Best Eaten Cold: A World War 2 Thriller: 1 (The Penny Duchesne Adventures)

A third of a million South African servicemen two-thirds of them white and including many Afrikaners volunteered to fight for King and Empire in World War II. Yet at home a secret organisation the Ossewabrandwag was actively working to sabotage the war effort. This sinister group was made up of Afrikaners who had never been reconciled to defeat in the Boer War. British victory in that conflict had finally been achieved through a ruthless policy of concentrating Boer families in badly-run neglected and often unhygienic camps where nearly 30000 died fuelling a resentment that still festers today. Furthermore the OB membership included many pro-Nazis imbued with a belief in the racial superiority of the Volk. There were frequent acts of violence against servicemen and active attempts at collaboration with the Germans. Against this background the author has woven a fast-paced tale of intrigue and revenge moving from the leafy countryside of the south of England to the rugged beautiful - and strategically vital - southern Cape. An unlikely trio consisting of a clergyman a retired lawyer and their attractive accomplice Penny find themselves caught up a tangled web of deceit murder and hidden treasure as events of the 1940s find their echo in the modern day. This book is a gripping read and throws a welcome light on a forgotten aspect of the war.