The Information Officer

by Mark Mills

Book Overview

Summer 1942. A small, windswept island in the Mediterranean has become the most bombed patch of earth on the planet, as a fiercely independent people withstand relentless siege. Max Chadwick is the... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1400068185
• ISBN13: 9781400068180
• Release Date: February 2010
• Publisher: Random House (NY)
• Length: 276 Pages
• Weight: 0.55 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 6.4" x 9.3"

Customer Reviews

Clever, With Something For Everyone

This is the first novel I've read by Mark Mills, and I really enjoyed it and now want to read his 2 earlier novels. This one has something for everyone. If you're a history buff, you'll love the setting of Malta during WWII. The author obviously did a lot of research and you get a real feel for the island, its people, and the British pilots and other military personnel. As the island is under-defended and under siege by the Luftwaffe, the part of the book that deals with the war is gripping. Added to that theme, we have a very clever maniac running around who is targeting "sherry girls", the girls that work in the bars that cater to servicemen. It appears he is a British officer, and his sick spree could ruin the delicate relations between the Maltese and the British. Added to the mystery of who this fellow is, and whether he can be stopped, we have the double love story of the information officer of the title and his involvement with both a British and a Maltese woman. The book is very cleverly plotted, with several twists and turns which will definitely keep you guessing. Without giving too much away, let me just say that not everything is as it seems. The author is a former screenwriter and it should come as no surprise that he is especially good at constructing a book that flows smoothly and keeps hopping from one interesting scene to the next. He also has a great ear for dialogue and there are many interesting, witty and very funny exchanges throughout the book. The characters are well-drawn, especially the information officer and his nemesis, and we are given some nice personal history background which makes these characters seem very, very real. (Oh, and I guess I should mention that the author is pretty good at writing erotic passages as well. The book doesn't get bogged down in that sort of thing but there is one pretty steamy episode that might fog your glasses up.) All in all, a heckuva good read and I heartily recommend it.

Good World War II intrigue set on beleaguered Malta

Mark Mills sets this World War II thriller in British-held Malta, surrounded but struggling to hang on to prevent Nazi domination of the Mediterranean. Malta was at one point the most heavily bombed place on Earth - in World War II, that's saying something - because of its strategic position between Sicily and North Africa, and because the British, losing the air war, could no longer keep fleets of German bombers away. Surrounded, the Maltese and the British both are hungry, and running short of life's necessities as well as ammunition. Major Max Chadwick is an officer charged with massaging local opinion to keep the beleaguered islanders on the side of the British. He is suddenly confronted with a disaster when he learns a serial killer lurks on the island, preying on bar girls - and might be a British sub crew member. If the community finds out, and if it's true, it could turn them against the Allies at a critical time in the war. Chadwick starts poking around, but wonders who he can trust. Lilian, the lovely Maltese editor of the local newspaper? His friend Freddie, a Navy doctor, with whom he's spent many boozy nights among the British community? How about the other emigres? Artillery officer Hugh and his socialite wife Rosamund host most of the parties. RAF pilot Ralph, grounded because of his injuries, can't wait to fly again when a new fleet of Spitfires arrives that can finally defend the island. Sardonic American liaison Elliott seems to know everything that's going on. Sub captain Lionel poses a problem, because the killer might be on his crew - and because Chadwick has had a furtive affair with his bewitching wife Mitzi. And, as it happens, the killer is also a German spy. Mills captures the scene well on historic Malta, where many invaders from the Phoenicians and Carthaginians to the Knights of St. John have come and then gone through the ages. Will the British be the next to fall? You can see the sunbaked island, half rubble, half sturdy stone buildings refusing to fall, the dust from the latest bombing hanging heavy in the air. The Maltese and Brits alike try to keep their chins up, go on living, look for friends who have some Scotch or pink gin, wonder if they can ever get off the wartorn rock, and pray the threatened German invasion never happens. Mills does a nice job with the plot, giving it enough twists to be interesting but not so many that you get lost in the mirrors, like in some intrigue novels. I enjoyed this foray into a corner of the war I didn't know much about.

Keep your head down

Imagine sitting in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea on an island the size of a postage stamp with armies at war sitting on every adjoining shore watching what goes on. Imagine being the last Allied territory east of Gilbraltor in the second year of World War II. That was the situation for the people living on Malta in 1943. Submarine traffic was so heavy that supplies and armaments ships had trouble getting through successful. A delivery of forty fighter planes were bombed into smithereens within 24 hours of being delivered. Still the Maltese inhabitants and the British armed service people, on the island held on. Bombings were almost continuous morning, noon and night. Still the people, of both communities, stood strong. As an American "diplomat" says to the lead character, Max, only the British could experience a disaster like Dunkirk and call it a victory. Into this community comes a psychopathic killer. Young women are being murdered. At least three are found dead before someone realizes that these fatalities are the result of a killer and not casualties of the bombings. Max Chadwick, The Information Officer of the title is assigned the task of finding the killer before the Maltese realize that their daughters are being murdered, perhaps by a British Officer, and turn against the British in their fight to keep the island from the Nazis. As Max moves through the phases of his search, we meet the motley collection of Administrative and Military people who make up the British contingent. Max's search also takes us into the homes and community of the Maltese natives. Malta is an island which has been attacked and taken many times over the centuries, and its people know how to watch which way the wind blows to pick the winner and keep their families as safe as possible. Rumors are starting and Max needs to move fast. Mark Mills spins this tale in the same way that he wrote "The Savage Garden" and "Amagansett". He gives us an intriguing mystery and builds a picture of the place where it is happening. The ending is tricky. I was completely surprised, and I am quite good at solving these mysteries before the last page. One question that Mills brings up is whether the perpetrator is actually a brutal, unemotional killer or is he or she a fifth columnist sent to disrupt the comfortable relationship between the British and the Maltese which is keeping the island free. Or, is the killer both. This is a wonderful read and I highly recommend it. Good reading.

The locals are getting restless

Meet Max, information (read propaganda) officer, for the British colonial government in the small, besieged, island of Malta in the summer of 1942. Malta, the most bombed piece of real estate in the world, is under constant aerial attack by the Luftwaffe in preparation for the German invasion. His mission: To shore up the moral of the Maltese and keep them supporting the allied cause; to keep, as the British colonials say "The locals from getting restless". His friend, Freddie, a surgeon at the hospital tells him a secret that can subvert the Maltese (The Locals) population against the British: Someone has been killing young Maltese women, and the British brass has been keeping it mum. Worse, it seems the murderer is a British submarine officer. Between the surgeon, his beautiful Maltese colleague, Lilith, and a mysterious American liaison officer, Elliot, Max must discover the identity of the serial killer before the arrival of the largest contingent of Spitfires, and the departure of the submarine that carries the suspect officer. A gripping read that thrusts you right in the depths of the ruined island; well researched and deeply immersive.