Top-notch storytelling filled with emotion and drama.
A small band of heroes tries to thwart the Nazi stranglehold on Rome.
In 1944, “Satan went walking in Italy,” and German troops occupy the Eternal City. They leave the tiny Vatican alone in exchange for the pope’s strict neutrality, although at any moment they could crush its quarter of a square mile in the blink of an eye. Against His Holiness’s apparent wishes, a daring group in the Vatican harbors the Choir, a band of Escape Line activists who help Allied POWs and other fugitives evade enemy capture. Monsignor Hugh O’Flaherty, a real historical figure, leads the rescue efforts at great personal risk and despite apparent disapproval by Pope Pius. My Father’s House (2023) established the basic premise: Save as many people as possible from the villainous Obersturmbannführer Paul Hauptmann. In this exciting sequel, an Allied airman is shot down and wounded, parachuting to an uncertain fate. The Choir brings him in, but he desperately needs medical help to save his life. They can only find a French medical student who has never performed surgery before, and she risks her life to help. The characters are memorable: Monsignor O’Flaherty speaks seven languages, is “fluent in silences,” and often breaks his vow of obedience to papal authority. The widowed Contessa Giovanna Landini shows great courage in standing up to Hauptmann, even when he takes over her home. Meanwhile, Himmler sends Hauptmann a top-secret communiqué warning of the Führer’s “intense displeasure” that the Escape Line still exists. Hauptmann is ordered to complete the job of liquidating the “criminals” escaping into Rome and “smash the Escape Line. Or face the inevitable.” Himmler reminds him that his family is living in Berlin. The story is exciting and rich with prose that’s a joy to read: An American looks at the night sky and declares, “The angels ride Harleys.…The stars are their headlights coming.” This well researched novel can stand on its own, but readers may find even more enjoyment reading My Father’s House first.
Top-notch storytelling filled with emotion and drama.Pub Date: Feb. 4, 2025
ISBN: 9798889660620
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Europa Editions
Review Posted Online: Nov. 9, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: today
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Fast-moving excitement with a satisfying finish.
The feds must protect an accused criminal and an orphaned girl.
Maybe you’ve met him before as protagonist of The 6:20 Man (2022): Ex-Army Ranger Travis Devine, who’d had the dubious fortune to tangle with “the girl on the train,” is now assigned by his homeland security boss to protect Danny Glass, who's awaiting trial on multiple RICO charges in Washington state. Devine has what it takes: He “was a closer, snooper, fixer, investigator,” and, when necessary, a killer. These skills are on full display as the deaths of three key witnesses grind justice to a temporary halt. Glass has a 12-year-old niece, Betsy Odom, and each is the other’s only living relative—her parents recently died of an apparent drug overdose. The FBI has temporary guardianship of Betsy, who's a handful. She tells Travis that though she’s not yet 13, she's 28 in “life-shit years.” The financially well-heeled Glass wants to be her legal guardian with an eye to eventual adoption, but what are his real motives? And what happens to her if he's convicted? Meanwhile, Betsy insists that her parents never touched drugs, and she begs Travis to find out how they really died. This becomes part of a mission that oozes danger. The small town of Ricketts has a woman mayor who’s full of charm on the surface, but deeply corrupt and deadly when crossed. She may be linked to a subversive group called "12/24/65," as in 1865, when the Ku Klux Klan beast was born. Blood flows, bombs explode, and people perish, both good guys and not-so-good guys. Readers might ponder why in fiction as well as in life, it sometimes seems necessary for many to die so one may live. And what about the girl on the train? She's not necessary to the plot, but she's a fun addition as she pops in and out of the pages, occasionally leaving notes for Travis. Maybe she still wants him dead.
Fast-moving excitement with a satisfying finish.Pub Date: Nov. 12, 2024
ISBN: 9781538757901
Page Count: 432
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Review Posted Online: Sept. 14, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2024
Plenty of excitement for Clancy fans.
Chinese president Li Jian Jun plans a sneak attack on Taiwan, and it’s up to the Jack Ryan administration to stop him without going to war.
President Li announces a naval exercise, but his real plan is Operation Sea Serpent, the lightning reunification of Taiwan. His minister of defense, Admiral Qin Hâiyû, thinks the idea is crazy because a great number of people would die, but he can’t say so. Li is not a man to be challenged, and he’s already had one of his ministers executed. But Qin wants to stop the war before it begins. Perhaps he can get word to the Americans so they can cut off the mad scheme, and he’s troubled by whether his actions will make him a traitor or a patriot. A Western asset nicknamed the Spider helps facilitate his dangerous disappearance as he attempts to leave China, and authorities in Beijing don’t know if he’s been kidnapped or has defected. Meanwhile, the Ryan administration wants to get him safely extracted from mainland China. President Ryan orders that an American naval vessel will transit through the Strait of Taiwan, which the People’s Republic has blockaded. Will there be a bloody showdown that triggers a major war? So much can go wrong, and there are series regulars like John Clark and Ding Chavez at the tip of the spear. And there’s also Katie Ryan, a lieutenant commander with the Office of Naval Intelligence who’s deployed to Taiwan because she’s “one hell of an intelligence analyst” who “thinks outside the box.” She’s a “rising star” who refuses to trade on her relationship with her father, President Ryan. There’s not much violence, although there’s enough to call it a military thriller. One brave American is fading fast from a round to his chest, but he has time to smile about that “hot” Katie Ryan. (Yes, yes, we all like the Ryans.) The novel’s big question is not which nation wins, but whether they fight. Bravery and clear thinking will have to come from both sides. By the way, Jack Junior isn’t in this one—it’s Katie’s time to shine.
Plenty of excitement for Clancy fans.Pub Date: Dec. 3, 2024
ISBN: 9780593717974
Page Count: 432
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: Oct. 10, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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