Received an advanced copy in exchange for a fair review.

It took some time to get into this story, mostly because of an ever-increasing cast of characters that got a little dizzying at times. Once I got into the narrative, however, this story of WWII espionage tactics which were only unearthed piece by piece in the last five years ago was really interesting and compelling.

I would recommend reading the note at the end first, because what you then read is much more fascinating when you realize how it came about and what Hutton did to piece the tale together. "Agent Jack" was one MI5 man, a bank teller plucked from obscurity because of his experience infiltrating fascist groups in the past, who at one time had as many as 500 people on his list of British citizens/residents who were willing to do anything from pass along classified information to Germany to take up arms in support of an invasion.

Hutton uncovers the ugly part of history that gets glossed over when it is written by the victors. The Allies retroactively painted their citizens as defenders of freedom living by the "Keep Calm, Carry On" credo but many were passively or actively rooting for Germany and even the antisemitism that was pervasive in British society is brushed under the rug in hindsight.

Agent Jack is a spy thriller and a reminder that war and politics and humans are complicated.

I love spy thrillers and I was really looking forward to this true story of espionage, but boy is it dry! Because this was an ARC through NetGalley, I gave it probably two to three times as many pages before bailing as I would otherwise, just out of guilt and a sense of obligation, but the pace never picked up. I’m sure it was meticulously researched, but the writing style didn’t work for me at all. It felt like reading a textbook, and I prefer my nonfiction to be more engaging and compelling.

I love spy stories and books about the war. This is the non-fiction behind the fictional stories. As such, it was a bit more fact laden and less edge of your seat thriller than much of what I read. True non-fiction history buffs would likely savor this a bit more than I did. Lots of interesting stuff here!

Unfortunately I gave up one third of the way through the book. It is very interesting but overwhelming with the number of characters who keep popping up. I honestly thought it would be a book about Agent Jack but there were so many side roads with not only new characters but also those characters’s ancestors. After a while it just became too much.

Agent Jack is the true story of Eric Roberts, who at first look, seemed to be your typical run of the mill bank clerk. What nobody really knew is that Mr. Roberts was in fact a highly talented MI5 agent known as Jack King, who excelled in infiltrating underground Fascist groups and fleshing out Nazi sympathizers in England during World War 2. He used his abilities to lure people in and make them think they were spying for the Gestapo, when in reality, they were actually spying for MI5, who saved these secrets from being made known to the Germans.

I found this book to be absolutely fascinating. It is highly detailed, well researched and reads more like an espionage novel than a work of non-fiction. Most, if not all of the details in this book have been kept secret until 2014.

I was surprised at how many German sympathizers there were in England and at the job Mr. Roberts, who at first used his own name while infiltrating these groups did while not blowing his cover, while monitoring as many as 500 people, albeit many were inactive. Thats still quite a feat for one person. If you enjoy history and espionage (fiction or non-fiction), you should definitely give this one a read!

My gratitude to St. Martin's Press, NetGalley, and author Robert Hutton for gifting me an e-copy in exchange for an honest review.

Interesting true story of undercover efforts to stop Hitler supporters in WWII era Britain. Well written and well paced.

I thought Agent Jack: The True Story of MI5's Secret Nazi Hunter was a great read. I give it five stars and recommend it.

This story is absolutely fascinating! Most of the events and history of this whole story were redacted or classified for decades (until 2014), and the amount of research that must have gone into writing this story from beginning to end is incredible! For that alone I recommend reading this book.

Agent Jack is the story of Eric Roberts, a bank clerk with the ability to make people like and trust him, who becomes an MI5 agent. Before WW2 he infiltrates groups of Communists and then Fascists, but after WW2 breaks out he becomes Jack King, the agent who manages to bring down a huge network of Nazi sympathizers and spies in Britain (sometimes named the 5th Column during the Nazi invasion of Europe). He poses as a secret Gestapo agent, and builds his “network” of people who are pushing for Hitler to win the war. This is the way MI5 were able to bring the 5th Column down from the inside without the general public having any knowledge of it.

Despite the fact that this book is very well written and researched, and that the whole story really is fascinating (and true), I found myself often getting bogged down in the details, and after putting the book down I often had to prod myself to go back to it and finish it. Every time a new person enters the scene we are given their entire background which tends to bring the flow of the narrative to a halt. Sometimes it wasn’t too much of an issue, at other times I felt like I had forgotten where we were in the timeline and had to go back and check. I do appreciate a good explanation and detail when it matters (Rothschild’s background is very important for example), but sometimes it was a bit overkill, especially with people who weren’t really that involved.

All in all though this is a very interesting piece of history that I think should be read - that there were so many Nazi sympathizers in Britain during WW2 is something that is generally overlooked, and Agent Jack provides some great information on how something could have gone differently along the way and changed the entire outcome of the war.

3.5 stars overall.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This is a good true story that seems more novel-like. It helps to demonstrate the work MI5 did and integrating with Nazi sympathizers after the war. This whole story is relatively new, as its existence was secret until 2014! It is pretty amazing to consider now.

This book was fast paced. Hard to put down. It flowed well and it was very well written. It caught hold of me and had me hooked from the start . I was literally on the edge of my seat reading this book.

One of the major battles of WWII that started before the declaration of war and continued to the end of hostilities and beyond was fought by those in Intelligence. Robert Hutton presents the story of Eric Roberts, an operative of MI5 who infiltrated the British Union of Fascists and later posed as a Gestapo agent operating on British soil. He was responsible for recruiting British citizens who supported Germany and offered their assistance in paving the way for Germany’s invasion of England. Using the alias of Jack King, he built a network and offered his services as a conduit to pass on information, diverting it to MI5 instead.

Roberts was a bank clerk prior to the war who had an ability to relate to people. Before the rise of the British Union he had done similar work, infiltrating communist groups and relished the opportunity to once again work with MI5. Despite his experience and abilities, he was looked down on by many of his colleagues, gentlemen who came from wealthy backgrounds and had attended the top schools. Nonetheless he was considered the ideal agent for this undertaking.

Hutton explains a number of the operations, both successes and failures, run by MI5. At times it reads like a thriller, but is a tribute to the unsung heroes who worked in the shadows to protect their country. While historical fiction is one of my favorite genres, Agent Jack: the True Story of MI5’s Secret Nazi Hunter provides all of the suspense of a novel while exposing the reader to the actual history of England at war. I would like to thank NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for providing this book in exchange for my honest review.

I don’t know if I would instantly have grabbed this title to read had it not been based on a man, and a story, that helped to inspire Kate Atkinson’s book, Transcription. While I read that and found the story gripping, I had issues with the main character’s choices and repeated ‘missteps’, and while I know that much of the information was based in fact, I had only a passing interest in the “story behind the inspiration” until I was told of this book.

Essentially what Hutton has done is pull information and followed trails, taking documents that are researched and footnoted extensively, and presented a story of Britain during the War that isn’t the “widespread” one – tales of the growth of Fascism through the oft-mentioned yet never fully explored British Union of Fascists (shortened to British Union), and the unease with which a segment of the British population found the second war, and the privations and hardships encountered and to come were too reminiscent of the feeling that returning soldiers from the first World War weren’t particularly well-cared for, as promised. And, if we are honest, the worldwide depression in the 30’s and the appearance of Germany’s economic recovery, far earlier than most countries, under this new regime provided a sort of ‘guidepost’ to the people that were so tired of privations and shortages.

Enter Eric Roberts, a bank clerk with no discernable skills or outstanding talents (especially not seen by his bosses of fifteen years) and his mission to infiltrate the ‘suspicious at home’, making connections, sharing information of plots to undermine the British determination to withstand Hitler’s forward progress, and then see that plots and plans are foiled, either through his own direct actions or by passing on said information. He posed as a Gestapo spy, drawing in those encouraged or outright supportive of the plans Hitler made, providing a gripping read and asking the question – just how far would (or could) this man, codename Agent Jack, go with plans to sabotage – and would (or could) he participate. Several “German Friendly” citizens were named and discovered – from the already “known” Duke of Windsor (Prince Edward, later Edward VIII before the abdication) to others who were never brought forward with charges as the work Agent Jack was doing was far too important and his cover and story would have been exposed.

What emerges is the sort of expected in a situation of war – some are for, some are against, most are simply just trying to survive in whatever means possible. Although we do meet several “Pro British” agents and see the work they did in and out of country – the best example is Victor Rothschild who, as a Jew was invested in many bomb disposal operations and clearly determined to stop Hitler, and the horrible way in which he was treated by the establishment, despite his work and the dangers he faced. The story is equally disheartening and hopeful because of the truths uncovered, and Hutton’s style allows the reader to absorb these details as they build on one another, leaving just as much impact as one might expect the ‘players’ had as events unfolded. While this was very clearly not a read in one sitting sort of book for me, the information revealed from papers buried deep showed the war effort by MI-5 as far more intricate or involved than any ever thought, and leave a series of names and people who, for their own reasons, made choices that were, at best, selfish and short-sighted, or at worst treasonous. An intriguing read for those interested in the ‘undercover’ work of agencies and agents during the World War II era, and the research and footnotes lead readers in many directions for further information, even though the groundwork here in this book is thorough and easily accessible.

I received an eArc copy of the title from the publisher via NetGalley for purpose of honest review. I was not compensated for this review, all conclusions are my own responsibility.

Review first appeared at <a href=” https://wp.me/p3OmRo-axN/” > <a> I am, Indeed </a>

Free ARC from NET GALLEY

Informing narrative about Operation Fifth Column, which was the covert WWII operation that was to flush out Nazi sympathisers on British Soil. Good work throughout but the pace did ebb and flow; at sometimes the "flow" was little.

This is a non-fiction book covering the activities of a relatively unknown British operative during the second world war. It started a little like a textbook, but became much more interesting. The narrative reveals much about the layers of deception involved in the subversive activities of the war. It also reflects more evidence that the war was won in spite of incredible stupidity and errors on both sides.

AGENT JACK

True story, or as true as can be expected, of Eric Roberts aka Jack King, British M15 undercover spy during WWII.

He worked as a supposed undercover Gestapo intermediary gathering information on the Fifth Column, Nazi sympathizers living within Britain. He was in reality employed by the British Security Service. His fascist “agents” gave him information, expecting it to be forwarded to the leaders of the Third Reich in Germany. Roberts instead reported their anti-Allies schemes and sabotage plans straight to M15. Because of his work, sensitive war plans were kept guarded. It also features the espionage work of Victor Rothschild, including his expertise at bomb disposal.

This book was well researched, with an extensive bibliography, notes, and index. Photographs, illustrations, and lists of characters help to make it easier to follow as it does contain many people to keep track of. It’s a bit dry, but that’s fine with me. I felt like I learned a lot about the inner workings of the spy industry in the UK during WWII.

I would like to thank NetGalley, Robert Hutton, and St. Martin’s Press for the opportunity to read and review this book.

I am sorry, I am going to be "odd man out"! As others would give this a 4-5 star rating, I would rate this book 2-1/2 stars! I found this book tedious at times and there was many times I almost gave up on reading it to completion! There were way too many people to keep track of who was who …and, in particular, what they did! I found the last ¾ of the book more interesting …especially the ending! I will give the author kudos on the research and his style of writing! What I did take away from this book was a different (if not dry!) view of Britain’s involvement during the war!

I would like to thank the author, the publisher and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book in return for an honest and unbiased report

his book is about the search for German sympathizers within England during World War II. It revolves around former banker Eric Roberts known as "Jack Kelly" to the British Union which was full of German sympathizers. The book is well written which makes for an interesting read. None of the exposed Nazi "friendlies" that Roberts interacted with were ever sent to prison as that would have exposed his alias.

I recommend this book for those looking for what went on within Great Britian itself during World War II with MI5 looking for agents or potential agents of Nazi Germany.

I received a free Kindle copy of this book courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher with the understanding that I would post a review on Net Galley, Goodreads, Amazon and my nonfiction book review blog. I also posted it to my Facebook  page.