The Holcroft Covenant

Re-read this after several decades. This one either didn't age well or I've grown weary of conspiracy theories because of all the nutcases in the world. Besides, we no longer have to worry about a re-emergent Nazi party in the shadows because they are all out there and proud of it these days. Sigh. Anyway, standard boilerplate Ludlum. Clueless hero figures it out, gets the girl and most of his friends and colleagues die in the process. I did like the final ending.

What would happen if in the final stages of WWII, high ranking Nazi officials who knew the 3rd Reich was about to collapse, made a bold move and set the wheels in motion to begin the 4th Reich...but not for a very long time. Noel Holcroft, a young American architectand, unknowingly the son of one of Hitler's closest officers who supposedly committed suicide in the last days of the Reich, is given a letter, written by his father before his death, directing him to go to Geneva, and contact a certain bank.He flies to Geneva where he sees an astonishing document that is the key to a $780 million fund sequestered to aid survivors of the Holocaust. All that is required is his signature.
But the document is a lie and the fund's real purpose is show more to establish a new Nazi Reich. If Holcraft signs the document, he will be validating his own death warrant...but paradoxically, only by signing it can he prevent the plot he has uncovered from reaching its predestined conclusion. When you read a Ludlum book you know that something unusual is going to happen to the main character, he's going to be forced to give up his normal life to go out and 'save the world,' there's lots of shooting of the bad guys, a damsel in distress who will eventually fall in love with the hero, who will either end up saving the world, or physically chopped to pieces, but he survives to take on the bad guys again. Having said that, I must add that it works, I just keep reading those books and waiting for the twist and the ensuing action. show less

A book that has cost me a lot of headaches. Conspiracy theories after conspiracies, old plans for the future that need to become reality. Constructed ingeniously 30 years ago and now told. Not an easy book, but interesting.

The Second World War is over. Three top Nazis have embezzled $780 million from Nazi funds - and then committed suicide. Their Covenant, to be inherited by their three eldest children, is to redistribute this vast wealth amongst the survivors of the Holocaust. Reparation must be made.

Conventional Noel Holcroft is one of the inheritors and his mission is to find the other two 'children' and prove himself worthy of his task. But the Sonnenkinder, the Children of the Sun, are determined to gain control of the millions and establish a Nazi Fourth Reich. As Holcroft tries to carry out his destiny, he finds himself enmeshed in a bewildering, horrifying nightmare.

A formula Ludlum book, but keeps you busy on a long train ride, many twists and show more turns in the plot to keep you turning the pages. show less

An Excellent Thriller!

I believe this was the first book by Robert Ludlum the I read. The story is about the son of high ranking Nazi officer, Noel Holcroft, who is given a document that after he reads it, his life will never be the same. Noel learns that his father was deeply involved with the Third Reich, and that he stole a lot of money from the holocaust victims. He also finds out the he must find other people in order for them to get access to the cash. Midway through the book Noel finds that there are looking for him also. There are lots of twists and turns and the ending caught me off guard. It wasn't what I expected at all. Still, the book was a great read. Highly recommend.

This was written a couple years before the first Jason Bourne novel. This novel is sort of a precursor to the Bourne novels with the many double crosses and chases of various kinds through a number of different cities on different continents all in a relatively short amount of time. You can almost see Bourne loosening up getting ready to have his time in the limelight. Well worth the investment of time to either read or listen to.

My first Ludlum. Enjoyable book, though I did get a bit confused between the various entities.