The Information Officer: A Novel
Product Type: Book
Product Price: $25.00
Manufacturer: Random House
Purchase
Description
Mark Mills's bestselling novels Amagansett and The Savage Garden have won him widespread acclaim for his singular brand of suspense. Weaving a haunting and atmospheric historical backdrop with a tense plot of murder and an unforgettable love story, he delivers another riveting tale in The Information Officer.
Summer 1942: Malta, a small windswept island in the Mediterranean, has become the most bombed patch of earth on the planet, worse even than London during the Blitz. The Maltese, a fiercely independent people, withstand the relentless Axis air raids.
Max Chadwick is the British officer charged with manipulating the news on Malta to bolster the population's fragile esprit de corps. This is all, besides a few broken-down fighter planes, that stands 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 was committed by a British officer—he knows that the Maltese loyalty to the war effort could be instantly shattered. As the clock ticks down toward all-out invasion, Max must investigate the murder—beyond the gaze of his superiors, friends, and even the woman he loves.
Filled with remarkably poignant and atmospheric details of life under siege, and indelible characters who live and breathe, The Information Officer is a taut, transporting thriller—an enthralling novel told with exceptional skill and style.
Reviews
Rating: 3 / 5
Date: 2010-08-15
Summary: "Couldn't quite decide what it was supposed to be"
I've never read anything by Mark Mills before, but it's apparent from "The Information Officer" that he was some writing gifts. In particular, he does a phenomenal job creating the atmosphere of the besieged island. One can appreciate the hopeless feeling that must have come to dominate the island's inhabitants during the bombings, a desperation reminiscent of that portrayed so famously in "Casablanca".
He's also apparently meticulous in his research. While I was previously unfamiliar with much in the way of details regarding the Malta campaign, I have no reason to doubt the veracity of the facts he presents.
However, Mills falls short in actually providing a reason to care. As I read the novel, I kept trying to determine what the overarcing theme was supposed to be. I'm still not sure. It was categorized at my local library as a mystery, but it probably rates closer to being a thriller. The jacket blurb speaks of a memorable romance, but I was rather surprised to learn of the fates of chracaters as quite honestly none of the females played more than a minor role. The resolution feels a bit rushed and forced. The scenes into the mind of the villain fulfill little besides slowing down the pacing while adding extra pages as little else is done to create a pyschlogical novel.
Overall it feels more like a first draft where the author had yet to decide what he wanted to write than a finished product.
Rating: 4 / 5
Date: 2010-08-03
Summary: "Terrific Atmosphere, Historical Recreation, So-So Plotting"
In "The Information Officer" by Mark Mills the setting is the tiny Mediterranean island of Malta in 1942 at the height of World War II. It was a British crown colony that was bombed with more explosive tonnage than London itself. The Germans and the Italians were keen to destroy its military capability, lying as it is strategically between Sicily and North Africa. The Maltese were a courageous people standing by the British who were protecting them but also furthering their own war interests by making the island a bastion.
Major Max Chadwick is the military's information officer who gets some news that may be potentially devastating to the British. He learns that a British officer is a serial killer who has murdered at least three Maltese women. If this became general knowledge among the Maltese, they could lose faith in their British occupiers. A truism quoted is "A lie can makes its way halfway round the world before the truth has a chance to put its boots on."
One of the murdered girls is found with a shoulder tab insignia from an officer on the submarine Upstanding, and this turns out to be a valuable clue. Max's torrid love affair with Mitzi who is married to the sub's captain is an important plot element.
The picture that Mills paints of the air attacks against the island is brilliantly done. The descriptions of the air raids, the pluck and courage of the Spitfire pilots and the general atmosphere of a place under relentless siege - these are all depicted with great skill. What may disappoint readers is the conclusion of the book when melodrama takes hold and the author's explanations and denouement are off-the-wall and incredulous. I shook my head when I got to the end.
Mills uses alternating chapters in which the killer writes at great length in a journal. I became confused as various characters came on the scene, and the book's plot became less convincing and more complex.
The author knows Malta and is not only able to recreate the wartime horrors of the little island but also to convey its charm. Unfortunately Mills belongs to the plotting school where more plot and murkier plot strands are better than fewer ones.
Rating: 4 / 5
Date: 2010-06-25
Summary: "A WWII Murder Mystery"
The besieged island of Malta in 1942 is the backdrop for this wartime murder mystery. Germany must take Malta to clear the way to dominate shipping in the Mediterranean to shore up its supply lines to North Africa. Ragged divisions of British navy and RAF try to hold off the invasion despite heavy German bombing. In the midst of this, a young Maltese girl is found murdered with evidence pointing to a British officer. Max Chadwick, the British Information Officer, stumbles into the murder and is soon pulled in, with dire consequences for his own love affair.
Author, Mark Mills, writes a twisting plot with a straightforward style, reminiscent of Ken Follet. His descriptions of the Malta and the summer of 1942 put the reader firmly in that time and place. The Information Officer is a fine historical novel and mystery all in one.
Rating: 4 / 5
Date: 2010-06-24
Summary: "Murder Mystery Set During the Siege of Malta"
`The Information Officer' is a murder mystery set in an unusual locale: Malta during the Axis bombing campaign against the Island. As German and Italian planes bomb the Cities young woman are being murdered by a serial killer and the British Administration try to keep the Maltese in the dark.
Max Chadwick is the Information Officer for the British Authorities. It's his job to disseminate the news with a Pro British slant to keep up morale and keep the Maltese population on the side of the Allies. He is the chief propagandist on the Island.
One day he is called to the Morgue by his friend Dr. Freddie Lambert. He is informed of a series of murders of young Maltese `Sherry' girls who entertain servicemen in bars. The last victim has been found with a piece of torn British uniform in her hands. If this becomes public the Maltese may turn against the Allies.
Max must discover who is responsible for the killings. Is it a local or an Axis Agent or could it be an English Soldier? If there is a killer in the ranks, can they be brought to justice without compromising the status of the British on the Island?
Max discovers there is a large number of suspects. Could it be Elliot, the mysterious American liaison who is probably a Spy? Could it be the Captain of the Submarine `Upstanding' Lionel Campion with whose wife Max Mitzi has had an affair? Could it be the Ralph the Spitfire ace who has been recovering from wounds suffered in a crash?
With help from his native girlfriend Lillian and a local police inspector, Max's investigation takes the reader on a perilous journey interrupted by air raids and British Authorities trying to sweep things under the rug. Miller weaves a great story. I admit I did not guess the identity of the killer and it came as a surprise. A great summer read.
Rating: 5 / 5
Date: 2010-06-14
Summary: "Fascinating Suspense"
Most people don't know what occurred in Malta in 1942 during World War II. We hear of the bombing of Dresden or the London siege, but Malta, a small island in the Mediterranean was the most bombed country in the war. A strategic shipping and military supply port, it was critical to the Germans as they planned Rommel's advance, and critical to the Allies to stop the ability of the Axis powers to bring their armies together rather than fighting on different fronts. The people of Malta endured months of daily bombings, waves upon waves of bombs raining down and killing civilians as well as military forces.
Max Chadwick has been posted to Malta. He is the British Information Officer and his job is to report the news in such a way that the troops and the native people of Malta are encouraged rather than desolate. In his position, he gets the inside scoop long before anyone else. Or at least that is what he has always thought. Now there seem to be currents and counter-currents of information swirling around, plots and counterplots, until Max realizes that he has been naive and used as one more tool in the government's manipulation of reality.
Other factors complicate life for Max. He has been carrying on an adulterous affair with the wife of one of the submarine commanders. But, he has also met a Maltan woman, a newspaper editor, who he is rapidly coming to realize that he loves. Then he becomes aware of the murders. Five women, most bar hostesses, have been killed recently. Who is this serial killer who uses the war to mask his crimes? There are indications that he might be a military man. The military authorities want this information squelched, and Max is in their sights as he tries to discover what is going on.
This is easily the best book I've read this year. The writing is lush and starts slow and languorous. As the military action heats up, so does the pace of the book, and it becomes a page-turner that leaves the reader breathless. The romance is underplayed and never takes over the story. The plot is intricate and skillfully revealed. This book is highly recommended for all readers.