Ratline

THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER FROM THE WINNER OF THE BAILLIE GIFFORD PRIZE'Hypnotic, shocking and unputdownable' JOHN LE CARRÉ'Remarkable' THE SUNDAY TIMES'Breathtaking, gripping, shattering' ELIF SHAFAK'A taut and finely crafted factual thriller' OBSERVER'A triumph of research and brilliant storytelling' ANTONY BEEVOR'Extraordinary' EVENING STANDARDIn this riveting real-life thriller, Philippe Sands offers a unique account of the daily life of senior Nazi SS Brigadeführer Otto Freiherr von Wächter and his wife, Charlotte. Drawing on a remarkable archive of family letters and diaries, he unveils a fascinating insight into life before and during the war, as a fugitive on the run in the Alps and then in Rome, and into the Cold War. Eventually the door is unlocked to a mystery that haunts Wächter's youngest son, who continues to believe his father was a good man - what happened to Otto Wächter while he was preparing to travel to Argentina on the 'ratline', assisted by a Vatican bishop, and what was the explanation for his sudden and unexpected death?

A gripping adventure, an astounding journey of discovery and a terrifying and timely portrait of evil in all its complexity, banality, self-justification and madness. A stunning achievement, Hypnotic, shocking and unputdownable, Breathtaking, gripping, and ultimately, shattering. Philippe Sands has done the unimaginable: look a butcher in the eye and tell his story without flinching, A triumph of research and brilliant storytelling, Remarkable . . . Sands's untangling of the mysteries surrounding Otto von Wächter is masterfully done

Philippe Sands is Professor of Law at UCL and a practising barrister at Matrix Chambers. He has been involved in many of the most important international cases of recent years, including Pinochet, Congo, Yugoslavia, Rwanda, Iraq, Guantanamo and the Rohingya. He is the author of LAWLESS, TORTURE TEAM, EAST WEST STREET, which won the Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-fiction, and Sunday Times bestselling THE RATLINE. He is a contributor to the Financial Times, Guardian, New York Review of Books and Vanity Fair, and makes regular appearances on radio and television. He is President of English PEN and a member of the board of the Hay Festival.