High Treason: A Novel (Tom Mackay), by Sam Simpson (SPL 8.99). This is accountant Sam Simpson’s second tome about Scottish accountant Tom Mackay. His first, The Honest Accountant, was our book club review last month.
With High Treason we have moved forward to May 2001, and PM Tony Blair looks set to be elected for a second term.
Mackay is brought in by the outgoing Labour government (they get back in!) to see if he can save a conglomerate called Carillient. Sound familiar?
The real star of the show, however, is a memoir Mackey receives on the death of a family friend.
Death does seem to follow Mackay around and a colleague he has sent ahead to prepare an audit in the Caribbean ends up dead too!
Now, back to that memoir, which Mackay dips into while traveling. Set in World War Two just after Dunkirk we follow the family friend on a secret assignment to track the Duke of Winsdor (the former King Edward VIII). He follows him to the Bahamas, where the duke was made governor. The duke’s relationship with Axel Wenner-Gren (another real person) soon causes much concern, and there is a letter, which will cause even more worry for the British Government. There is a reason why the book is called High Treason after all.
PQ rating 5/5 We loved High Treason, it is a great read! Simpson’s Richmond Papers will be our holiday read this year too.
