Hamer's War - Hardcover

Journalist Cottam's first novel, The Fire Fighter, was set in Britain in World War II. This time he switches sides to the harrowing life of a brave, principled German officer who becomes a hero of the Reich for destroying a Russian tank and thereby turning the tide of battle for a while on the Russian front. His recovery from a bullet wound while posted to a Polish labour camp is interspersed with flashbacks revealing the loss of his family's lands, his flawed marriage and a monumental deception which removes a cornerstone of his existence. Cottam's is a fascinating tale of love and a professional soldier's bitter war for an atrocious regime. His writing shows enormous promise but is over-complicated by so many flashbacks which put hiccups into the narrative drive of an otherwise compelling story.