Historical fiction has to perform two main functions. Firstly, it must entertain through plot, action and character. Secondly, it must transport us to that time in the past and make it seem real. This is done through realistic descriptions of the place and time, relevant cultural references and, often, through the inclusion of real historical characters or events.

In this book an American mob assassin is sent to Nazi Germany in 1936 with the US Olympic team, including Jesse Owens, to kill a key (and fictional) member of the Nazi Party. The intent is to slow the German build-up for war and to send a message to Hitler that the USA will not always standby and watch. As the assassin closes in on his target he is tracked by a member of the Berlin Kripo, or police detectives.

The period detail is good, although sometimes overdone (a lot of business about brands of beer, for example), and the slightly strange atmosphere in Berlin at this time, with cultural clashes between the puritanical Nazis and the very liberal bohemian quarter, and ordinary Germans caught between them, is portrayed sensitively and well.

I think this novel fails in two regards. The improbable hero, Paul Schumann, a mob assassin who only kills ‘bad’ people, speaks fluent German, has a soul and is looking for redemption comes across as a bit too goody-goody. Secondly, then ending is rather flat and downbeat; historically correct perhaps, but unsatisfactory nevertheless. ( )

Paul Schumann is a hired assassin who is sent by the US government to Germany just prior to the 1936 Olympics in Munich. His task is to assassinate one of the top Nazi officials who is in charge of the re-armament. The main action of the book takes place over a weekend although I kept having to remind myself of that because it seemed like there was so much going on. Right after Paul gets to Munich he is involved in a murder in an alleyway. The police detective assigned to the case, Willi Kohl, is a hardworking, intelligent cop. He loves his wife and his family and he does not like the National Socialist Party. Although Paul is supposed to be the hero of the piece, I was also rooting for Willi, half hoping he would catch Paul and half hoping he wouldn't. I thought it was a fine piece of writing to make both detective and criminal so human.

The ending was a shock to me. Good for Deaver to avoid an easy resolution. ( )

An American hit man is hired to kill one of Hitler's elite in an attempt to keep the Hitler war machine from growing. He enters Germany in 1938 under the guise of a reporter traveling with the American Olympic team. A fast-paced story, the action of this entire book takes place in just over 24 hours. It was an amazing story and I loved it!
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Paul Schumann is a mob hit man. He’s set up by the Feds and captured then offered a choice between working for them to assassinate a key Nazi official, Reinhold Ernst, or face the gas chamber. Sent to Germany under the cover of a journalist following the Olympics in Berlin, he’s soon involved in a serious cat-and-mouse game for a Nazi sympathizer has sent an anonymous note to the German High Command indicating that a “Russian” (Paul is supposed to use a forged Russian passport to escape following the assassination) will cause some damage to some unnamed important official.

Paul has been chosen because he speaks almost native German and is a very careful, precise hitman. But he doesn’t have the cultural background of Nazi Germany in 1936 and little things, like whistling for a taxi, which no German would have done, provide clues for his pursuers. Deaver must have done considerable research to provide details like the “Hitler clothing” that help provide a good sense of time and place.) For example: Morgan said softly, “Don’t use that word here. It will give you away. ‘Nazi’ is Bavarian slang for ‘simpleton.’ The proper abbreviation is ‘Nazo,’ but you don’t hear that much either. Say ‘National Socialist.’ Some people use the initials, NSDAP. Or you can refer to the ‘Party.’ And say it reverently. . . .

After Paul and his contact are forced to kill an SA agent, Inspector Kohl (a brilliant cop who expertly maneuvers his way across the conflicting SD, Gestapo, SA, and SS interference which threaten to muck up his investigation) enters the case and now Paul is being sought by multiple agencies sometimes working at cross-purposes. And can Paul trust his American handlers? Great plot, well executed.

Everything in the novel rings true except the conversations between Ernst, Himmler, Hitler, and Goering. A couple other minor things that bugged me. We’re all used to the phrases “Heil, Hitler,” and “Grüß Gott”, but here both are translated quite literally so they come out “Hail Hitler” and “Greeting God” which, ironically, rang very false to my ear. Better to have left them in their German form. But I quibble. Very engaging story. ( )

Jeffery Deaver’s WWII thriller novel

This novel deals with a gangster’s henchman being sent to Germany to assassinate a prominent Nazi. Main characters include a police detective investigating a murder in Berlin, an important member of the Nazi regime, a spiv and a landlady. The inevitable double-crosses, denunciations and twists follow with surprising effect.

This did not engage me in the way that other Deaver novels have done in the past. I was particularly annoyed by the dumbing-down of familiar German terms into English: Heil Hitler becomes Hail Hitler, Mein Fuhrer becomes My Leader and the Third Reich becomes the Third Empire!

Although quite engaging, I did not enjoy this as much as many of the author’s other works
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