The fourth novel in this series chronicling John Russell’s experiences during the rise and fall of Nazi Germany picks up in the very closing days as the Red Army is encircling and about to enter Berlin. The last days of the Third Reich are graphically told, as the population suffers from Allied bombing and Soviet shelling, and the German army is fading from lack of personnel and equipment.
The plot finds Russell talking his way into Moscow in an effort to get to Berlin to find and safeguard his girlfriend, Effi, the former movie star who has remained in Berlin after Russell escaped to Sweden and then the United States three years before, and his son, Paul, who is serving in the German army. Effi has been helping to rescue Jews and there is probably a warrant out for her arrest. Somehow, Russell manages to convince an NKVD officer to parachute him into the Nazi capital in exchange for a secret mission to be performed upon his arrival.
There are numerous errors throughout the text, as if no one, including Spellcheck, proofed the typeset. Aside from this negative aspect, the novel certainly is well-written and the action and story is exciting. The drama of the last days of Berlin is certainly dramatic, the plot is clever, and the novel recommended.
