Publisher's Weekly
Seasoned war novelist Hunter ( The Blue Max ) won't win many new fans with this uneven caper. Just four months after V-E Day, at least seven bombers, 400 HE bombs and 1000 cases of ammo have disappeared from American stockpiles. To complicate the puzzle, someone is transfering captured Nazi pilots to an unauthorized detainment camp in Italy. Is this an American plot okayed by President Truman to detail the secretly advancing Communist forces? Or a Stalinist scheme to make the Allies appear to be breaking their treaty, thus giving Russia carte blanche to invade all of Europe? Or is some crazed general, aided by profit-hungry capitalists, doing his utmost to keep his job in a time of peace? Those nearing the answer are violently put out of commission. All, that is, except Major Kaufmann, a feminist by 1940s Army standards: he likes women because they are ''a very great deal . . . smarter than men and are not nearly so profane and smelly.'' These intelligent ladies are, however, given dialogue like ''I don't wee-wee when I'm nervous, damn it!'' and ''Stick it up your heinie, Fatso.'' When not inciting clever repartee, Kaufmann leans towards philosophizing (e.g., ''Adolf realized there's a Nazi lurking in everyone, for proof one need only to drive in rush-hour traffic.'')
AudioFile - John Niessink
In the months immediately after WWII, an American intelligence officer in Germany unravels a convoluted plot to trigger hostilities with the USSR. This is the sort of thing that gives genre fiction a good name. Familiar ground is covered with sufficient depth of thought and richness of detail to keep it fresh and interesting. Barrett Whitener gives a secure, distraction-free performance that lets the story speak for itself. His slightly low-key tone is appropriate to the writing. His characters are well defined without becoming caricatures or virtuoso displays. Listeners familiar with German may occasionally wish he had polished his pronunciation and phrasing of that language. J.N. ©AudioFile, Portland, Maine
Genre: Mystery
Seasoned war novelist Hunter ( The Blue Max ) won't win many new fans with this uneven caper. Just four months after V-E Day, at least seven bombers, 400 HE bombs and 1000 cases of ammo have disappeared from American stockpiles. To complicate the puzzle, someone is transfering captured Nazi pilots to an unauthorized detainment camp in Italy. Is this an American plot okayed by President Truman to detail the secretly advancing Communist forces? Or a Stalinist scheme to make the Allies appear to be breaking their treaty, thus giving Russia carte blanche to invade all of Europe? Or is some crazed general, aided by profit-hungry capitalists, doing his utmost to keep his job in a time of peace? Those nearing the answer are violently put out of commission. All, that is, except Major Kaufmann, a feminist by 1940s Army standards: he likes women because they are ''a very great deal . . . smarter than men and are not nearly so profane and smelly.'' These intelligent ladies are, however, given dialogue like ''I don't wee-wee when I'm nervous, damn it!'' and ''Stick it up your heinie, Fatso.'' When not inciting clever repartee, Kaufmann leans towards philosophizing (e.g., ''Adolf realized there's a Nazi lurking in everyone, for proof one need only to drive in rush-hour traffic.'')
AudioFile - John Niessink
In the months immediately after WWII, an American intelligence officer in Germany unravels a convoluted plot to trigger hostilities with the USSR. This is the sort of thing that gives genre fiction a good name. Familiar ground is covered with sufficient depth of thought and richness of detail to keep it fresh and interesting. Barrett Whitener gives a secure, distraction-free performance that lets the story speak for itself. His slightly low-key tone is appropriate to the writing. His characters are well defined without becoming caricatures or virtuoso displays. Listeners familiar with German may occasionally wish he had polished his pronunciation and phrasing of that language. J.N. ©AudioFile, Portland, Maine
Genre: Mystery
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