In the Shadow of the Alps

The Book

The Elena Standish novels, by Anne Perry, focus on the diplomatic and espionage attempts to avoid another world war as the Nazis rise to power. In the first book, Death in Focus, readers are introduced to the Standish family, with a focus on Elena. She stumbles into a MI6 mission that leads her on a train ride from Amalfi, Italy to Berlin. A Question of Betrayal picks up several months later; this time, Elena is sent on a mission by MI6 to make contact with an agent and retrieve valuable information. 

Elena Standish travels to Trieste, using her photographer skills as a cover. Her mission is to find Aiden Strother; a man she was romantically involved with, before he appeared to defect to Nazi Germany. He has vital information about British money being used to support the Nazis. At the same time, her sister, Margot, travels to Berlin for a family friend’s wedding to a Gestapo officer. While there she overhears snippets of conversations that hint at the Nazis plans to take over Austria. When she returns to London, she shares these with her grandfather, Lucas (the former head of MI6), who still has connections with MI6. The information and events in Trieste, Berlin, and London begin to add up for the reader, as she sees these three narratives converge. It is a race against time and emotions as the main characters combat Nazi influence in London and Europe. 

A Question of Betrayal captures the reader’s attention from the beginning and crescendos to an unexpected twist of an ending (just like Death in Focus). I found myself getting caught up in the story and reading quickly, to find out what happened next. The narrative is easy to follow as it moves between the main characters and places and the omniscient narrator helps the reader put the pieces together a bit sooner than the characters. Perry uses dialogue and thoughts to provide insight into each character, building upon their development in Death in Focus. One example is Elena’s photographic eye; the periodic commentary (inner or dialogue) provided a new way to visualize the surroundings.

The Place

As I was reading A Question of Betrayal, my mind would often wander back to my visit to northern Italy and Austria. While I was not in Trieste, the descriptions of northern Italy brought to mind places like Pordenone, Italy and Klagenfurt, Austria. Their historic city centers and architecture could have served as subjects for Elena Standish’s camera.

But there is more to this region than architecture. Soave Castle is on the other side of the Adriatic Sea from Trieste. Built sometime in the eleventh century, Soave Castle has a high central tower and several layers of surrounding fortified walls. The walk up to the castle is through the old village center, reminiscent of the Middle Ages. Once on the walls of the castle, you can see for miles throughout the Italian countryside.

Another highlight is Minimundus, north of Trieste, in Austria. This “miniature world on Lake Worthersee” allows visitors to get up close with scale models of famous buildings from around the world. You can dwarf the Taj Majel, compare heights with the Eiffel Tower, or see Independence Hall right in front of the Hollywood sign. The models were made well and carefully preserved, since it is an open-air park. Model trains, based on real Austrian ones, run throughout the park and the space shuttle “launches” every hour.

Northern Italy and Austria are wonderful places to visit, with so much more to offer than I just mentioned here. Over the past two years, COVID-19 put most international travel on hold. Thankfully, those opportunities are once again available. Before you travel, make sure to check the US State Department’s website for updated requirements for traveling to other countries and returning to the United States.