Dan Waddell

In Field of Shadows, Dan Waddell has produced a work that barely seems believable; a team of English cricketers visited Germany in 1937, playing a few matches against the German national side (such as it was).

Hitler did not like cricket but it seems a few Teutonic cricketers and fans were able to convince some senior Nazi figures to roll out the red carpet to the visiting Gentlemen of Worcestershire team, who played the German national team on some less than great pitches, comfortably winning each match.

Thanks to a scrapbook kept by one of the Gentlemen of Worcestershire, Waddell was able to recreate the momentous tour, filling in the details that would otherwise be left vague.

It's a great read, marred only by Waddell's determination to constantly remind us at length what terrible people Adolph and his cronies were. While I agree with his sentiment, I feel that anyone reading a book about a 1937 cricket tour to Germany is already going to know about the Nazi's less than stellar history and not need be often reminded about it.… (more)

Nigel Barnes helps the police investigate a current situation with roots deep in the past. Their biggest clue lies in mtDNA found at the scene. They want Nigel to trace the matrilineal line. A connection with the Mormon Church and a mysterious photo leads Nigel and a female detective to Salt Lake City where they uncover a tie to fundamentalist sect with strange ways of practicing their ordinances-- including the requirement of blood atonement. Although I am not Mormon, I was put off by the plot. I felt he was attacking the LDS church. I know the book was written many years ago when DNA was first being used in genealogy, but I'm not sure the author understood mtDNA enough to include it in the plot. He never really did anything with it. I think the author could have spent his words and pages better developing a mystery plot and less time discussing Mormon religious practices.… (more)