Sea of Wolves
In 1941, Germany was determined to control the shipping lanes in the North Atlantic. Their U-boats routinely sank Allied ships and convoys ferrying much-needed supplies to the British. Against this backdrop, Philip K. Allan crafts a thrilling tale of World War II intrigue and daring in Sea of Wolves.
To do so, he enlists three very different characters, each with a strong motivation, to drive the narrative forward. Vera Baldwin, who has witnessed firsthand what German bombs have done to London during the Blitz, eagerly signs up to work as a codebreaker at Bletchley Park. Otto Stuckman is a dedicated Nazi willing to die for the Führer and cannot rack up enough victories at sea. First Lieutenant Leonard Cole is out for revenge for the men he lost when his ship was torpedoed.
Allan’s prodigious research is deftly interwoven throughout, but it is at the level of story that Sea of Wolves cruises most ably. For Vera, a crossword enthusiast, breaking enigma codes is not nearly as challenging as ensuring that her efforts don’t end up costing British lives. Otto Stuckman’s zeal to serve the Reich forces him to make some tactical errors, and Leonard Cole carries the unwieldy burden of saving an entire nation. The novel does an excellent job of illustrating how the outcome of an enormous event such as World War II depended upon the interconnectedness of minor figures often neglected by history.
