Book Log 2015 #26: The Alphabet House by Jussi Adler-Olsen

This departure from the Department Q novels is set during World War II and the Munich Olympics. In the first part, we follow a pair of British airmen who, after being shot down, escape from their pursuers by jumping on a train. It turns out to be a medical train, and the duo survive by pretending to be patients, almost all of whom are catatonic. Their ruse proves too good, and they are both sent to a special medical facility - the Alphabet House in question - for the treatment of psychological cases. The pair take very different routes in trying to maintain their ruse while avoiding the patients who are also faking, and will do anything to protect their secrets.

The story moves ahead to the 1970s, when one of the pair sets out to find his former mate. This descends into a longish game of cat and mouse with those other patients who are now part of German society and are still willing to do anything to protect their secrets.

Both sections of the book feel over long - the 1970s section in particular, which reminded me of The Marco Effect a little bit with action padding the story. On the other hand, this is a bit of a labor of love, as Adler-Olsen got the idea for the book in part from his parents and their discussions of psychology.  I didn't care for this book as much as the Department Q novels, but it is a different sort of war novel (the author goes so far as to state that it's not a war novel at all in the preface), so it could be worth a look if you're looking for a WW2 novel with a different approach.