Paul Phillips’s second book in the ‘Chasing Mercury’ series, The Herrenhaus Forfeit was published in 2024 and continues the story begun in The Borodino Sacrifice. Certainly, the books can be read independently, though it’s preferable they’re read in sequence.
Former US Army sniper Sam Bradley is being recruited by the shadowy character Doyle to chase down the Mercury outfit headed by Mila to discover what they were seeking. ‘Bradley’s sense of nausea increased. It was the motion sickness you got from the long, inescapable slide to inevitability... The thing about the long slide, the thing that let you cope with the dread of its inescapable outcome, was that wrapped up in the motion sickness was something else. Exhilaration’ (pp36/37).
Again, we tour the detritus of post-war Germany as we follow Bradley who has infiltrated a gangster group involved in smuggling whatever brought profit in the black market, while also dodging Nazis and Soviets. ‘There had been a serious lack of accommodation in Hamburg since the night the world had learned a new term: firestorm’ (p88).
As
before there are many instances where Phillips conveys a scene with a minimum
of description:
‘... a heavy vehicle had recently ploughed the neglected crust of mouldered mud and frozen leaves’ (p116).
The plot is convoluted, involving competing groups in a maelstrom of geo-political upheaval. There are double-crosses, betrayals and heroism, and death stalks nearby most of the time. Friendships are forged as are identity papers. There’s a sly name-change from Pfeffer to Salzen and a couple of fascinating character descriptions of middle-aged Marjorie Jessop and conniving Jack Penny. It’s not without humour; for example, when Bradley attempts to help some associates pretend to be Americans, ‘Most importantly, he handed out the Wrigley’s.’ (p159).
The blurb – and the previous book – indicate that Mila is searching for a lost child, which is not easy considering the mortality of children in the war-torn continent. ‘Before adoption, all Aryanised children were renamed, to bury their old identities, and welcome them as lifelong members of the race’ (p126). Though slight of stature, Mila is tough and determined – an irresistible force (p180).
Without telegraphing any spoilers, the forfeit of the title is referred to on p139 – it’s a kind of deal between Mila and some gangsters, where neither party actually trusts the other.
I felt the involvement of the criminal underground was inspired and realistic, the kind of thing that Len Deighton would have attempted. A number of chapter-endings reminded me of Adam Hall’s Quiller books where the protagonist would face a serious predicament at the end of a chapter and then in the next chapter he/she is Scott-free and the reasons are divulged after the event; it works well.
Mila and Sam are a great team.
Needless to say, in due course I shall be reading the third book in the trilogy, The Safehaven Complex.
Editorial comment for the benefit of writers:
‘... bring the leather doctor’s bag...’ (p95). This should read ‘bring the doctor’s leather bag’ or ‘bring the leather doctor’s-bag’ to avoid the perception that the doctor was made of leather.
‘She
hissed “Now!”’(p174) – there’s no
susurration here, which is necessary for a hiss. Maybe whispered harshly or grated
would be better?
