Tag Archive | Celia Rees

Miss Graham’s Cold War Cookbook by Celia Rees

A Compelling Read

Miss Graham’s Cold War Cookbook by Celia Rees is a marvellous historical suspense that captivated me from the start.

World War II is over but the hunt for Nazi war criminals in just beginning. Ordinary men and women were recruited in Britain to do ordinary jobs in Germany but were to seek out the worst perpetrators to bring them to justice. There was a conflict between those wanting to see justice served and those wanting to use the brains of the scientists for progress. Each agent had to decide to which department they were reporting. It was a time of concealment of truth, mistrust, deceit and the twisting of facts. Each person could only be responsible for their own choices. Each person had to live with the consequences of their actions.

The reader witnesses the war criminals trying to justify what they had done. “I saw what I wanted to see … The acceptable version of things.” Too many people turned a blind eye to the persecution of others. There were many with blood on their hands. They were guilty of doing nothing.

The war criminals used cunning and lies to blend in. Even those trained in espionage and deception would be taken in by a front of innocence.

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