The North Building

The First Trumpet #2

by Jefferson Flanders

New York, January 1951. When columnist Dennis Collins returns to his hometown after covering the brutal Chosin Reservoir battle in Korea, he finds his newspaper closed down and New York on edge about a possible European war with the Russians. Collins is reluctantly drawn into an investigation of leaked American military secrets that focuses on the British diplomats Donald Maclean and Kim Philby (later exposed as members of the infamous Cambridge Five spy ring).

As his search for the truth takes him to Washington, Paris, and London, Collins enters a shadowy world of intrigue where moral boundaries blur and the line between justice and revenge is easily crossed. The North Building tells a story of love and personal redemption, seamlessly blending fact and fiction as it takes the reader from the foxholes of Korea to the corridors of power in the West, with the fate of nations, and individuals, hanging in the balance.

Genres: Fiction, Historical Fiction

430 pages, Paperback

First published July 15, 2013

About the author

Jefferson Flanders, a novelist, has been a sportswriter, columnist, editor, and publishing executive.

He is the author of CAFÉ CAROLINA AND OTHER STORIES, and the critically acclaimed First Trumpet trilogy of HERALD SQUARE, THE NORTH BUILDING, and THE HILL OF THREE BORDERS.

Reviews

[Glen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I won this book in a goodreads drawing.

A reporter returns from the Korean War to new York City. Conditions in Korea were terrible, and he lost a close friend. He was also involved in an anti-espionage that went very badly. His newspaper went out of business. He tries to pick up his life.

Doesn't really seem like it's part of a series.

[Gloria · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent reading. I hope to read more from this author. Entertaining and educational.

[Blaine DeSantis · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like this author's style. This is the 2nd book of the series and while a lot of this book will rehash events from book 1, the story is good. We have a newspaper reporter who was with the troops in Korea and witnessed the debacle at Chosin Reservoir and gets out just in the nick of time. We have warnings of mass ineptitude by top brass, but also what appears to be a failure due to the fact that our plans were given by spies to Moscow who relayed them to China and North Korea. In the end we are left with a book about new love, unexpected past romantic trysts, attempts by the CIA to try and flesh out a spy in the British Ministry who is sending out info to the Communists (Kim Philby) and revenge for a killing in book 1. It is an easy book to read and is written in a style that is easy to follow and understand. I have read 3 of the authors books and want to read a few more. Lots of real historical figures in this book, and also a lot of characters based on historical figures. Interesting book about the early part of the Cold War.

[Michael Young · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great story! Good, interesting, well fleshed out characters. This is a thriller told against the backdrop of the Cold War. The history is well researched and accurate. It's refreshing to read a story that isn't "teched up" or buried in acronyms to give it color.

If historical fiction is your thing, this one is well worth your time.

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Historical fiction is my favorite genre, and The North Building by Jefferson Flanders did not disappoint. Dennis Collins, a news columnist, returns home to New York after covering devastating battles in Korea. After arriving he quickly finds himself in the middle of government intrigue, treasonous spies, and secrets from his past.

I loved Flander’s descriptions and characters. His writing style is very smooth, while the story kept me turning the pages. I will be looking for more by this author.

I thank the author and publisher for the Kindle copy I received through Goodreads Giveaways.

[Tulay · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great historical spy book.

Fictional story of Korean war, Hoover and McCarthyism. Learned so much from author's outstanding research of 1950's and cold war. Great human emotions woven into this spy novel. Excellent book.

[Beverly Duckworth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review the North Building

This book was about the time period of the Korean War until after the election of Eisenhower. If you love history you will love this book.

[Jak60 · Rating 2 out of 5]

The North Building is the second instalment of a trilogy named The First Trumpet; like its preydecessor, this is not a pure espionage novel: there some spy craft (and honestly not the most sophisticated nor subtle you can find in the market), but there are also love stories, war stories, relationships, friendships, secret sons, tragic deaths, etc. One could say this is a modern version of what in the XIX century was called "feuilleton" (no offence intended).
As I started The North Building I was encouraged by 3 good news; first good news is the story got in gear much more quickly than the very slow start of its predecessor and the plot looked stronger. Second good news: the main hero's character development also seemed good; compared to the lighthearted profile of the first book, here Dennis Collins appears as more mature, tested by tough experiences and facing hard challenges. professional and personal. Third, there is in this second book much less baseball, which was excellent news for me.
Then, as the events unfolded, I was progressively disappointed; the story starts getting into big troubles as our heroes cross path with Kim Philby, that's were the mix of fiction with history gets out of whack. The Philby portrayed here is a cardboard character lacking the ambiguous depth and the complex texture of the real one, the events involving him are far fetched and hardly reconcilable with the reality, the dialogues are often wooden. Good examples of how this subject is handled in other books are Ted Allbeury's The Other Side Of Silence and Allan Williams' Gentleman Traitor, just to mention two I recently read.

[Amy J · Rating 3 out of 5]

Disclaimer: I won this book as part of a Kindle Giveaway. This was an opportunity to read a book that I might normally pick up.

I typically do not read a lot of spy type novels. This is the 2nd book in the series. Although there is some time spent in summarizing the first book, I felt that there was something lost by not reading the first. I felt I didn't understand the connections between the characters as well and it was confusing for a bit.

Once I got past that, I enjoyed the integration of the historical characters in the book. It wasn't until the end that I realized some of the characters were historical (Philby, for example). Overall, I enjoyed the book and would recommend to those enjoying this genre in particular.

[Sheryl Branscombe · Rating 2 out of 5]

I received this ebook as a goodreads giveaway. I was excited to get it as have read and enjoyed other books by this author, however this one just didn't do it for me. I don't think it was that it was the second in the series as he did very well at incorporating enough of the story from the first book. I do think there wasn't enough happening in this story. There was some suspense but not developed enough romance was too quick developing . Ending did drop off as well, which if rest of story were complete enough would have been forgivable considering its okay if a series.
I felt the best part of the story was the historical (set near time of Korean War) aspect and the Matt/Penny storyline.

[Thomas Lennek · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cold War Thriller

Author Jefferson Flowers recreates the Cold War paranoia of the early 1950s in a cracking thriller. The protagonist, a journalist is present at the famous Marine Corps breakout at Chosin Reservoir in Korea and returns home to find his world has changed. The plot is excellent. The fictional characters are supported by a wide range of actual people ranging from spy Kim Philby to Brooklyn Dodger shortstop Pee Wee Reese. An excellent read, especially for those who unaware of the events of the early 1950s.

[Kathy · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was ok. Quick read - very black & white about the Cold War. It wasn't until I read the afterword that the nuances of MacArthur's decisions in Korea became clear as they were not presented that way in the book. Also very annoying when the proofreader doesn't catch a mistake about the name of a plane. On one page it was a Stinson, on the next it was a Stilton. Or maybe it was both planes, but the distinction wasn't clear in the writing. That's just sloppy story-telling.

[Dave · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you to author Jefferson Flanders for this FREE Kindle copy of The North Building. And thanks to Goodreads for hosting the opportunity.

Nice cover. A spy thriller on slow burn. Well written story with a good character set that moves along at an even pace. Another run through the editing process would have helped the rating. Otherwise, a good read.

[Deirdre · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wish I could have liked this book more, but the only parts I did like had to do with the actual historical bits about the Korean war. The rest of the story concerning Penny and her egotistical depression and disgusting apologies, no. The new romance, no. I kept wondering when anyone would realize the husband had a serious problem and that he was the real hero.

[Bonnye Reed]

Goodreads Giveaway
20220816

[Cynthia Herzog · Rating 4 out of 5]

I won this book from GoodReads First Reads.

A historical novel taking place in the early 1950's that is part espionage, part political commentary, part love story. Dennis Collins returns from covering the Korean War and the debacle at Chosin Reservoir disillusioned by the execution of the war and the casualties incurred. He is also still suffering from the death of his lover who was caught up in a Cold War plot.

The characters are well developed, multi-dimentional personalities with complex relationships that sometimes strain credulity. The espionage story involves Kim Philby and the possibility that he was responsible for the Chinese being aware of the American plans in Korea and hence the poor outcome for the Americans. The political commentary involves how much McArthur was to blame for what happened in Korea and the unwillingness of many to criticize him. The love story involves two of Dennis' prior loves and finding new love.

The story is interesting and engaging for about 2/3, then seems to get a bit melodramatic. Nevertheless a good read.

[Harold Kasselman · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the third book in a trilogy revolving around protagonist Dennis Collins, a sportswriter, and occasional unofficial spy. While I loved the first two novels, I found this one less exciting and dramatic. A great deal of the book is spent describing Collins' mental trauma from covering the Korean War, and his previous lover. There are references to the prior book but even I found it difficult to recall the plots of the prior novels and their back stories after a hiatus. The writing is excellent and I enjoyed the references to celebrities, baseball events, and New York hot spots. The political/military intrigue about how the Korean War was fought was enlightening and interesting for me. The espionage was also well done but the action was a bit slow at times for me to give the work 5 stars. Still, I appreciate the author's work ethic and his creativity in bringing characters like Collins and Matthew Steele to life.