In Spite of All Terror (Clement Wisdom, #1) (2024)

Clement Wisdom, vicar of his small village, Fearnley Maughton, outside London, was contacted by an old friend, Johnny Winthorpe, to go to a meeting in London. After letting his wife Mary know where he was going, he caught the train from Lewes, heading into London and an event which would change his life in an instant. It was 1940 and the German bombers were getting ready for their invasion on London. When Clement was asked to become the leader of his local area’s Auxiliary Unit, he had to sign the Official Secrets Act, then choose around nine or ten men to be in his team. Clement was torn – his faith meant no killing, but his duty said the opposite. Could he do it? And who did he trust well enough to join him?

With bombing over London, and the shattering loss of life, Clement didn’t expect the same in his pretty village of Fearnley Maughton. But when it happened, once again the loss of life was horrendous. But it was the murder of members of his team that shocked Clement the most. What was happening? With no one knowing about their clandestine activities, how was it possible his team were being murdered one by one? All Clement could do was assist the Lewes team, led by Chief Inspector Arthur Morris, in a hope to find answers.

What an astonishingly good book! Based largely on fact, In Spite of All Terror is the 1st in the Clement Wisdom series by Aussie author V.M. Knox and I loved it. A little slow in the beginning, it didn’t take long before the pace was electric, the mystery surrounding the deaths, plus the concern about the German bombers, keeping me glued to the pages. Clement is an excellent character, a gentle, humble vicar whose courage as a leader, when duty called, was outstanding. I’m looking forward to book 2 already. Highly recommended.

With thanks to the publisher, Leschenault Press in Western Australia, for my digital copy to read in exchange for an honest review.

In Spite of All Terror by V. M. Knox takes place in the small village of Fearnley Maughton, Sussex, England in 1940. This is the first book in a 4 book series.

This in the Fall of 1940 after the English evacuation from Dunkirk, France between May 26 and June 4, 1940. All of England is preparing for the Nazis to invade at any time and, as part of the preparation to repulse the expected invasion, the military is organizing small guerilla groups, called Axillary Units, to stay behind the advancing German armies and try to sabotage and cause other damage, including killing commanding officers, to slow down and disrupt the German advance.

As Fearnley Maughton is on the southeast coast of England, it is considered a prime landing spot for the invading German Army.

Clement Wisdom, the Vicar of the Anglican church in Fearnley Maughton and a veteran of WW I, is asked to form a group in Fearnley Maughton.

As part of the organization of the group Wisdom is required to store a list of the members in his group and store it with the Chief Inspector of the local police. This list is to be placed in a sealed envelope in the police office safe and only opened by the Chief Inspector in the presence of Wisdom if necessary. Also, if there actually is an invasion, the Chief Inspector must be executed to prevent him from revealing the existence of the group to the Germans.

Once the group is recruited, organized and trained things start happening in Fearnley Maughton: the village gets bombed and strafed for no apparent reason; a new nurse arrives from London to assist the doctor; and people start getting murdered, including the Chief Inspector, the police constable, and 3 members of Wisdom’s group. Also, the list with the names of Wisdom’s group has been taken from the police safe.

The rest of the story is about solving the mystery of who the murderer/murderers are, why the victims were killed, and stopping the information on the Axillary Units from getting to the Germans.

I thought this story caught the fear and despair the English felt when they expected to be invaded by the Germans. I also liked the dual story to organizing a guerilla and solve a string of murders at the same time. While it I fairly easy to figure out what is happening in Fearnley Maughton, trying to figure out who is the murderer makes this a good story.

I enjoyed this book a lot. It is a great mix of mystery, war story, and history. It was very well written with the characters very believable.
September 1940. Britain stands alone facing an imminent Nazi invasion. Handpicked groups of men form the covert Auxiliary Units; ordinary by day, they will be saboteurs and assassins by night. With a life expectancy of two weeks, their identities are a closely guarded secret from all but the local senior policeman but once activated, that policeman will be the cell's first victim.

Clement Wisdom, a humble vicar and leader of the East Sussex Auxiliaries, receives the invasion alert and assembles his team. Burdened with the tension between his faith and his patriotic duty, he sets out to eliminate the Police Inspector, only to find him dead already. While assisting Lewes Police to find the Inspector's killer, events take an ominous turn as one by one, members of Clement’s team are found callously murdered. Priorities shift and every aspect of life is called into question when Clement becomes embroiled in the murky world of espionage, where nothing is what it seems.

In Spite of All Terror is the first in a series of crime thrillers that mix historical fact, crime fiction and superb characterisations. They will keep you hungry for the next piece of this wartime puzzle.

I finished reading “In Spite of all Terror” and find it hard to believe that it has not become a Netflix series! Besides the regular Sunday service and prayers to those grieving, Vicar Clement Wisdom is the man least expected to help the war effort against Germany. A man devoted to his faith is challenged by those he thought he knew.
The plot twists and exposure to truths made for a splendid read! I cannot wait to read the next adventure.

This was a great solid read. It took me a about 3 chapters to get hooked and then I couldn't put it down.
Wonderful history, well developed characters and interesting plots that overlapped and had the right amount of twists to it.
It keeps you engaged and turning the pages so that is the best kind of story.

Murder and espionage.

A superb start to a new series which is set in the early years of WW2. The characters are all believable, vividly brought to life as if you know them already. The author paints a very authentic portrait of a village where everyone is fearful of invasion. The plot is tightly woven with twists and turns to increase tension. Highly recommended five star read.

Great book. Couldn’t put it down. Surprised it was written by a woman. Can’t wait to read her next book.

In Spite Of All Terror

I really enjoyed this book! I found it very hard to put down. I loved the twists and turns in the plot. I can hardly wait for the next book.

This was a really enjoyable mystery with interesting characters and some real surprises.

Loved this book! Nice plot, well written, just the right book at the right time for me too! Starting no.2 tonight!

Great Read

Love the historical setting for this box. The author has a perfect blend of historical accuracy, exciting storytelling and great characters.