Author: Steve Anderson
Year Published: 2016
Genre: Adult historical fiction
Pages: 314
Rating: 4 out of 5
Location (my 2016 Google Reading map): Germany
FTC Disclosure: I was given a copy of this book for review
Summary (from the back of the book): Occupied Munich, 1946: Irina, a Cossack refugee, confesses to murdering a GI, but American Captain Harry Kaspar doesn't buy it. When Harry scours the devastated city for the truth, he finds his long-lost German brother, Max, who returned to Hitler's Germany before the war.
Max has a questionable past, and he needs Harry for the cause that could redeem him: rescuing Irina's stranded clan of Cossacks who have been disavowed by the Allies and are now being hunted by Soviet death squads--the cold-blooded upshot of a callous postwar policy. As a harsh winter brews, the Soviets close in, and the Cold War looms, Harry and Max desperately plan for a risky last-ditch rescue on a remote stretch of the German-Czech border. A mysterious visitor from Max's darkest days shadows them. Everyone is a suspect, including Harry's lover, Sabine, and Munich detective Hartmut Dietz--both of whom have pledged to help. But before the Kaspar brothers can save the innocent victims of peace, grave secrets and the deep contempt sown during the war threaten to damn them all.
Review: Thank you to TLC Tours for always keeping me reading books that I wouldn't otherwise find out about! When I read the description of the author and this book I thought they would be a really good match for me. Like the author, I lived in Germany (Anderson was a fullbright in Munich and I studied in Bonn during college), I have a Masters in History, and I concentrated on Germany and World War II). Crazy, right?FTC Disclosure: I was given a copy of this book for review
Max has a questionable past, and he needs Harry for the cause that could redeem him: rescuing Irina's stranded clan of Cossacks who have been disavowed by the Allies and are now being hunted by Soviet death squads--the cold-blooded upshot of a callous postwar policy. As a harsh winter brews, the Soviets close in, and the Cold War looms, Harry and Max desperately plan for a risky last-ditch rescue on a remote stretch of the German-Czech border. A mysterious visitor from Max's darkest days shadows them. Everyone is a suspect, including Harry's lover, Sabine, and Munich detective Hartmut Dietz--both of whom have pledged to help. But before the Kaspar brothers can save the innocent victims of peace, grave secrets and the deep contempt sown during the war threaten to damn them all.
Although I enjoyed reading this book, it didn't lure me in as I thought it would. It took me a good 100 pages to really get into it. Maybe that's because at about page 100 is when the "story" begins with the Cossaks hidden in the forest. I felt like before that point, there was a lot of extra that was building up to the main storyline.
I appreciate that this book is historically accurate and it is definitely set during an interesting time period. I think a lot of people read books about the Holocaust or other events set during World War II, but reading about the aftermath in Germany is less common. For that, I applaud the author. It was good to read about all the groups that had an interest in post-war Germany, the strained relations among them, and how easy it is for individuals to cross lines. Overall, this book was a bit of a slow go for me. I think I wanted more action up front.
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