For many Hitler ranks amongst the greatest criminals in history. Ironic then that The Devil's Handshake centers upon a planned crime against the Führer and the efforts of a German detective, Jager, to unmask the British assassin parachuted into wartime Germany. Davies skillfully incorporates real events and people to create an unusual crime novel set against the greater back drop of World War Two. Opening atmospherically in Blitz-era London the novel follows the preparation for the operation as agent Robin Lusty undergoes training for his dangerous role as an undercover killer. Behind the scenes machinations are exposed as political wheels turn both for and against the missions success. The book is filled with characters such as Winston Churchill, Martin Bormann and Eva Braun and it is to Davies credit that he succeeds in bringing them into three dimensional and credible life. The Devil's Handshake works well as a war thriller and a crime work often highlighting the tensions between the German criminal police and the all-pervading Gestapo as a professional detective works to solve the case under the terrifying gaze of the Nazi party. Davies also succeeds in creating a portrait of a Germany increasingly riven with tensions as the war on the Russian front collapses and dissent however secret is growing at home. His evocation of landscapes and history are memorable and vivid and his attention to detail renews interest in a subject matter, which could in the wrong hands fall into the realms of parody. We are spared B-movie scenes of Nazi guards shouting "Schnell, schnell!" and are given a more sensitive and involving treatment of the suffering of the German people in World War Two.
