I love Jussi Adler-Olsen's Department Q series, so I was excited to try this stand-alone novel of his. Unfortunately, I just couldn't get into it. I made it about 1/3 of the way through and it was draggy, confusing, and boring. There's not enough background info on the two main characters, and I kept forgeting which was which. There just seemed to be a general lack of context for everything. I gave up.

Maybe it's because it's in translation, but I found this book hard going, albeit the story was fascinating. Some hard editing would have made it faster-paced without reducing its power to shock and move.

Disclaimer: ARC via Netgalley.

Sometimes plots and ideas don’t just work for some readers. This is one of those books for me. The Alphabet House would make an excellent movie, but as a book it doesn’t quite fly. The story starts with two English fliers in World War II. They get shot down and eventually, after a series of events that do and don’t work, find themselves in the Alphabet House, a hospital for Nazi officers.
The two Brits, Bryant and James, never really seem to come alive as individuals. They almost become interchangeable, and it is difficult to pin down their individual characters, if any. There are some supporting characters, but they are by and large interchangeable. The villains are the traditional Nazi villains. The pacing at points seems off, and the character of Lauren just doesn’t work on many levels.
It’s not a bad book, and in many ways, it is a good adventure story. It would make a good screenplay because a film version would hide the lack of characterization.

In a WWII-era German mental hospital filled with Nazis, two British fighter pilots are hiding in fear for their lives. After being shot down during a mission in enemy territory, Bryan and James take the only option they can think of: impersonating two high-ranking SS soldiers bound for the Alphabet House, home to dozens of men in varying mental decline. Despite being nestled high in the mountains above a serene German town, danger lurks around every corner for the two impostors: the doctors may find out they are faking, they might be confronted by the families or friends of the soldiers they are impersonating, or they may be given medication that could cause them to lose what is left of their minds. Perhaps the greatest danger of all, though, is the very real possibility that they may not be the only ones faking their insanity.

I had first read Jussi Adler-Olsen’s work a few months ago when I devoured The Keeper of Lost Causes. Many of the elements I loved in my first experience with Adler-Olsen were repeated in The Alphabet House: superb research, an intriguing plot, fantastic action, etc. I particularly loved the premise of this book, as it was entirely unique and interesting.

Anyone interested in WWII history or who like books with action and danger would likely enjoy this book as much as I did. I highly recommend this read!

This one was hard to rate. I listened to the book and I think it affected my final opinion because I was not fond of the reader.
The book also started a bit rushed but once it got going, it was pretty good. I was confused on some parts too. But the story kept changing in good ways. it was a very interesting story. A new POW view.

Doesn't that description sound riveting?! Ugh so disappointing. As I was struggling with the beginning of this book, I checked out Goodreads to see what others had said about it in the reviews. One idea stuck with me from their comments. This book has an amazing premise for a fantastic movie plot! There would be a lot of action, suspense, and all around pull on the heartstrings moments. Sadly as a book, though, it's just too much to process at once. A lot of names, places, things happening at a fast pace. A lot to keep track of and I only made a third of the way through. I tried. I gave it my best and multiple days.

The Alphabet House is not a novel or audio you will consume in a single sitting. Froth with danger and unimaginable decisions the first half of the novel deals with events during the war and their stay at the Alphabet House. The second half begins almost thirty years and shares the consequences those years had on these men.

The characters Bryan and James are beautifully developed and Adler-Olsen brings their thoughts and emotions to life in a very realistic way. As I read, I feared for them, shrieked in horror and wondered what I would have done in their shoes. Secondary characters aided the stories and the villains gave me nightmares.

The tale is part thriller, part suspense but for the most part it is each man’s perspective into his actions and the consequences. War is ugly, survival is not glamours especially wrapped in the ugliness of such an atrocious war. If you are a World War II buff and curious about what occurred in these German hospitals, you will both appreciate and cringe at detail Adler-Olsen delivered with this novel. Next, you will look at the author and wonder from what depths of the psyche his tale sprouted.

The pacing of the tale changes throughout the book and I times I listened or read for a few hours. During other parts, I would read a chapter or two and set it down. Yet, even as I read other books or did other activities James and Bryan where never far from my thoughts.

I received both an audio and finished copy of the Alphabet House and bounced back and forth between them. At times, I read a long as I listened. Both formats are wonderful. Graeme Malcom was the narrator and he did an excellent job with the voices and enhanced the atmospheric tones. This review was originally posted at Caffeinated Book Reviewer