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Overview
In this mesmerizing novel of intrigue the author of The Assassini and The Wind Chill Factor takes us into a chilling world of desire, betrayal, and obsession to weave the story of individual destinies drawn violently into the vortex of history. London, 1940, an age of darkness and terror. Hitler's armies are marching across Europe and North Africa, crushing all in their path, and the fate of the British Empire - of Western civilization - hangs in the balance. Prime Minister Winston Churchill has set into motion a daring plan: a raid code-named Praetorian that will send a team of handpicked commandos into the desert to assassinate German Field Marshal Erwin Rommel. It is a mission doomed to failure. And for two men - and the woman they both love - the debacle will exact a bitter and terrible toll. The friendship between Max Hood, hero of the empire who rode alongside T. E. Lawrence in Arabia, and the young American correspondent Rodger Godwin was forged in the 1920s in Paris - city of Hemingway, hot jazz, and free love. It was there that they both met a girl alluring beyond her years, Priscilla DewBrittain - Cilla - who by 1940 would be a star of the British screen, Max Hood's wife, and the secret love of Godwin's life. Now Hood has been chosen to command the attack on Rommel's headquarters, and Godwin has been offered an exclusive on the story. At Churchill's personal request, the American accepts an active role in the assassination of the Desert Fox. But the Nazis lie in ambush. The plan has been betrayed. Consumed by his desire for Cilla and his guilt over the outcome of Operation Praetorian, Godwin vows to track down the traitor and kill him. His search for revenge is driven by obsession, one that draws him into a labyrinth of political intrigue and private passions. Gradually Godwin begins to discover how little he really knew: the truth about Hood, about Cilla, about himself... about the secrets shared between one man and another and between a man and a woThe author of the New York Times bestseller The Assassini creates a masterful suspense tale of romantic obsession and betrayal in World War II. American correspondent Rodger Godwin is asked by Churchill to cover a British commando raid to kill Field Marshal Rommel. But when all but Godwin are killed, he is suspected of treason.
Editorials
Publishers Weekly -
This espionage thriller by the author of The Assassini portrays an American journalist on a mission to kill German Field Marshall Rommel. (July)Library Journal
The author of The Assassini (Bantam, 1990) begins his latest novel in 1940s London with a love triangle that involves internationally renowned journalist Rodger Godwin, who cuckolds his old friend General Max Hood with the decorated hero's wife Cilla, a young actress. At Winston Churchill's request, Hood and Godwin embark on the ill-fated secret mission that gives the novel its title. Their goal is to kill Rommel in North Africa, but the men have been betrayed and fall victim to a Nazi ambush that only Godwin survives. Guilt and revenge drive him to pursue the traitor into a labyrinth of double-dealing. Based on an actual World War II desert mission, the narrative stimulates the reader with illicit romance, adventure, and a suspenseful plot, although some of the flashbacks are rather pedestrian and too long. Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 12/92. --Mary Ellen Elsbernd, Northern Kentucky Univ. Lib., Highland HeightsKirkus Reviews
Grandly melodramatic—if overlong—WW II intrigue from Gifford (Hollywood Gothic, 1979; The Glendower Legacy, 1978, etc.) centering on a top-secret raid to assassinate legendary Nazi General Erwin Rommel. "It is a good thing to remember," writes Gifford, "that once...there was a great moral conflict...that had to be won." This epic thriller is a tribute to the valor of those who fought in that conflict. At its heart stand three resonant characters—top Yank reporter Rodger Godwin and two Brits: Cilla Hood, the film star whom Rodger loves, and Max Hood, a war hero who rode with Lawrence in Arabia—and who's Rodger's friend but also Cilla's husband. Gifford opens with a powerhouse scene: a Blitz-bombing of a London club that sees the three principals aiding the wounded—Max in the lead, as always, with Rodger and Cilla following and stealing glances even as they work; a dying mother's concern solely for her child sets the theme of stalwart courage. A year later, Rodger and Cilla are tormented lovers, and Rodger's guilt grows when he's visited by Churchill (one of many sharp historical cameos scattered throughout), who asks him to cover the desert foray to kill Rommel—a raid to be led by Max. During the exciting unfolding of the expedition, all the raiders, including Max, die in an ambush—except Rodger. Cut to 1927 and an extended Paris-set flashback that details the cementing, through violence, of Rodger and Max's bond and of their love for the then-pubescent Cilla. Cut back to the war: It's clear that someone betrayed the expedition—and Rodger, sleeping with Max's wife, is the chief suspect. Rodger, though, tracks down the real culprit andkills him—or does he? A violent, storm-swept climax reveals the twisty, if not terribly surprising, truth. Positively stirring, despite the overplotting, and brimming with bold action and characters: Chalk up another likely big hit for Gifford. (First printing of 50,000)Book Details
Published
March 1, 1995
Publisher
Bantam
Pages
736
Format
Paperback
ISBN
9780553763386