The Drumbeater

By Clive Allan
2014, Troubador/ Matador imprint
ISBN 9781783062195
Paperback, 514 pages
The book is a fiction

Descripton: When skeletal remains are found buried on a beach near the remote Scottish village of Glendaig, the evidence points to murder… to a crime dating back seventy years to the dark days of World War Two. The task of unravelling the mystery falls to history graduate NEIL STRACHAN, now a career cop, fast tracked into a new role on Northern Scotland’s Major Enquiry Unit. When Neil calls upon German naval historian, Matthias Fuchs, to help identify the remains, a name soon emerges, that of a dashing young U-boat ace who mysteriously disappeared in 1941... Korvettenkapitan MAX FRIEDMANN. Neil seeks the assistance of Glendaig’s elderly residents, but encounters an impenetrable wall of silence, causing him to suspect that they know far more about the young submariner than they’re willing to impart. With more questions arising than answers, and under mounting pressure from his cynical boss, DCI Alex Brodie, to wrap up the enquiry, Neil embarks on a race against time to discover the truth. He begins to unravel a tale of subterfuge, escape and astounding loyalty. A tale that will ultimately reveal a secret that could have changed the course of World War Two…and a tale with one final shocking twist!