Vic. Robbie

*** Note: I received a review copy of this book from the author, in exchange for an honest review. I am glad I got a chance to read this book. ***

4.5 Stars

In a Pursuit of Platinum is first book of Ben Peter Thriller Series that as title says, reveals Shocking secret of WWII. Whether the history in book is true or not, it was damn shocking, thrilling, and nail-biting political historical fiction that kept me on the edge of the seat till the end.

Story was third person narrative revolved around show more three main characters, Ben Peters, Alena, and Ludwig Weber (antagonist). It was about adventurous journey of Ben, Alena, and her son Freddie from Paris to England in the Bentley loaded with most precious metal Platinum, with many obstacles on their way. It was about the secret Alena had against Nazis that could change the course of war.

She was even more important than platinum both for Nazis and British people. To stop her from escaping top German officer and investigator, Ludwig Webner, was given the task to capture her by Adolf Hitler himself. Isn’t that interesting?

What’s the secret, why Germans are so desperate to capture them and what makes Alena more important than platinum? Well, that’s the story.

Characters-
Alena- she was such a strong woman. She was so afraid of torture that she preferred to kill her son and herself than being caught alive. That was horrible! Even after everything her will to reach to safety with her son was remarkable. She was a mysterious till second half of the book. She was very hard on Ben in the first half but in second half closeness between them made book sweet and touching. Sad, there was very less romantic chapters in the book.

Ben- He was such a determined guy. He won’t leave Bentley even he could die with it. Seriously! I’m sure whether it was explained or I missed that part (I’m more sure I have missed it but didn’t go back and read those chapters again) but I couldn’t see a solid reason behind his acceptance for the task and his faithfulness to Bernay. Whatever it was this guy was amazing and such a gentleman in the book. I loved his determination and strong will.

Freddie- he was most adorable and likable character in the book.

Ludwig- He was very complex character. At first I hated him, his action and way of getting information was unlikable but as story progressed, I knew him better. This character showed the intensity of love for family. He would go to any extent to save them. I liked reading his perspective in the book.

All characters were well developed and very important for the story, even the smallest side character. Narration from all character’s perspective gave the detailed background of them and by the end of the book I got to know them better.

What I liked-
This was second book in historical fiction genre with WWII theme after ‘The Book Thief’ that I loved reading because of its easy to follow writing without much political jargons or heavy old English. I just love to read WWII books.

Perfect beginning of the book! A mother’s turmoil with only option either save her son or kill him, German reaching to border of Paris, a banker’s desperate to save platinum so that it can be used to win back his country, an American- a writer, who doesn’t know how to use a gun was given a task to carry platinum and a Frenchwoman with child away from Germans to London, Ludwig’s terrifying ways of getting information - all this created a tense atmosphere from very beginning. Another thing I liked most was short chapters and all ended with cliffhanger.

Ben’s desperate efforts to take Alena to safety and Webner hot on their heels made book most thrilling. Journey from Paris to Spain, Estoril and then the final destination England was very exciting, it covered almost 60% of the book and it was very creatively written that I couldn’t put down the book. Ben and Alena stumbled from one problem to other throughout their journey, it created a tight grip in the book that glued me to seat till the end. I couldn’t guess what will happen next in the book.

Characters were killing and dying was like normal thing by the end of the book. Bloodshed, cruelty and disrespect to women was so frequent that I was no longer shocked or flinched when they killed anyone in book. Most interesting chapters were character’s life story- Ben’s love of writing and writer Ernest Hemingway which was most beautifully narrated; Alena’s story on what happened to her, how she ended as prisoner of German and why she was so important to them; and Ludwig’s love for his family. Oh and Bentley was the star of book. This car had suffered just like characters.

Climax! My goodness! Book was even more interesting. Author created a mind-blowing suspense in the book. Secret was not revealed till last two chapters. And when that moment came it was wow! Not totally unexpected but shocking, yes! and the way it was revealed was brilliant. I highly suggest to those impatient readers not to read end first, it will ruin the fun of book.

why not 5 stars-
Just small thing too many characters and their perspective made it little challenging to follow the story. I had to remember smallest thing about them as it was very important to keep tract of everything in this kind of book. This is what happens- as I said in ‘characters’, I missed that part of Ben’s motive or reason to follow Bernay’s order.

Overall, amazing, thrilling, chilling, nail-biting, fast paced political Historical Fiction with suspense and adventure that I’m sure everyone would love to read. I strongly recommend this book. show less

This book is about so much more than just the spoils of war. The soldiers fighting and dying on the front lines are merely one facet of the overall battle plan. Spies, agents, double agents, entrepreneurs, and politicians all play their own parts in turning the tides.

This story played out like a movie in my head. The mood and setting were in place. The story begins with fear. A Nazi officer fears discovery. Parisians fear the loss of their lives as well as their beloved city. Bombs heard in show more the distance could be felt by the anxious attempting to flee before its too late.

Fade to Ben Peters, an American living and working in Paris. Sent to learn European banking practices, Ben finds himself tasked with the impossible; escape to Portugal with precious cargo. His boss at the bank gives him little choice. France and England need him to succeed.

Read the rest of this review at www.feedmybibliodiction.wordpress.com show less

Let's face it, if you're going to subtitle your novel 'the shocking secret of World War II', it'd better be shocking. And a secret. And it does mean you have to put together a novel to deliver the reader the knockout blow of said secret. Here, I'm afraid, while the secret certainly should have been shocking (and would be, were it true), when it finally came to it, I'd already pretty much guessed what the secret was and wasn't all that shocked. And felt a little let down that I wasn't.

The show more story is that Ben Peters, an American working in Paris in 1940, is to drive a car, a Bentley, loaded with a fortune in platinum. Pretty much the whole of France's monetary resources, to Portugal. There, he is to rendezvous with the British, who will sail/fly him to safety. However, in return for their help, the British have decided he should also take a passenger or two. A Frenchwoman and her young son. Simples. But as the journey progresses, the pursuers and body counts pile up, it becomes more and more clear that the platinum isn't the most valuable thing Peters has in his Bentley.

The secret of why the Frenchwoman and her son are so valuable, is the 'shocking secret' of the title. I'm actually not sure that Mr Robbie, wouldn't in fact like us to be slightly confused by the title and subtitle of the book. Confused enough to wonder if this isn't a non-fiction book and that what the secret is, is/was actually real. It's just that by the time the secret is revealed (if you hadn't sussed it before), the qualms you have over the not quite sharp enough dialogue, quick but limp romance and how on earth they could have driven a Bentley over so many rough, war-strewn French roads and over so much rough Spanish terrain, without losing so much as an ounce of the platinum hidden in various crevices of a pre-war Bentley - kind of obscure and therefore dilute the 'revelation.' Well, they did for me anyway.

It was a fine effort, I enjoyed reading it and it has many good ideas and a plot that actually hangs together more than most. A little let down by the execution though, as I mentioned. But don't let that put you off, as others on Goodreads have obviously found this to be a very good book, giving it an average score of over 4 stars, if I remember rightly. So it's probably just me. To be honest, I found the writing and evocation of war-time Paris, to be more convincing than the chase which takes up much of the book once they're out of the city. I felt the writing from then on could and should have been a bit sharper, a bit more polished. If you're going to get someone on the front cover saying ‘An action adventure story in the tradition of Ken Follett and Robert Harris with the cutting edge of a Tom Clancy or W.E.B Griffin wartime thriller’, you have to make sure you deliver. And this, in the end, didn't quite. This cutting edge felt a little blunt. show less

The Shocking Secret of World War 11

Said in the third person narrative, “In a Pursuit of Platinum” revolves around three characters: Ben Peters, Alena and Ludwig Weber. Whether this adventure is true or not, the quest to extricate from the grips of the German Alena and her son and drive them in a Bentley loaded with the most precious of metal Platinum from occupied Paris through the Pyrenees, Spain and Portugal to hopefully reach the shore of England is at the most shocking, if not a show more nail-biting political saga that for most part kept me on the edge of my seat.

Alena and her son were more important than the platinum both for the Nazis and for England but what made her such a valuable target: thus the title of this book “shocking secret”. All through the story I was confuse enough to wonder if I was reading a non-fiction or a fiction and if that secret was real or not. Many parts of their journey didn’t seem realistic: how could a Bentley loaded down could cover the rough terrain through the mountains without losing some of the platinum or falling in hidden crevices. How did the group managed to escape the hands a War Lord, crossing police blockades and a multitude of traps to only come out with some dents on the Bentley and some scratches on their bodies. Parts were so unrealistic that I questioned if this really could have happened. I deducted parts could have been product of the author imagination in order to enhance his narrative and make his book entertaining and others could have been the real facts….which is which I could not detect, the author never mentioned a word. A fact: “The Freedom Trail (Chemin de la Liberté) did exist and was a WW11 escape route to Spain.

Having said this, the story is nevertheless quite a page-turner I enjoyed reading from start to finish. The style is colourful and it moves at a fast-paced. The writing and evocation of the time in Paris is quite convincing. The characterization is good and is expertly played out, first class act by all of them. Good overall even with its abrupt and disappointing ending. show less