THE REFLECTING MAN

The Reflecting Man: Volume Two

ISBN: 9781987914030 (Trade Paper)

ISBN: 9781987914047 (Digital)

In January of 1936, our loquacious and unreliable narrator, Kurtis De’ath arrives in London on the orders of Adolf Hitler. Kurtis is loaded with secrets, confections, and more than a few mysteries. Closeting his other identities (Herr Death, mysterious confidant of Adolf Hitler, and the Wagner Family’s Shokoladenmann, dispenser of the delightful Bird Bonz), he becomes fellow Maritimer, Lord Beaverbrook’s gossip columnist for the Daily Express and is immediately drawn into the political and social British maelstrom of Abdication and Appeasement. Deftly working his way through the class and clutter of English society as Kurtis Tod, he does his best to keep old friends (Erl Echland, Ulrich Roller, Bella Fromm), make new ones (Tom Driberg, William Joyce, ‘Huge’ Castlerosse), confound his enemies (Joseph Ball, Maxwell Knight, Josef Goebbels), and to derive some sense out of it all as the world edges even closer to a second Great War. And, when things get a little nasty, it may be that Kurtis De’ath is just the fellow you want on your side.

The Reflecting Man: Volume Three

ISBN: 9781987914016 (Trade Paper)

ISBN: 9781987914023 (Digital)

In late 1937, our loquacious and unreliable narrator, Kurtis De’ath returns to Germany, where he prepares for a trip with Joachim von Ribbentrop, German foreign minister, to Moscow. On his own with orders from Adolf Hitler, Kurtis probes the unspeakable secrets of the Holodomor, the man-made, deliberate starvation of four million men, women, and children in the Ukraine. Imagine his dismay when he meets John Rabe and learns of the horrors of Nanking! But Heydrich is breathing down his neck and the Abwehr is sniffing around, so a timely exit to Moscow seems made-for-measure, just like Ribbentrop’s suits. The journey by train reveals new friends—Fay Jackson, an American journalist on her way to meet “The Mother of Moscow,” and a delight in her own right. All of that and Stalin’s estranged son, Sacha, too. Mind you, Sir Joe Ball wants Herr Death in Moscow for his own reasons and they necessitate a matching-of-wits with the NKVD and Stalin himself. As the Nazis annexe Austria and Joseph Chamberlain tries to avoid war, it is our rather dubious hero, Kurtis, who shines a light on the darkest secrets kept on all sides. Meanwhile, London is preparing for war and there is talk of gas masks and blackouts as the sabre-rattling elevates and the slide into open conflict continues.

The Reflecting Man: Volume Four

ISBN: 9781987914078 (Trade Paper)

ISBN: 9781987914085 (Digital)

England is in turmoil as ‘Appeasers’ square off against ‘Non-Appeasers’ or, as our loquacious and unreliable narrator, Kurtis De’ath, in his role as Lord Beaverbrook’s gossip-hound, Kurtis Tod, discovers…it is Sir Joseph Ball versus Winston Churchill. Fascism is in fashion in numerous high-stepping London social circles and also across the water in France, where the Duke of Windsor and Wallis are courted by the Nazis. Erl Echland continues to collect their secrets, but even he is gobsmacked by the Duke’s secret letters which wind up in Kurtis’ hands. It is ‘Herr Death,’ Kurtis’ German incognito, who learns of the formation of Einsatzgruppen and new plots against Adolf Hitler involving the Kordt brothers. Not to be excluded in this raucous time are William Joyce and his mentor, Macnab; as well as Maxwell Knight of MI5’s B5b bureau and his menagerie; and Robert Vansittart, England’s spy extraordinaire. As 1938 wears on, the possibility of war increases steadily and Chamberlain and Ball conceive Plan Z, an attempt to beard the lion in his mountain lair at Berchtesgaden. Ulrich Roller and the Wagners continue to enjoy Uncle Wolf’s patronage as Kurtis’ nemesis, the widow of Dr. Wentz, appears seeking vengeance. It is Kristallnacht which shocks the world in November and brings Europe ever closer to total war.

The Reflecting Man: Volume Five

 ISBN: 9781987914108 (Paper)

ISBN: 9781987914115(Digital)

As 1939 begins, our loquacious and unreliable narrator, Kurtis De’ath, learns that the British monarchy has numerous, nasty skeletons in its closet which its ‘fixers’ will do anything to protect. The detention of Erl Echland prompts Kurtis to delve more deeply into the Windsors and Erl’s 1936 diary. And what’s in that folder which ‘Quiet’ Schmidt passed along in Berlin to Herr Death and which could bring down the Crown? Cue the amiable, Chamberlain supporter Chips Channon for assistance. Meanwhile, Chamberlain weakens and Sir Joe Ball sees his own fate hanging in the balance. Brendan Bracken champions a new breed of media as radio accelerates the news and he spearheads the return of Winston Churchill to the Cabinet. In Germany, Rudolf Hess is after Ulrich Roller, threatening him with SS guard duty in Sachsenhausen, and necessitating Kurtis’ most intricate plan yet; one designed to use Martin Bormann to get rid of Hess forever. Margaret and William Joyce are desperate to leave Britain and, for his own reasons, Kurtis assists. As the prospect of a second Great War looms, the full power of the British government is making itself known. Mere days before Poland is invaded, our Herr Death is busy in Bayreuth, Munich, and Berlin as the window for peace between Germany and England closes. A last minute peace plan from an American General Motors executive in financial cahoots with Göring provides damning information about Germany’s perilous financial position. Faced with the inevitable, there are choices to be made as Erl, Ulrich, Unity Mitford all face personal crises and the hard reality sets in. Our narrator—is it possible?—is not ready for what’s coming.

The Reflecting Man is widely and deeply researched, employing hundreds of non-fiction accounts,

 journals, and diaries of actual participants and observers of the darkening clouds over Europe and the descent into war. 

With the publication of Volume Five on April 15, 2024, the series is complete.