Partisans - Alistair MacLean

Published by William Collins Sons & Co Ltd: London, 1982.

This is the second Alistair MacLean book I've ever read, and is perhaps a little less thrilling than the first one.

Set during WW2, we follow three mysterious Yugoslav nationals, led by Major Peter Petersen, whom are tasked by their German allies with carrying a message into Yugoslavia, as well as escorting some other individuals with them. Being written by a Scottish author, we assume that Petersen and his men probably aren't actually working with the Nazis - simply because that seems unlikely for the protagonists of such a novel - but we don't actually know that this is the case. 

In fact, the most effective aspect of the book is the way in which any of the main characters could be working for either side. Are the brother and sister duo who at times try to send secret radio messages working for the Royalists or the resistance? Is the mysterious Italian, Giacomo, supporting the Yugoslavs or simply coming along for the ride? What about Lorraine, a woman who is travelling to meet with the Englishman Captain Harrison - an Englishman who still seems to be working for the pro-German Royalists (or is he??)?

Loyalties shift. Suspicions are raised. And through it all, Petersen and his men carry on with a quiet confidence in their own plans and abilities, even when things seem to be going very wrong!

It's interesting, but also a bit old-fashioned at times. 

Perhaps the oddest thing for me is the way Petersen and his men explain things very clearly throughout the book, either just before or just after something has happened. We might not "told" their loyalties, but we are definitely told their suspicions, and are generally told exactly why they make the decisions they do, when on occasion not knowing might have lent the book a bit more, well, mystery.

All the pieces are there, and it wasn't a 'boring' book.... I just felt like it could have been a little stronger in the mystery. 

Enjoyable, but probably just a one-time-read. 

Completed 4 July 2026.

Previous Book ~ Next Book

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