The saying goes that truth is stranger than fiction, and this fascinating new work of historical non-fiction certainly has more intrigue and shocking twists than even the most imaginative novel.   Rudolph-Hess-Treachery-and-Deception-FCReleased on the 75th anniversary of the Hess Flight - when Hitler’s deputy took a solo flight to Britain and was arrested after parachuting into Scotland - the book may well be the closest we’ll ever get to a definitive answer to one of the Second World War’s, and 20th Century’s, greatest mysteries.   On May 10th, 1941, deputy fuhrer Rudolph Hess took off from Germany in a Messerschmitt plane. His target was apparently a location in lowland Scotland, but when he ran out of fuel and had to parachute to safety he was promptly arrested.   During interrogation he demanded to see nobleman Douglas Douglas-Hamilton, the 14th Duke of Hamilton, who at the time was serving in the RAF and responsible for the aerial defence of parts of Southern Scotland.   But why was Hess leaving Nazi Germany to fly into enemy territory? Did he have allies in Britain? Did he really expect to broker a peace deal, as he claimed, or was he lured to Britain by the Secret Service in a cunning and elaborate trap?   The British Royal family, MI6 and Hitler himself are all implicated in this comprehensive and convincingly- argued book, penned by the UK’s leading experts on the Hess Flight, John Harris and Ricard Wilbourn.   Drawing upon more than 25 years of painstaking research, the authors have pored over archives across the UK and Europe, examining close to 10,000 documents and uncovering new evidence in their quest to finally unravel the mysteries of the Hess Flight.   They start off by stating that there are only two reasonable reasons for Hess coming to Scotland: either it was a clever deception by the British to buy time, or it was a genuine attempt by a cabal of aristocratic conspirators to stage a coup.   The book weighs up the evidence and ultimately favours the latter explanation, arriving at some sensational conclusions in the process.   Most shockingly, the authors believe that King George VI’s younger brother, Prince George, Duke of Kent, was instrumental in planning a coup d’état to oust the war-time Prime Minister Winston Churchill and forge an alliance with Hitler. They determine that the Prince and his close circle feared that Britain, and the aristocracy, could only be saved from the Nazis, whom they thought were preparing to invade, by forming a treaty with the Fuhrer.   The key figure in the story of the Hess Flight turns out to be a Finnish art historian and diplomat, Tancred Borenius’s, whose role in the affair was only uncovered a few years ago by Harris in Rudolf Hess: The British Illusion of Peace, published in 2010.   In the last five years, Harris and Wilbourn have discovered far more details about Borenius and his covert mission as an MI6 agent to Geneva In January 1941 to invite Hess to the UK. As they reveal, he knew all the key players, including the prince, and may well be the final piece needed to complete this historic jigsaw.   Rudolf Hess: Treachery and Deception make big claims indeed, but the author’s level-headed approach and rigorous analysis of all the evidence means that the book never seems far-fetched and convincingly pulls together the many threads into a compelling and logical narrative of events.   Conspiracy theorists and history aficionados will have plenty to sink their teeth into here, while those with a keen interest in the much-debated Hess Flight are sure to appreciate the new twists in the tale.   Even readers who don’t fall into any of these categories are likely to find it hard to put the book down, considering the jaw-dropping findings and their implications.   It’s a book that merits close attention, but there’s no need to have a detailed knowledge of the Second World War to enjoy it. The clear writing style, intelligent discussion and the extent of the evidence makes it a fascinating read in its own right.   Of course, and as the authors freely admit, this is only a theory. The smoking gun is likely to languish in the archives of the Secret Service, never to see the light of day.   Nevertheless, Harris and Wilbourn convincingly debunk all previous explanations of the Hess Flight –including their own – and provide the best explanation we’re ever likely to hear about why, 75 years ago, Hitler’s right-hand man decided to jump in a plane and risk everything to fly to Britain.   Rudolf Hess: Treachery and Deception (Jema Publications) by John Harris and Richard Wilbourn is available now, priced £25 in hardback.