In his debut novel, Dying Days, New Zealand author Anthony Byrt takes readers to what is seen by some historians as the first real conflict of the cold war. Set in the Italian coastal city of Trieste at the end of World War 2, Dying Days explores a period known as the “Forty days of Trieste”. This was the time following its occupation by Yugoslav troops loyal to Tito on 1 May 1945, after the Germans had abandoned the city. Tito was seeking to annex the city to Yugoslavia. A few days later New Zealand troops entered the city, followed soon after by the British and Americans, and a stand-off began. Byrt uses this tense milieu as the background for an engaging espionage thriller.
Dying Days opens with a discussion and scotching of the rumour that some New Zealand soldiers went missing during the Forty Days of Trieste. The narrative then takes readers back to that time and, in particular, two characters – Alex Madigan, an MI6 officer who had been living undercover in Trieste through the final year of the war, and Captain Mark Donnelly, a New Zealand intelligence officer. The pair are brought together to investigate the disappearance of two young women, daughters of a wealthy local family, who had been at a dance with New Zealand officers a few nights before. Soon they are also investigating the disappearance of four New Zealand soldiers who had been seen with the women.
Byrt does a great job of bringing to life a city teetering on the edge of chaos. Trieste was under Nazi control during the war and there were plenty of Italian locals who supported the Germans. While the Nazis have fled, the Yugoslav soldiers take it on themselves to round up and kill those Italians who they believe were collaborators. Tensions rise between the Soviet backed Yugoslavs and the allied forces that are trying to restore some sort of order. While talks are ongoing to resolve the future of the city, the involvement of Yugoslav troops in the disappearance (and suspected killing) of New Zealand troops could be enough to ignite a new conflict. The plot allows Byrt’s characters to range across Trieste – from the wealthiest enclaves, to the port, to the seedy bars and then out into the even more dangerous countryside around the city where the militias roam.
Into the mix Byrt drops two very different characters. Madigan has been living in the grey for a long time. He has a lover who is the wife of a local banker, and he does not play by the rules. He is partnered with Donnelly who is more of a straight-laced soldier. Donnelly is unfamiliar and uncomfortable with the complexities that Madigan has dragged him into. But he is determined to ensure that they find his missing men. The different approaches of the two men serve to make the two a great investigative team.
Dying Days is a compelling thriller that does not provide any easy answers to the questions that it poses. Byrt draws on real people and real situations to shine a light on a fascinating city and a short but significant passage of time in the closing months of World War 2.
Dying Days by Anthony Byrt
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