating the news on Malta to bolster the population’s fragile esprit de corps, as the small windswept island endures relentless Axis air raids. The fiercely independent Maltese, and a few broken-down fighter planes, are all that stand in the face of Nazi occupation and perhaps even victory—for Malta is the stepping-stone the Germans need between Europe and North Africa.

When Max learns of the brutal murder of a young island woman—along with evidence that the crime may have been committed by a British officer—he knows that the Maltese loyalty to the war effort could be instantly shattered. Max must investigate the murder—beyond the gaze of his superiors, friends, and even the woman he loves—as the clock ticks down toward all-out invasion.

Synopsis

In the summer of 1942, Max Chadwick is the British officer charged with manipulating the news on Malta to bolster the population’s fragile esprit de corps, as the small windswept island endures relentless Axis air raids. The fiercely independent Maltese, and a few broken-down fighter planes, are all that stand in the face of Nazi occupation and perhaps even victory—for Malta is the stepping-stone the Germans need between Europe and North Africa.

When Max learns of the brutal murder of a young island woman—along with evidence that the crime may have been committed by a British officer—he knows that the Maltese loyalty to the war effort could be instantly shattered. Max must investigate the murder—beyond the gaze of his superiors, friends, and even the woman he loves—as the clock ticks down toward all-out invasion.

The New York Times - Marilyn Stasio

It's only a story. It's only a story. It's only…But the sense of immediacy Mark Mills brings to The Information Officer is so intense that this breathtaking novel reads more like a memoir than a wartime thriller.

About the Author, Mark Mills

Mark Mills is the author of The Savage Garden, a #1 bestseller in the United Kingdom, and Amagansett, which was published in a dozen countries and received the John Creasy Memorial Dagger Award. A graduate of Cambridge University, he lives in Oxford with his wife and their two children.

From the Hardcover edition.

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Editorials

Marilyn Stasio

It's only a story. It's only a story. It's only…But the sense of immediacy Mark Mills brings to The Information Officer is so intense that this breathtaking novel reads more like a memoir than a wartime thriller.
—The New York Times

Publishers Weekly

The prolonged and intense Axis bombing of Malta and the British efforts to deliver squadrons of new Spitfire fighters in aid of the strategic Mediterranean island's defense provide the dramatic backdrop for Mills's WWII spy thriller. Maj. Max Chadwick negotiates a narrow path feeding info via his weekly bulletin in the Maltese newspaper Il-Berqa, putting a positive spin on Malta's depressing situation, and seeking to separate rumor from fact. When Chadwick learns that a British submariner may be a serial killer targeting “sherry queens” (e.g., “dance hostesses who worked the bars and bawdy music halls” in the capital city's disreputable quarter), he has to consider carefully what to reveal. If the murders become public, they could tip the precarious balance of local support against the British. Mills (Amagansett) paints a vivid portrait of a tenacious people, embattled and besieged troops, and a principled man trying to resolve the conflict between duty and justice. (Feb.)

Library Journal

It's Malta, 1942, and the Germans are battering the small, strategic island in an effort to dominate the Mediterranean theater. Max Chadwick is the RAF morale and information officer charged with maintaining the fragile esprit de corps of the island's woefully underresourced British contingent and feeding the local press with cautiously optimistic updates on the war effort. The bombings are relentless, and life is perilous. The eternal promises of new planes and reinforcements ring hollow. When a young Maltese woman is murdered and local investigation points to a British serviceman, Chadwick must walk a tightrope to preserve the peace with the locals, the cohesion of the local British forces, and his own career. VERDICT Once again, Mills (Amagansett; Savage Garden) has crafted a story filled with rich history, tension, and characters whose frailties and strengths move the plot along at a taut and satisfying pace. World War II fiction readers will love it, and mystery fans will find much to pique their interest as well. Strongly recommended. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 10/1/09.]—Susan Clifford Braun, Aerospace Corp., El Segundo, CA\

Book Details

Published
March 8, 2011
Publisher
Random House Publishing Group
Pages
304
Format
Paperback
ISBN
9780812980202

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