Review: The King's Prerogative by Iain Colvin
One of the best things when I started properly book blogging was that I began to receive reading recommendations from a wider group of people. Sometimes that means that the suggestions are left field for me - and The King’s Prerogative is very much one of those.
The King’s Prerogative
Clink Street Publishing, 2019
The King’s Prerogative opens in May 1941, when a lone airman has to ditch his plane and makes an emergency parachute landing into Scotland. Turns out the airman is Rudolf Hess, deputy leader of the Nazi party. Immediately, however, the book moves to January of 1983, and the rest of action takes place mainly in that year.
Craig Dunlop inherits a keepsake from his grandad, and discovers therein a clue to the events of 1941. When his friend Claire is murdered in what seems to be a burglary gone wrong, there follows a kind of Scottish DaVinci Code. Craig is under suspicion of her murder, and goes on the run up and down the country, looking for clues and people that may be able to help uncover the truth of what may be the most explosive secret of wartime Britain. He is accompanied by his ex-girlfriend Fiona, and a journalist called Lynn. 70s & 80s kids names checklist complete ☑️
The historical parts of the book are based almost entirely on real events during WWII, and exposed huge gaps in my knowledge of that period. Several times I had to put the book down to look up events which I was sure Colvin must have made up for narrative purposes - only to find that, though interpreted and inferred on occasion, they did indeed happen. Score -1 for the Scottish history curriculum.
The book is well-paced, except for the occasional expositional passage, and I found the cast of characters a good foil to Craig’s initial gormlessness. If I had a quibble on characterisation I’d say that I wasn’t convinced Fiona would fall for Craig again just quite so easily, but that’s being picky really.
The King’s Prerogative is a debut novel, but it doesn’t read like one. Colvin has clearly done his research and handles the historical matters confidently. Whether you read The King’s Prerogative to be smug about the history you already know, to be surprised and entertained, or to reminisce about the perils of contacting people in 1983 (so many phone boxes and finding spare change), I reckon it has something for everyone.
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