Death Watch Beetle, a Historical Post WWII Spy Thriller

England and the rest of Europe are trying to recover from WWII and also cope with a belligerent Soviet Union intent on dominating the Cold War. An executive of a British engineering company, Donald Harvey, is co-opted in the early 1950's by a joint project of the CIA and British Secret Service MI6, to assist in tracing the whereabouts of a missing WWII high level Nazi, SS general Hans Kammler. This war criminal had been responsible for the design of death camps, and the sealing of the Warsaw Ghetto. As one of Germany's most senior SS officers, Hitler had personally placed Kammler in charge of all production of secret weapons programs including the V1, V2, and jet aircraft production as well as the development of ultra-secret super weapons.

In tracing this wartime criminal through three continents, Harvey is constantly torn between his sworn endeavor and his conscience. He knew the Nazi had never been tried at the Nuremberg War Crimes Trials in absentia, and he wondered why? Was it because he had escaped with technology for which the West and the Soviets would be willing to ignore his war crimes, in return for his allegiance? This is the conundrum facing Harvey as he follows the dangerous trail of his quarry through one international sequence after another.

Donald Harvey's conscience is also tested with the fact of his own love interest with Alijca Kozlowksi who was a survivor of wartime atrocities against the Polish, and Jewish populations by both Russia and Germany. It is further tested and his resolve to hunt down the Nazi is intensified when Alijca's Polish uncle is brutally murdered by a Russian assassin in a peaceful and bucolic English town.

This author brings the story to a startling and climactic conclusion by providing a plausible explanation as to the fate and final whereabouts of the war criminal. Interestingly, in these final chapters, it also provides a certain nexus to the early development of the apartheid system in South Africa. This aspect in itself, will be a revelation to students of history.

David Huntley the Author, is a semi-retired international business executive who has lived on three continents, Europe, Africa and America. Surviving the London Blitz of WWII, he went on to become an engineer and company owner with extensive international business experience. He resides near Dallas, Texas with his French born wife Sophie who is also a survivor of WWII, having lived under Nazi occupation in France. David was a co-founder of the British-American Commerce Association of North Texas. He retired from the Board of Directors in 2001 after serving for 17 years since inception in 1984, serving in various capacities including Chairman of the Executive Committee, and as a past President of the organization. He was awarded an Honorary Life membership to the organization, and to its Board of Directors, in recognition of his services to the promotion of British/American business interests in North Texas and the Dallas/Fort Worth region in particular. He has been a guest speaker at numerous Forums as well as a frequent panelist on national public television. He has served as a Director of Historic Royal Palaces, USA Inc., and he helped the organization to raise awareness of the charity in the United States through lectures and fund raising. David helped initiate the visit to Dallas of the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester for a Gala Dinner on behalf of Historic Royal Palaces. He retired from the Board in December 2012, but remains an avid supporter. He has written incisive articles and commentary before embarking on this historical post WWII spy thriller, "Death Watch Beetle", which has received rave reviews from prominent military and intelligence historians. David has dedicated the book to the WWII survivors of US and Allied Armed Forces who helped save Europe from tyranny. A number of WWII veterans that David interviewed have had their service recorded in the back pages of the book and on his website.