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Title: The Information Officer

Author: Mark Mills

Narrator: Peter Joyce

Format: Unabridged

Length: 10 hrs and 19 mins

Language: English

Release date: 10-13-09

Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers Limited

Ratings: 5 of 5 out of 1 votes

Genres: Mysteries & Thrillers, Historical

Publisher's Summary:

Summer, 1942. For the people of Malta, suffering daily bombing raids, the British are the last line of defence against the Nazis. And it is Max Chadwick's job as the information officer to ensure the news the islanders receive maintains morale. So when Max is given proof suggesting a British officer is murdering local women, he knows the consequences of discovery are dire.

With the violence on the war-ravaged island escalating daily, he embarks on a private investigation, hidden from the eyes of superiors, friends, and the woman he loves. But Max finds himself torn between patriotic duty and personal honour in his efforts to track down the killer... an elusive figure always one step ahead.

Members Reviews:

Malta, murders, and spying during WWII

The opening of the book starts with a mystery encounter between two unnamed men in a bar implying some significant events occurring in Malta during WWII. The book then falls back to that time to reveal the story. Max Chadwick is the British information officer on the island, trying to keep up the morale and support of the locals while they are being heavily bombed by both the Germans and the Italians. To complicate matters, his friend, a British doctor, shows him a body of a "sherry queen" (dance hall girl) who has suspicious wounds and the insignia from an British officer's uniform gripped in her hand. At first torn about the discovery, he decides to dig into the mystery and finds that two other girls have died with potentially suspicious circumstances. He begins to wonder whom he can trust, and must also deal with the fallout from an affair with an officer's wife and a potential love interest with a local woman/news writer. There is also evidence of a possible German spy on the island. It is unclear if Max can put all of the pieces together before it is too late.

I do agree to a certain extent with the reviewers that commented on the author trying to cram multiple genre/storylines into one novel. At times, the romance/spy/murder mystery story lines get in each other's way. while intriguing at times, this was a much less cohesive novel than his book "The Savage Garden".

Wonderfully entertaining!

Mark Mills has such a wonderful, atmospheric writing style. The Savage Garden made Tuscany come alive, and the Information Officer made me feel as if I was on Malta during WWII. I hate to say this is a murder mystery because its much more entertaining than that. It is also about espionage, loyalty (to people and country), and just a darn good read. THe story starts when a girl is found raped and murdered and a doctor in the local hospital brings it to his best friend's attention. His friend happens to be the British information officer on the island, and the girl was found clutching the shoulder tab belonging to a British officer on a submarine currently docked on the island and due to set off in a few days. There's also the fact that the commanding officer of the submarine is married to the woman the information officer had been having an affair with. The story twists and turns from there, sometimes quite funny, other times tragic. THe only "twist" I found to be trite is the revelation towards the end from the woman to the information officer..not to spoil the story, but its kinda silly and predictable.