The Alphabet House by Jussi Adler-Olsen

The Alphabet House by Jussi Adler-Olsen

I often read books by Scandinavian thriller- mystery writers so when I saw this one at my local library I knew I was in for a good read.

This novel varied from the usual type of thriller that I have previously read and it seems like a WW 2 military story at the start. 
Two close English friends, pilots Bryan and James are on a photographic mission over  Dressen, Germany  They are shot down and escape in a passing German hospital train.

They take the place of 2 German patients, by throwing them off the train and lie low only to find out that this is a train reserved for taking wounded, mentally, disabled German soldiers to a sanatorium hospital deep in German territory.They realize that their own chance of not being discovered, is to fake illness or insanity, they know that escape will now be much more difficult.

Their plight becomes even worse as they are subjected to a routine of drugs, electric shock treatments and other experimental medicine. Also Bryan doesn't understand any German so he has to pretend he is a deaf mute.
Then the situation deteriorates as other patients are also “malingerers” on the ward, trying to escape fighting in a lost cause. Communication between the friends becomes almost impossible. James rapidly becomes threatened and   uncommunicative even with his friend. Bryan, thought to be a high ranking SS officer is moved to another ward. and his escape plans are no longer an option to be carried out with James.

Brian eventually makes his own daring escape, making further enemies as he does so.
Here the story could end but now 30 years pass and Bryan, worried by unwanted thoughts and dreams, goes back to see if he can find out what really happened to James.

“ Did he really die when the sanitorium was bombed?”.
" What really happened to James?"

So now the mystery really begins and with it a complicated story of past memories and intrigue.

Difficult to read in places with horrific details, it holds the reader’s interest  with a good interesting story line and a very involved plot.