August 18, 2008
Larsen (The Perfect Assassin
) links the torpedoing of the USS Indianapolis
shortly after the ship delivers an atomic bomb to the island of Tinian in the South Pacific to a Nazi plot in his second thriller, set in the waning days of WWII. Maj. Michael Thatcher, a tenacious British officer whose job is to hunt down Nazi spies, is intrigued when the words “Manhattan Project” come up in one of his interrogations. Meanwhile, in Germany, Col. Hans Gruber knows that a sleeper spy, Die Wespe, who's been working on the atomic bomb project in Los Alamos, must be smuggled out of the U.S. with his stolen plans so that those Nazis who survive the war can rearm and continue their goal of world domination. Charged with this mission is Capt. Alexander Braun, an American fighting in the German army. Braun is clever and ruthless, but once Thatcher catches his scent, he won't rest until Braun is captured or killed. An innovative, original plot marks Larsen as an author to watch.
August 15, 2008
Larsen's second thriller (after "The Perfect Assassin") is a well-written, well-researched, and compelling tale of the chase for nuclear secrets in the final days of World War II. Nazi sniper Alex Braun, a German raised in the States, is smuggled into America to locate a Third Reich spy buried in the Manhattan Project at Los Alamos. British intelligence major Michael Thatcher discovers Braun's presence but not his purpose or his whereaboutshe's staying with an old flame, the wealthy Lydia Cole. Braun, who wants to get the spy's secrets and sell them to the Soviets, is a killer, and his trek to both New Mexico and Guam is littered with the bodies of those who've crossed his path. Meanwhile, Thatcher and Lydia have joined the chase. An easy and gripping read, this is recommended for all popular fiction collections.Robert Conroy, Warren, MI
Copyright 2008 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
September 1, 2008
Leaders in the Third Reich see the end coming and decide to launch a bold plan. One of their most valuable spies in the U.S. is working on a top-secret initiative called the Manhattan Project, prompting the Nazis to send their top agent, ruthless killer Alexander Braun, to reconnoiter with the spy. Born in America, Braun heads back to the States with a personal agenda: visit the woman he was forced to leave behind when he left the country. He finds himself torn between his feelings for her and his mission. Meanwhile, British intelligencelearns of Braun and sends one of its best agents after him. All of their lives collide at the dawn of the atomic age. This is well-trod groundJoseph Kanons Los Alamos (1997), for exampleand Larsens characters and story line provide no real surprises. Still, for readers who cant get enough of the Manhattan Project in fiction, this is a serviceable thriller.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2008, American Library Association.)