White Flag Down

by Joel N. Ross

The acclaimed author of Double Cross Blind takes you on a breathtaking chase through World War II Europe, where everyone’s motives are suspect—and nobody is neutral. Now Joel Ross takes you back to one of the most dangerous and pivotal moments of World War II.

In June of 1941, two years after signing a on-Aggression Pact, Nazi Germany invaded the Soviet Union. Within six months, the Russians lost a thousand miles and three million men—and in, 1942, the relentless German Wehrmacht swept into Stalin’s namesake city, Stalingrad. Combat seethed in the city streets, ten thousand Soviet soldiers died in one day fighting for a single hill.

Now, in mid-September 1942, Hitler orders a final offensive’ to capture Stalingrad. Yet on October 7t, the German army pauses. As General von Richthofen, commander of the Luftwaffe, writes in his diary: “Absolute quiet at Stalingrad.”

After months of combat, a sudden silence rises on the eastern front.

But why?

White Flag Down tells the story of an American airman, a Russian major, and a Swiss journalist in a crucial race against time during this eerie quiet on the battlefield. In n unlikely alliance they have united to track down the one document that could stop negotiations between Germany and Russia for another Non-Aggression Pact—a truce that would open the floodgates for German domination of the Western world.

Unfortunately, they’re not the only ones aware of the document’s importance, and time is running out.

Patricia Cornwell called Joel Ross’s debut novel, Double Cross Blind, “a superb World War II thriller …haunting and unforgettable.”

Genres: Fiction, Historical Fiction, Thriller, War

370 pages, Hardcover

First published July 26, 2007

About the author

Joel Ross is the author of two World War II thrillers for adults (Double Cross Blind and White Flag Down). The Fog Diver is his tween debut. He lives in Santa Barbara, California, with his wife, Lee Naftali, who is also a full-time writer, and his son, Ben, who is a full-time kid.

Reviews

[Lemar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ross has a take on the WWII thriller that I love. Like LeCarre he delivers a riveting stories with compelling characters which are backed by sound and fascinating political motivations. In this book he delves into the murky and shady role Switzerland played in WWII. Swiss banks today are the primary enablers behind the fortunes of drug kings and African dictators. During WWII they were the vital mechanism by which Hitler's dictatorship obtained the hard currency they needed for natural resources, like oil, that they lacked and could not yet obtain by force.
As a history major I appreciated the sound grasp of the complex national political ambitions portrayed by Ross. The Soviet Union taking the brunt of the German onslaught while the British and Americans held their hand until they could deliver the fatal blow is brought to life through the characters that find themselves in Switzerland circa the early Fall of 1942.
It has been five years since this book was published (2007) and I for one am impatient for the next!

[Johnny G. · Rating 2 out of 5]

Well, I learned a little bit about how Switzerland was able to remain neutral in World War II...after all, it was surrounded by axis powers and remained relatively unscathed. This is a story that fits that piece of history, and also connects the temporary cease fire between Nazi Germany and Russia on the eastern front in 1942. There’s a lot of running around, trying to prevent the wrong hands from getting a bit of information in this (what I thought to be) underdeveloped historical fiction book between an American, a Swiss mother and son, three generations of Russians, and some power-hungry Germans. It’s a lot to digest, but the meal wasn’t cooked well enough.

[james · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a first novel by the author. It's an espionage novel, which takes place in Switzerland in October, 1942. There are too many characters in a plot about attempts to stop the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany from signing a cease-fire. I doubt there were any such talks, but if so, they flopped. The Red Army then proceeded to crush the German 6th Army, from which the Nazis never recovered. It's a bit overwritten, but still enjoyable.

[Carmen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Set in World War II, this is the story of an American who sees an incredibly different plane while flying in Switzerland. He and his pilot crash, but only after taking pictures. He is picked up by the Swiss, and kept in captivity. He escapes and this is when the ins and outs of the story really begin.

[Gina Mendola · Rating 5 out of 5]

Got off to a somewhat slow start but soon it was hard to put down!

[Louie Haltom · Rating 3 out of 5]

not very gooe

[Annie ⚜️ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyable read. Interesting take on Switzerland during WWII.

[Louise · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fairly deep, wonder if we came that close to losing the war.

[Eloisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good book and story, a bit long though. But a good read overall.

[Kevin · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an okay book. The story slowed a bit in the middle and the end was rushed.