I got this book right when Waterstones had it for sale, a bit earlier than elsewhere. It had sounded quite promising with strong female characters, espionage, chess and international politics set during the WWII and Cold War eras. Chapters move between the years and places and people. I could have used a good cast of characters to refer to and some maps. These were complicated times with Soviets on the side of the Allies, fighting Nazis, but just as viciously dangerous, with the secrecy and prison camps and gulags for which they were known. And he was right. As their story continues from one tournament to another, the activities of their parents is central to the theme. The political intrigue moves around Europe, and nobody is safe from the powerful figures managing the spies and assassins.

There is an interesting sub-story in which one of the USSR official recalls his time fighting in the Spanish Civil War, helping to set the scene for the book's climax. Immersive, intriguing, and intelligent - incredibly impressive, up there with the best in the genre' Lee Child The story shifts between the 1940s, the 1960s and 2004, between Lithuania, Germany, Russia, England, and Spain and involves multiple characters. While wanting to race ahead to see how the story finished, I had to slow down to understand and absorb its complexity. Her father used to say that with mushrooms, as with people, a skirt was a sign of impending danger.”Worrall slaagt er voortreffelijk in om de drie plots te verweven tot een ingenieus spionageverhaal. Hij springt tussen verschillende tijdzones en personages. Door stukje bij beetje prijs te geven van het verleden van elk personage begrijp je dat oorlog zo verschillend kan impacteren. Two young prodigies from either side of the Iron Curtain, Yulia and Michael, meet at a chess tournament in London. They don’t know it, but they are about to compete in the deadliest game ever played. Right up to at least about a dozen chapters in, this was heading for a respectable four star review, but at some point thereafter it really started to deteriorate.

Men who are also on the radar of Vassily, perhaps the Soviet Union’s greatest spymaster. A man of cunning and influence, Vassily was Yulia’s minder during her visit to the West, but even he could not foresee the consequences of her meeting Michael. There’s money in there. The same as last time. You’ll recognise my uncle’s handwriting. His memory failed him when it came to Lithuanians who joined the SS, but he was good on other nationalities. I want you to confirm all the names he wrote down and add as many others as you can…every name you add helps keep yours off the list.”

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Lastly, for this criticism, it's fair enough that it was Russia that the West was fighting during the Cold War, but the West weren't exactly blameless in that particular shite sandwich, were they?! These are the players, who, along with a jolly KGB-fixer type, run around over the course of the story trying to... actually, trying to explain the plot is hard... It involves the girl's father trying to leak Russian nuclear game theory strategy to the West while a pedophile sociopath Russian intelligence bigwig tries to stop him. Meanwhile, the partisan woman pops in and out throughout, as the sociopath Russian is on her list of people to kill... There's quite a lot going on -- the young man's father is also a bigwig in British intelligence, the Russian girl's mother is in Krushchev's inner circle, and the jolly KGB guy and the sociopath have a lengthy shared history, etc... It could have done with some streamlining.

Two young prodigies from either side of the Iron Curtain, Yulia and Michael, meet at a chess tournament in London. They don't know it, but they are about to compete in the deadliest game ever played. Shadowing them is Greta, a ruthless resistance fighter who grew up the hard way in the forests of Lithuania, but who is now hunting down some of the most dangerous men in the world. Men who are also on the radar Of Vassily, perhaps the Soviet Unions greatest spymaster, A man of cunning and influence. The author highlights Russian atrocity after Russian atrocity, like the British and Yanks never committed any atrocities?! Gies peace!! The author also adds to the near confusion by starting a chapter with a previously unmentioned event and then proceeds to explain said event as the chapter moves on, so it eventually does become relatively clear as to what's going on!Lingering notes: I read this during the first few days of the Russian invasion of Ukraine with the obvious undertones of USSR reunification. As The Partisan is somewhat centred on the issue of the Soviets' 'mistreatment' of Lithuanians and also one person's mission to right the wrong of war crimes, I couldn't help thinking that these two plot lines would've been better told in separate books. Each story would've made an excellent read on its own. Combining them seemed contrived and unnecessarily complicated this one story. I still highly recommend it though. There are some interesting passages especially the chess tournaments and the ongoing shenanigans! Michael (British) and Yulia (Russian / Lithuanian) fall in love at the Chess tournament and tensions between East and West build as they try to arrange assignations in Berlin. Yulia has minders for the tournament so Michael needs to tread carefully. Vassily her friendly minder manipulates the situation so they meet surreptitiously!