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Overview
Based on a true story: A Spanish sea captain rescues four German castaways during a treacherous storm in 1940. He doesn’t know who they are or where they came from, but one of them gives him a mysterious gold-and-diamond emblem before disembarking. Decades later, the captain’s son receives a substantial offer for it and is told an astounding story behind the object: it holds the key to Paul Reiner’s lifelong quest. . . .
Munich, 1919. After his family falls into disgrace, fifteen-year-old Paul dreams of the heroic father he never knew. But one night, seconds before committing suicide, Paul’s cousin reveals a terrible secret about his father’s death. This discovery turns Paul’s world upside down and leads him on a hunt in Nazi Germany to uncover the mystery surrounding his father’s death.
The Traitor’s Emblem is an epic novel spanning decades of family betrayal, impossible love, and the high price of vengeance. Set against the menacing streets of Depression-era Munich and the cruel rise of Nazism, Gómez-Jurado’s spellbinding thriller proves again that he is a master of narration.
Synopsis
A spellbinding novel about an epic mystery set against the rise of Nazism that spans decades of family betrayal, impossible love, and the high price of vengeance.Based on a true story: A Spanish sea captain rescues four German castaways during a treacherous storm in 1940. He doesn’t know who they are or where they came from, but one of them gives the captain a mysterious gold-and-diamond emblem before disembarking. Decades later, the captain’s son receives a substantial offer for it and is told an astounding story behind the object: it holds the key to Paul Reiner’s lifelong quest. . . .
Munich, 1919. After his family falls into disgrace, fifteen-year-old Paul dreams of the heroic father he never knew. But one night, seconds before committing suicide, Paul’s cousin reveals a terrible secret about his father’s death. This discovery turns Paul’s world upside down and leads him on a hunt in Nazi Germany to uncover the mystery surrounding his father’s death.
The Traitor’s Emblem is an epic novel spanning decades of family betrayal, impossible love, and the high price of vengeance. Set against the menacing streets of Depression-era Munich and the cruel rise of Nazism, Juan Gómez-Jurado’s spellbinding thriller proves again that he is a master storyteller.
Editorials
Publishers Weekly
A star-crossed lovers plot line straight out of a second-rate romance novel hobbles this thriller set mostly in interwar Germany from Spanish author Gómez-Jurado (The Moses Expedition). In 1919 Munich, Alys Tannenbaum, the pretty 15-year-old daughter of a wealthy Jewish businessman who keeps her on a tight leash, meets impoverished 15-year-old Paul Reiner at a birthday party for Paul's obnoxious aristocratic cousin, Jürgen von Schroeder. When Jürgen forces Alys to dance with him and won't let go, Paul, who's working as a waiter at the party, infuriates Jürgen by coming to Alys's rescue. Later, Jürgen loses an eye when he and six thugs attack Paul, who escapes with minor injuries. Meanwhile, Paul is obsessed with learning the truth about his naval captain father's death, which may be connected with the von Schroeder family. Once Jürgen joins the Nazis, the remaining plot arc and points of conflict between him and Paul become all too predictable. Contrivances advance the story more than once. (July)From the Publisher
"With a compelling plot, a vivid historical context, a rapid pace, an exciting mystery, and excellent characterizations, the novel will satisfy fans of Da Vinci Code–like conspiracy tales as well as those who savor multidimensional literary thrillers." —starred Booklist review"The Traitor's Emblem by Juan Gómez-Jurado is a spellbinding story. Only he could pull this off!" —Katherine Neville, bestselling author of The Eight
"Gómez-Jurado has surpassed himself. Sparked by a historical event, he has crafted an emotional novel filled with surprises. This is just the type of book I love to read." —Javier Sierra, bestselling author of The Secret Supper
“A riveting love story, [...] and a villain so evil he makes Hitler look like a pretty nice fellow.”
—Kirkus Reviews
"Sizzles with tension and twists that both entertain and magnetize. The imagination of Juan Gómez-Jurado is a wonder to behold and an amazing place to visit." —Steve Berry, New York Times bestselling author of The Jefferson Key
"A heart-thumping story teeming with secrets and deceptions." —Daily Express (UK)
Library Journal
In 1940 in the Strait of Gibraltar, a Spanish captain rescues a group of German castaways; one of them begs not to be returned to Germany and gives the captain a unique medallion. Years later the captain's son learns the history of this object after refusing to sell it. The story begins in Munich in 1919 as Paul Reiner, whose family has fallen into disgrace, works as a domestic at his half-brother Jürgen's birthday party. There he gallantly extricates Alys Tannenbaum from Jürgen's clutches, embarrassing Jürgen and sealing his own fate. Jürgen displays the violence and cowardice that have become fictional clichés in the portraits of nascent Nazi youth. Over time Paul flourishes in business, while Jürgen, fueled by jealousy and hatred, rises in the Nazi Party. We witness the rise of Hitler's influence as virulent anti-Semitism and anti-Freemasonry sentiments emerge. VERDICT From the misleading title, readers would expect this thriller to be about the medallion, but family intrigue and the quest for revenge dominate the tale. Although Gómez-Jurado is a good storyteller, for artifact provenance stories Steve Berry is the reigning maestro. If you want a peek at secret Masonic handshakes and rituals, however, Gómez-Jurado may have just lifted the veil. [See Prepub Alert, 1/24/11.]—Laura A.B. Cifelli, Ft. Myers-Lee Cty. P.L., FLKirkus Reviews
Spanish author Gómez-Jurado's third outing (Moses Expedition, 2010, etc.) offers a redeeming love story set against the unlikely background of extreme violence in Nazi Germany.
The story opens with a Spanish sea captain saving the lives of four strangers he finds lashed to a raft in a raging storm. After risking his own to bring the four on board, one steps forward and gives him a golden emblem, which the captain then passes down to his own son. Later, a man who tries to buy the emblem tells the son how the emblem came into his father's hands. This is the meat of the novel. The story begins with Paul Reiner, who along with his mother, Ilse, lives with his cruel and calculating aunt and her husband, a baron. They have two sons, one who has gone off to fight for Germany in World War I, and the second, Jürgen, who is slightly older than Paul. Paul reveres the kind older brother, but the younger is a vicious child, who delights in tormenting his cousin and aunt, who both work as servants. Paul's greatest sorrow is that he knows little of his father, who died when he was an infant. All he knows is his father has been called a traitor, but his mother worships her dead husband and still mourns him. When Jürgen attacks Paul after Paul defends the honor of a young Jewish girl, Alys Tannenbaum, both Paul and his mother flee for their lives. They move into a boarding house where Paul strikes out to find a job to keep them from starving and, against the background of a growing Nazi threat, eventually reunites with Alys, setting in motion a series of events that brings the evil Jürgen back into their lives.
The author tells a riveting love story, spoiled only by the unlikely incorporation of Freemasonry into the plot and a villain so evil he makes Hitler look like a pretty nice fellow.