Blog Archives
Lesser-Known Story
Operation Nightfall: The Web of Spies follows two women, a former SOE operative and an MI6 agent, who secretly enter Poland to meet with a sleeper agent and anti-communist insurgents, not realizing their mission has been compromised by a mole deep inside British intelligence. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?
The story takes place against the backdrop of the Cold War and was inspired by three historical events – the Polish anti-communist insurgency, a covert British intelligence operation to roll back communism in Poland and throughout the Baltic to the borders of the USSR, and the Cambridge spy ring. I wanted to create a story that highlighted this lesser-known story of the Cold War era.
Most people do not realize that when WWII ended in Europe in May 1945, fighting continued in Poland for another 8 years. Poles continued to fight for their independence from the Soviet-backed, communist government until the anti-communist insurgency was finally crushed in 1953.
The insurgency received covert assistance from the British, who infiltrated agents, fighters, arms, and money into Poland and throughout the Baltic. Unfortunately, the British operation was undermined from the start. The Soviets were tipped off to the British plans, most likely by Kim Philby and Donald Maclean, two members of the notorious Cambridge Five. Over the life of Operation Jungle, the British infiltrated nearly 250 agents into the region. Every agent was either killed, captured, or turned.
What character did you enjoy writing for? Was there one that was more challenging to write for?
Many of the characters in my book are based on people who actually lived. The character Luba Haas is one of my favorite characters and I based her on a woman who was arguably Great Britain’s greatest spy during WWII, Krystyna Skarbek, or Christine Granville as she was known in the UK. She was a heroic character, and her real-life exploits are legendary. But the character that was the most challenging to write for was the main antagonist, Lt. Colonel Yuri Sokolov. This character was also based on a real person, a man by the name of Vasili Blokhin, who was Stalin’s handpicked executioner. Blokhin is said to have executed more than 10,000 prisoners by his own hand, including around 7,000 at the Katyn Massacre in 1940. He’s even listed in the Guinness World Records with the ignominious title of “most prolific executioner.” It would have been easy to fall back onto stereotypes when writing him. Blokhin was an alcoholic and mentally unstable. But we actually learn about what made him the man he would become. It doesn’t excuse his actions – both Blokhin and Sokolov are incredibly cruel characters, but they are also complex characters with deep emotional scars. Showing the human side of a murderous psychopath was challenging.
How did you balance the action scenes with the story elements and still keep a fast pace in the story?
I’d love to take full credit for that, but I have to say that my editor, a remarkable woman named Caroljean Gavin really helped me maintain the intensity and keep the book flowing. Her developmental edits really helped me sustain that page-turning tension throughout the book. She helped me find a way to keep the reader engaged by creating scenes that made them always want more at the end of each chapter.
What is the next book that you are working on, and when can your fans expect it to be out?
I’m continuing with the Cold War theme with another lesser-known story of the era. I am currently working on a book that has a working title, The Missiles of Vogelsang. It is a novel, and it is based upon what I call the world’s first missile crisis. In 1959, three years before the Cuban Missile Crisis, the Soviets deployed nuclear missiles to East Germany. These were the same missiles they attempted to place in Cuba three years later. I’m in the early stages of writing but I hope to publish sometime in 2026.
Author Links: Goodreads | Facebook | Instagram | Threads | Website | Amazon
Inspired by the true events of Poland’s anti-communist insurgency, the Cambridge Five spy scandal, and a covert MI6 operation which attempted to rollback communism to the borders of the USSR, Operation Nightfall: The Web of Spies sheds light on a lesser-known story of the Cold War and immerses readers into the shadowy world of counterintelligence and spy versus spy operations.
Operation Nightfall: The Web of Spies
After reading Operation Nightfall: The Web of Spies by Karl Wegener, I’m left both shaken and impressed. The novel is a slow-burning but deeply immersive espionage thriller set against the backdrop of post-World War II Poland. It follows a deadly cat-and-mouse game between Soviet-backed Polish authorities and remnants of the Polish Home Army. The story unfolds with brutal precision, opening with a horrific ambush and evolving into a tightly woven narrative of deceit, identity, and revenge. At the center of it all is Ada Bialik, a woman shaped by war and driven by a quiet, burning fury. Through calculated acts of rebellion and sharp instincts, she becomes the most compelling figure in a world where trust is rare and survival depends on cunning.
I found Wegener’s writing to be razor-sharp in its detail and emotional depth. The characters aren’t just chess pieces in a war story—they’re raw, bruised humans, often trying to make sense of a world shattered by ideology. The language is spare but impactful, often letting silence and implication carry emotional weight. I appreciated that. The dialogue never felt forced. It carried a natural, believable rhythm, which grounded the story in a gritty realism. There’s also a strong visual element—the way forest paths, bloodied uniforms, and stark interrogation rooms are described pulls you in like scenes from a black-and-white film. I found myself holding my breath during key sequences.
But what really got to me was the moral fog that hangs over everything. There are no clean hands in this book. Wegener doesn’t preach, doesn’t glorify violence, but he doesn’t flinch from it either. Some parts made me uncomfortable, like the cold way Lieutenant Colonel Sokolov manipulates others, or how easily people vanish into the system. And yet, it all felt real. That murkiness is part of the book’s strength. It reminds you that history isn’t neat. The idealists don’t always win. People betray each other. Sometimes for survival. Sometimes for belief. Sometimes for nothing at all. The emotional undercurrent is subtle but devastating.
I’d recommend Operation Nightfall to anyone who loves historical fiction with a hard edge, especially fans of John le Carré or Alan Furst. If you’re looking for a tidy, good-guys-win sort of spy story, this isn’t it. But if you want a gripping tale of loyalty, survival, and the deep scars left by war, this book delivers in spades. It stays with you. I’m still thinking about Ada. Still wondering what justice looks like in a world built on lies.
Pages: 336 | ASIN : B0DBN6CD4X
LITERARY TITAN 