Boxer, Beetle

The initial connection between the two narratives occurs in 2010 when a Nazi memorabilia collector discovers a hand-written note from Adolf Hitler.

The finder of the note, “Fishy”, so called because of a rare medical condition that causes the sufferer’s sweat to smell of rotten fish, appeals to the users of a Nazi memorabilia message board to help in solving the mystery.

Scarlett Thomas of The Guardian wrote that it was a "gripping and clever"[2] story, and while the parts of the novel set in the modern day "occasionally strays too far into postmodern whimsy",[2] the parts of the novel set in the 1930s are "wonderfully evoked, and [...] taut, thematically rich and extremely well written".

[2] She added that Beauman had successfully "take[n] an old and predictable structure and allow[ed] it to produce new and unpredictable connections.

[3] Rob Sharp of The Independent concluded that it was "a fine debut: clever, inventive, intelligently structured, genre-spanning, [...] and above all, an enjoyable, high-octane read through a fascinating period in history.