The Partisan: The explosive debut thriller for fans of Robert Harris and Charles Cumming

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I got this book right when Waterstones had it for sale, a bit earlier than elsewhere. It had sounded quite promising with strong female characters, espionage, chess and international politics set during the WWII and Cold War eras. But unfortunately, this style, added to the constant chopping and changing time line and geography, does lend itself to discomfiture and leaves one feeling a little perplexed. De verwijzingen naar schaken en schaakpartijen komen regelmatig terug in De partizaan. Toch lijkt het schaaktoernooi waar Joelia en Michael elkaar ontmoeten naar verhouding van weinig belang. Het lijkt de bedoeling te zijn dat het verhaal gelijkenis heeft met het spelen van het middenspel en eindspel van een schaakpartij. Joelia’s vader leerde haar om in het middenspel zo snel mogelijk alle stukken uit te ruilen en te offeren. In het boek lijkt dit juist onderdeel van het eindspel uit te maken. Pas op het laatst vallen de meeste slachtoffers. Lingering notes: I read this during the first few days of the Russian invasion of Ukraine with the obvious undertones of USSR reunification. As The Partisan is somewhat centred on the issue of the Soviets' 'mistreatment' of Lithuanians and also one person's mission to right the wrong of war crimes, I couldn't help thinking that these two plot lines would've been better told in separate books. Each story would've made an excellent read on its own. Combining them seemed contrived and unnecessarily complicated this one story. I still highly recommend it though. In 2004, one such partisan, Greta, a member of the formidable team known as the three sisters is relating the story of her time as a partisan to a member of the Lithuanian ministry responsible for memorials. Since the war she has become a skilled Nazi hunter, tracing and killing war criminals. Her biggest hunt however was in 1961 for a Russian called Maxim Karpov, now high up in the Kremlin and known as the Chief Administrator who was responsible for killing a whole village of Lithuanians, suspected of aiding the partisans.

De flaptekst ( die ik normaal nooit lees) deed me uitkijken naar een spannend verhaal. Het liefdesverhaal van Yulia en Michael, twee tieners elk aan een andere zijde van het IJzeren Gordijn, die elkaar leren kennen via een schaaktornooi in Londen. Vasili, de grootste spion van de Sovjet-Unie blijkt één van hun trouwe bondgenoten, maar dat blijkt Greta een verzetstrijdster, die jaagt op heel wat gevaarlijke mannen, ook te zijn. Je wordt met deze historische spionagethriller meegesleept van Cambridge tot Moskou. Van het oostfront in de Tweede Wereldoorlog tot de Koude Oorlog. Wordt dit het dodelijkste potje schaken ooit? Two young prodigies from either side of the Iron Curtain, Yulia and Michael, meet at a chess tournament in London. They don't know it, but they are about to compete in the deadliest game ever played. Shadowing them is Greta, a ruthless resistance fighter who grew up the hard way in the forests of Lithuania, but who is now hunting down some of the most dangerous men in the world. Men who are also on the radar Of Vassily, perhaps the Soviet Unions greatest spymaster, A man of cunning and influence. The ending of the book was also a bit of a disappointment. In several ways. Some of what some characters did just makes very little sense beyond doing something that sounds dramatic when explained, but not when shown. Other aspects are very Hollywood and thus highly unrealistic. I thought the way the multiple threads and timelines were handled and drawn together was impressively handled by a first time author. Although it does require a little patience and concentration to follow all the threads until they come together, it is well worth the effort. The main characters are fascinating and well depicted, particularly Vassily, Greta and the hideous Karpov. I would have liked to have got to know Michael and Julia a little better as well as their parents to have a better feel for everyone’s motives and driving forces, but there is so much in the novel already that it would have been difficult to fit in much more character development. Overall, it is an exciting historical thriller which will delight fans of Russian history and Cold War spycraft, particularly while Russia is once again flexing it’s expansionist muscles with its war in Ukraine.No one is safe from the highly powerful people controlling the agents and assassins as political intrigue sweeps across Europe. This excellent and intricately plotted first novel culminates in an exciting climax. It mainly takes place in the sixties during the Cold War, with glimpses of World War II, focusing on the role of partisans in the Lithuanian forests. It is the summer of 1961 and the brutal Cold War between East and West is becoming ever more perilous.

Men who are also on the radar of Vassily, perhaps the Soviet Union's greatest spymaster. A man of cunning and influence, Vassily was Yulia's minder during her visit to the West, but even he could not foresee the consequences of her meeting Michael. Immersive, intriguing, and intelligent - incredibly impressive, up there with the best in the genre' Lee Child Two young prodigies from either side of the Iron Curtain, Yulia and Michael, meet at a chess tournament in London. They don't know it, but they are about to compete in the deadliest game ever played.This fatal (blame everything on the Russians!) flaw really started to twist my melons, as I think the author is egregiously trying to make a point about Putin and the Russia of today! Zelf ben ik absoluut géén fan van oorlogsverhalen, maar De Partizaan heeft me van mijn sokken geblazen. Wat een indrukwekkende plot. Uiteraard heb ik de kern van het verhaal opgezocht met bibberende benen. Stel je voor dat dit écht een plan was… When it is believed that Yulia’s father, Sergei, has turned traitor, Anna, her strong mother, finds her situation far more perilous. The Romeo and Juliet love affair is facilitated by Vassily, a skilled spymaster caught up in the factionalism, intrigue, and plotting to go on inside the Politburo, as well as the lethal European aspirations of Maxim Karpov. Can the devastation of a European tragedy be avoided? It is the suspenseful Valencian climax to the narrative’s linking sections.