Christo@bookwyrm.social reviewed Agent Zigzag by Ben Macintyre
A book with a slow burn, and a lot of details about espionage during WWII
4 stars
Content warning Well, not really spoilers, since we know going in he's a double agent, but still, I'm telling some of the bits that really hooked me in this book.
This book was given to me by my stepfather after a visit. It didn't really draw my attention, and I had one false start reading it almost exactly a year ago. It didn't really grip me the first time through. The main character, Eddie Chapman, a charming thief, didn't strike me as sympathetic, making it hard to get absorbed in the book, especially since this is not fiction, but more of a biography of Eddie's time as a spy for the UK.
I was hooked when Eddie, having been trained in explosives and sabotage by the Abwehr in France, parachuted into England and immediately turned himself in, I was hooked: that was a plot twist I had not expected.
The details about how the UK managed its double agents was an unexpected bonus in this book, highlighting how they had to manage what information Eddie could give the Germans which would support the illusion that he was working for the Abwehr while not actually giving them anything useful.
The whole ruse they concocted to make it look like they had blown up the Mosquito factory was excellent, complete with magic tricks to make it look real from the air if the Germans managed to photograph the site.
The use of 2 double agents to misdirect the targeting of the V-1 and V2 bombs on London was both brilliant and cold, since it conned the Germans into targeting south of London, which still endangered people.
The preparation for Eddie's return was also an excellent bit, where they trained him to tell as much truth as possible relating to the events that had happened so that during interrogations by the Germans he would not get caught in lies.
While I wouldn't give it 5 stars, it definitely is well written, entertaining, informative, and something I might reread at a later date if I need the material for a #TTRPG game.