Fatherland falls into the genre of Speculative Fiction, providing a story based on the question, “What if?”   The premise is that Germany won World War Two and became the preeminent culture and authority in Europe.    This story is set in 1964 and Hitler’s 75th birthday is approaching.     Although this is alt-history, the author chooses to make the story a procedural murder mystery and details of the 1945 – 1964 time period are only revealed through indirect references and flashbacks.    Germany is still a fascist state and Nazism is the predominant presence in the nation.   The main character is Xavier March who is investigating the murder of a prominent Nazi party member.     As he finds links to the murder, there are hints of a conspiracy, and everyone associated with uncovering the truth is also in danger.

The story has a tight plot with eerie and chilling elements.   The Holocaust has been covered up and “erased” from history, but there is evidence that the details of “the final solution” may be made public, and party officials will not allow that to happen.    There are echoes of Orwell’s 1984 and influences of other dystopian alt-history books, but Robert Harris keeps the narrative mostly about Xavier and an American writer caught up in the dangerous game of investigating the Nazis while living in Germany.

“What do you do,’ he said, ‘if you devote your life to discovering criminals, and it gradually occurs to you that the real criminals are the people you work for? What do you do when everyone tells you not to worry, you can’t do anything about it, it was a long time ago?

The author starts with alt-history, shifts to a procedural murder mystery, accelerates the tension to a thriller, then finishes with a skillful ironic ending.  This was a compelling and rewarding novel and is recommended – 4.5 out of 5.0 stars4.5