This debut novel exhibits all the characteristics of a well-seasoned author. It is well-written, tightly plotted and full of suspense. Who could ask for anything more? It is a story replete with history and peril, set in Argentina. It begins when Dr. Gerson Asher, a top surgeon at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City, witnesses the murder of his grandfather at JFK upon the latter’s arrival from Argentina carrying a briefcase which is stolen by two thugs.
In his dying breath, the grandfather tells Gerson to remove a piece of paper from his pocket. It is the first of many clues the Argentine leaves in various locations to lead Gerson to a discovery on his property in the South American nation. The discovery was apparently a hoard of gold, diamonds and artworks stolen by the Nazis during World War II and secretly shipped across the Atlantic to be hidden in a bunker in northern Argentina during the Peron era. However, it was snatched away and lost for decades until the grandfather accidentally found the loot.
The clues cleverly guide the doctor step by step until he too finds the secret stash, but not until he and his companions, including a Mossad agent and two women, are subjected to all kinds of peril and even torture by neo-Nazi pursuers.
The author, of Argentine descent, is a prominent surgeon and uses this background to enhance various aspects of the novel. It is an exciting read and well worth the effort to devour it. Recommended.
