Zahrada bestií

by Jeffery Deaver

New York, rok 1936. Američan německého původu Paul Schumann je mafiánským hrdlořezem, jenž proslul svou geniální taktikou a zásadou přijímat pouze „spravedlivé“ zakázky. Poté se mu však jedna nájemná vražda nezdaří. Schumann je dopaden a postaven před nelítostnou volbu: buďto zabije Reinhardta Ernsta, nacistického pohlavára blízkého samotnému Hitlerovi, nebo jej americká spravedlnost pošle do Sing-Singu a odtud na elektrické křeslo. Sotva se Paul ocitá v Berlíně, strhává se vražedná honička, při níž nebezpečí a zrada číhají na každém kroku. Během následujících osmačtyřiceti hodin Schumann vytrvale pronásleduje Ernsta, zatímco po něm zběsile pátrá bezpečnostní aparát Třetí říše v čele se zarputilým důstojníkem kriminální policie. V románu figuruje plejáda dokonale vykreslených postav, zčásti skutečných a zčásti smyšlených. V paranoidním prostředí předválečného Berlína střídá jedna akce druhou a četné dějové zvraty nedají čtenáři vydechnout. Zkrátka klasický Deaver…

Genres: Fiction, Thriller, Historical Fiction, Mystery, Crime, Historical, Suspense

462 pages, Hardcover

First published July 5, 2004

About the author

#1 international bestselling author of over thirty novels and three collections of short stories. His books are sold in 150 countries and translated into 25 languages. His first novel featuring Lincoln Rhyme, The Bone Collector, was made into a major motion picture starring Denzel Washington and Angelina Jolie. He's received or been shortlisted for a number of awards around the world.

Reviews

[Jon Nakapalau · Rating 5 out of 5]

Under the cover of the 1936 Olympics mobster hitman Paul Schumann is targeting Reinhard Ernst, a key figure in the rearmament of Germany. Taunt and filled with historical 'snap shots' this book will appeal to both fans of historical fiction and WW II 'what-ifers.' Very imersive and filled with attention to detail. An above average 'histo-fic' thriller. Could be a very good movie if the right actors were in it!

[Paul Weiss · Rating 4 out of 5]

A high speed thriller set in pre-war 1936 Berlin

Paul Schumann, a notorious hit man for the New York Mafia, has finally been nabbed. But the feds have offered him a choice - accept a dangerous undercover government assignment in pre-war Germany or never see the outside of a prison again! The job is to assassinate Reinhard Ernst, the Nazi genius responsible for Hitler's re-armament program who is systematically defying the terms of Germany's WW I surrender, engineering a key component of Hitler's incendiary rise to power and providing him with the matches to light the fuse to WW II.

But when the operation fails, Schumann finds himself in the sights of Willi Kohl, Berlin's best homicide detective; a police operative who Schumann is dismayed to discover is far smarter and far more efficient than any of his North American opposite numbers.

GARDEN OF BEASTS is a fascinating historical thriller that is part psychological and part suspense with significant servings of provocative discussion about the meaning of good and evil. The historical context of the story is impeccably detailed and absolutely fascinating - the sights, sounds and geography of pre-war Berlin; brownshirts; the social milieu and attitudes of everyday German folks living with the combination of hope, fear, patriotism, terror and awe that Hitler must have inspired as he consolidated his dictatorial grip on the Germans; Jesse Owens humbling performance in the 1936 Olympics; and much more.

Is Paul Schumann a hero, an anti-hero or just plain villain? Deaver kindly leaves it to his readers to make their own decision. I'm sure you'll enjoy the trip as well as the ultimate destination.

While I may be reading much more into it than Deaver intended, I thought I'd give him kudos for what I think is an exceptionally clever title. GARDEN OF BEASTS could be said to be a loose translation of "Tiergarten" which is generally much more simply translated as "zoo". Much of the action in GARDEN OF BEASTS took place around Berlin's Tiergarten. For my money, I believe that Deaver was using the English translation to characterize the behaviour of his cast under the stress of war. See if you don't agree after you've read it.

Highly recommended.

Paul Weiss

[Mihaela Abrudan · Rating 4 out of 5]

O adevărată Grădină a Bestiilor, Germania nazistă a dat lumii cele mai mari bestii. Acțiunea este plasată în timpul Olimpiadei de la Berlin, iar pentru că celelalte națiuni să nu bănuiască nimic despre acțiunile naziste împotriva evreilor, în fața caselor acestora era arborat drapelul olimpic, iar la radio discursurile antisemite erau înlocuite de discursurile despre igienă. Un roman plin de tragedie, dar și de umanitate, două lumi care s-au războit în aceea perioadă într-o țară condusă de nebuni.

[Peter · Rating 3 out of 5]

Unusual setting for a modern thriller in pre-WW2 Nazi Berlin, with ‘personal appearances’ by Hitler, Göring, Goebbels et al. An American hitman is sent to Berlin to take out the man who is rebuilding Germany’s military. Weak and somewhat nebulous pretext for storyline but the characters in the action-packed and twisting story are well drawn and authentic. The background of societal and political break-up and brutalisation under Hitler and his henchmen is especially well realised.

[RJ - Slayer of Trolls · Rating 4 out of 5]

Set in pre-WWII Berlin at the time of the 1936 Olympics games, a New York hitman hunts a fictional high-level German functionary with the hopes of derailing the German rearmament. Deaver’s style doesn’t include the same subtleties found in, say, Berlin Noir: March Violets / The Pale Criminal / A German Requiem by Philip Kerr, and the plot, while entertaining, sometimes strains credibility. However the main characters are memorable, the setting is well-researched, and the story moves along at an entertaining pace.

[Razvan Banciu · Rating 3 out of 5]

A strange work from Deaver, as this book reminds me of William Diehl (both of them among my favorites) and John le Carre. Fiction goes together with real persons and facts, the plot looks promising, but there are a few facts I like less:
- Schumann is too clumsy and non-vigilant, as he involves in the fight with the SD guys
- there is a lot of ambiguity about Clayborn, Taggert and their purposes
- the action looks somehow impromptu with no pattern at all
- the escape of seven boys(!!!) from Germany is idyllic.
As I've seen, most of the readers have given four stars, but my expectations from Deaver are greater, so I've chosen only three. The truth is, as usual, probably in the middle...

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an interesting novel set in Berlin during the 1936 Olympics. Paul Schumann was a "button man" for the mob. The Feds gave him a choice of prison or going to Germany to assassinate the key official in rearming the German military. Paul was chosen because he spoke fluent German, was a meticulous planner, intelligent, and interestingly enough, an avid reader (the Feds thought this was a key factor in determining his intellectual capacity).

Schumann travels to the Olympics with the US Olympic team under the cover of a sportswriter. He is boxer and is fortunately, very knowledgeable about sports. His mission in Berlin is compromised from be beginning and nothing is what it seems. Being fluent in the German language does not make him blend into Berlin like a native. A murder during his attempt to make contact with an American agent has Schumann being hunted relentlessly by an German police detective and the Gestapo while trying to accomplish his objective. There were many twists and turns in the plot and it keep you interested to the last page.

Although this is a work of fiction, it is believable. I enjoyed the characters - many were interesting because of their quirks.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

Garden of Beasts was a pleasant surprise. I have read and enjoyed the Lincoln Rhyme series by Deaver, but the setting of Germany in 1936 was presented so powerfully that I was left shaking my head. Characterization was very, very important in this novel as we follow American Gangster Paul Schumman, a hired killer, who is blackmailed into an assasination plot. The goal is to assasinate one of Hitler's men who is responsible for the rearming plan for Germany. The character is fictional, an amalgamation of several of Hitler's henchmen.

Then, there is Kriminal Police investigator who is gentle, patient, and insightful. He cleverly gets on Paul's trail rather quickly.

However, the clever thing is how much Deaver knows about Germany's black market, food and clothing substitutes, the fear of being denounced, the pride in a country attempting to rebuild, and the attitude towards Jews and other so-called races. Deaver pulls back the curtain of a nation torn by national pride and fear of being called an enemy of the state. I was thrilled and felt as if I was being educated about the terrible inflaction, black marketering, and the multiple agnecies and para-military organizations.

Put this one on your list, folks.. Because Deaver carefully carves out a calculated thriller with some very interesting and unforeseen twists and turns. Characters evolve as the story progresses and the story unfolds, twists and then roller coasters to a satisfying conclusion that is NOT what the reader saw coming.

[Eric_W · Rating 4 out of 5]

Paul Schumann is a mob hit man. He’s set up by the Feds and captured then offered a choice between working for them to assassinate a key Nazi official, Reinhold Ernst, or face the gas chamber. Sent to Germany under the cover of a journalist following the Olympics in Berlin, he’s soon involved in a serious cat-and-mouse game for a Nazi sympathizer has sent an anonymous note to the German High Command indicating that a “Russian” (Paul is supposed to use a forged Russian passport to escape following the assassination) will cause some damage to some unnamed important official.

Paul has been chosen because he speaks almost native German and is a very careful, precise hitman. But he doesn’t have the cultural background of Nazi Germany in 1936 and little things, like whistling for a taxi, which no German would have done, provide clues for his pursuers. Deaver must have done considerable research to provide details like the “Hitler clothing” that help provide a good sense of time and place.) For example: Morgan said softly, “Don’t use that word here. It will give you away. ‘Nazi’ is Bavarian slang for ‘simpleton.’ The proper abbreviation is ‘Nazo,’ but you don’t hear that much either. Say ‘National Socialist.’ Some people use the initials, NSDAP. Or you can refer to the ‘Party.’ And say it reverently. . . .

After Paul and his contact are forced to kill an SA agent, Inspector Kohl (a brilliant cop who expertly maneuvers his way across the conflicting SD, Gestapo, SA, and SS interference which threaten to muck up his investigation) enters the case and now Paul is being sought by multiple agencies sometimes working at cross-purposes. And can Paul trust his American handlers? Great plot, well executed.

Everything in the novel rings true except the conversations between Ernst, Himmler, Hitler, and Goering. A couple other minor things that bugged me. We’re all used to the phrases “Heil, Hitler,” and “Grüß Gott”, but here both are translated quite literally so they come out “Hail Hitler” and “Greeting God” which, ironically, rang very false to my ear. Better to have left them in their German form. But I quibble. Very engaging story.

[stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

i wasn't sure what to expect, given that a) i love deaver, b) usually dislike historical fiction, and c) know a crap load about the interwar period in germany.

turns out it was surprisingly good. i mean, it won awards, but see the second two points up there. normally i wouldn't even read this, but. i am glad i did. i wasn't sure what the twists were going to be, or how, given that we all know how history plays out.

i liked that deaver created a fictional character for the enemy, because it didn't detract from the reality of the story. i wasn't distracted thinking, but how do you KNOW that about goring/goebbels/himmler or "but that's just wrong!"

paul is a character i felt ambivalent about, but understood, in a weird way. the story kept rolling, and there were excellent secondary characters, classic deaver twists, and an ending that made me seriously, seriously happy.

[Eoin Dempsey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great novel. The detail was incredible and the storyline was excellent. Loved it.

[Vicky Hunt · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Folks-Wagon and Speaking through Flowers

The German word for zoo is "Tiergarten," or literally a garden of beasts. This play on words points to the beasts of the political world of that day. It is not an oily drippy gangster novel, as I feared after reading the very first scene, but that was merely a backdrop to get the main character into Berlin at the historic time. It is a well-written historical novel. The target is presented as a rounded character; a husband, father, and grandfather, instead of just a villain. The book is everything it promises to be. But, expect some twists in the plot.

Pschoor ale, sausage, bread, cabbage, and pickled cucumbers, butter, sauerbraten, aubergine with bacon in cream sauce, coq au vin, a meerschaum pipe... food, sports, locations, pseudo-science of the era, such as Bertillan anthropometry: the story populates the city in that time and place on the world stage. Some of the lesser known Nazi government organizations figure in the telling. It is well worth reading for the historical backdrop. But, then again, it also makes a great simple assassin/spy novel for easy reading. I found it well worth my time, and finished it in two days, about a month ago. Just now taking time to write the review though, because it is definitely worth sharing.

[Nupur Tustin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely superb! Garden of Beasts is set in 1936, Germany and provides a vivid sense of life under Hitler and the Nazis in that time. Deaver skilfully captures nuances of German speech and, in fact, the essence of an entire culture. I enjoyed the historical aspect of it every bit as much as the thriller/mystery plot.

And, yes, Deaver delivers a series of stunning surprises in a beautifully complex and layered plot.

The German characters--both historic figures such as Hitler and Goering as well as fictitious characters like Inspector Kohl--come across as living, breathing people. A particularly difficult feat for a writer given what we know about the Nazis.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This stand alone novel is quite different from the other Deaver I have read. Set against the backdrop of the 1936 Olympics in Berlin, an American mob hit man is hired to "eliminate" someone in Hitler's inner circle. But there is a complicating "accidental" murder. One of the few remaining honest, hard working German detectives who has not bought into Nazism, is assigned to that case, and finds himself possibly in out of his depth. Meanwhile, the sympathetic hit man is having his own misadventures. Who may be connected to whom? Read it and find out!

[Johnny · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jeffrey Deaver may be the master of psychological thrillers, but Garden of Beasts doesn’t fit that formula from my perspective. Garden of Beasts is, indeed, a thriller, but it is more of a procedural thriller set in a historical era—Berlin of 1936, the year of the Berlin Olympics. Naturally, the Olympic Stadium plays a role in the story, as do the transvestite servers at the Aryan Club, and the Tiergarten (from which the book gets its name—a double entendre on the garden and the National Socialists in charge of the country). Interestingly enough, at least to me, Deaver made it a special point to translate even familiar German phrases like “Heil Hitler!” and “Gott im Himmel!” into colloquial English. This was both jarring and effective as it demonstrated both the protagonist’s fluency with German (even though he was from the U.S.) and that, in spite of the language foreign to most of Deaver’s readers, these “beasts” were also human.

The essence of the story is that a hit man has been recruited by certain interests in the U.S. government to “touch off” an important Nazi official. The official is fictitious, named Reinhard Ernst (probably after the “Reinhardt Program” in the early ‘30s in which the country was trying to rebuild its infrastructure). The fictional official, like Helmut Schacht in real life, was in charge of coordinating both the civilian and war effort economies. Unlike Schacht who ran afoul of Hitler by not moving fast enough on armament, Ernst is the master of both coordinating logistics for the war industry, but also disguising the efforts from those entrusted with supervising the terms of the Versailles treaty.

For those who immediately discount the use of an organized crime figure in a covert government plot, let me remind them of Lucky Luciano’s role in keeping the longshoremen and maritime industry in line so that the war effort moved smoothly. It isn’t, to borrow a phrase from a popular film, entirely “inconceivable.” In fact, one grows rather to like this hit man when one discovers the source of his involvement with organized crime and his personal philosophy. As his government recruiters indicate: “’Jimmy Coughlin told us you said one time that you only kill other killers. What’d you say? That you only ‘correct God’s mistakes?’ That’s what we need.” (p. 12)

Now, what I thought was unique about this thriller involved quick cuts between the procedural preparations for the assassination and a coincidental (but intriguing) pursuit of the pursuer that occurs as a result of a killing to cover the assassin’s tracks. Instead of a stupid police inspector clumsily tracing the assassin, a very bright inspector keeps closing the gap while being constantly frustrated by the refusal of the Gestapo to share any information. He believes he is tracing a murderer rather than a threat to state security. Although Garden of Beasts has the expected spy, counterspy, and betrayal tropes, this competent but hamstring investigation adds significant tension to the story.

Further, instead of the typical James Bond-style romantic liaison, there is a point where an attractive German woman affirms: “I’d rather share my country with ten thousand killers than to share my bed with one.” (p. 325) Deaver refuses to position all Germans as either helpless or villains. Rather, like this rather strong woman and other characters (including the persistent police inspector), there is always a glimmer of hope that this monstrous situation would not last and Germany would be returned to sanity and culture.

In some ways, Garden of Beasts is a typical thriller, but it is the human touch and the cinematic deftness of the author’s perspective that keeps one turning pages. It is certainly a work of fiction, but the verisimilitude of the human experience resonates profoundly. In addition to depictions of actual historical figures, even the fictitious characters are real (even though, in the words of Elie Wiesel with regard to fictional events, “…are true, even thoughthey never happened.”).

[Strawberry Fields · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have been a fan of Jeffery Deaver for quite a while. I love his Lincoln Rhyme series and he has also written Kathryn Dance and some stand alone novels. They are always in the crime/thriller genre. So I was at the library picking up books that I currently had on hold and was perusing the shelves for books by authors that always a win for me and stumbled across this book and checked it out on a whim.

As I first started reading this book I really didn't think I would like it because it was not what I expected at all. I read the first couple of chapters more than once because I wasn't getting into it and kept thinking maybe I was missing something. I almost just closed the book and putting it the pile of completed books to go back to the library unread. One night I decided to give it a good go, so I plowed through, and I am so glad I did. By the third chapter and beyond I was riveted.

This book is so different from Deaver's consistent style I was thoroughly impressed with this divergent gem. As I was rating this book I see that it is given overall less than 4 stars, and I can't imagine why. To me, this is Deaver's work I have read, and I have read a lot of his books.

It is set in Germany at the time of the Olympics in 1936 and a hit man has been confronted by our government. He has a choice. He can go to prison for the multiple murders he has perpetrated or he can accept and offer to have his record expunged, be paid a nice hefty fee and live out his life. In exchange he assassinate a high ranking government official in Germany close to Hitler, the one who is in charge of mobilizing Hitler's new army. No one took Hitler seriously as a leader, but this guy was considered a threat. The hit man, Paul, was of course privately funded since technically our government couldn't be involved in such a plight and the Olympics was a perfect to carry out the deed since so many foreigners would be in Germany for the games. The story is cat and mouse. When Paul starts discovering the real truth of the magnitude of Hitler's plan and insanity it becomes less of a job to do and more of a moral mission. The threat of him being discovered or being reported to SS is ever present and it seems very few people are trustworthy, and there are a few he has to trust to give him the information he needs and the arms to carry out the deed. There are so many things going on with all the characters in this story is intriguing. The characters are so well developed and intensely passionate either for or against what Hitler is doing in their country that we see a different side of Germany and how so many people were fooled into believing that Hitler was a messiah, not the crazed loon that he actually was. At this point in Germany, there were still plenty of people who knew him for he was, but the slow seduction of the people was already in place, and Hitler controlled the children. You imprint a certain system ideology to the kids and teach in school what you want them to know and you have their loyalty, regardless of how the parents feel. It was in this way that Hitler was able to rise to power, by reaching the children first. Paul is appalled by what he sees and now what was a job has become a personal mission.

I highly recommend this book. It is still in the thriller genre but NOT what you would expect from Deaver. I was pleasantly surprised. To say it once again, I believe this is Deaver's best work.

[Ed · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not so sure that Deaver shouldn't stick to his Lincoln Rhyme/Amelia Sachs novels. They are so much better than his other efforts.

This story started off as a two star effort at best, ended as a four star offering hence the three stars I gave it.

I'm not sure why I endured through the almost childish early part of the story. I guess I'm a sucker for WW II novels, especially if they involve intrigue.

Staged against the backdrop of the preparation for the 1936 Olympics, the protagonist Paul Schumann, is a hitman with a heart of gold. He only rubs out people who God mistakenly put on earth. As he tries to carry out his assignment, assassinating Reinhard Ernst, the man in charge of Germany's military build-up, a deed which will clear him of all his past crimes, he is constantly put in the position of making choices that cause him problems.

Throughout the book, he is pursued by Willi Kohl, Germany's premier detective, as a murder suspect. He also becomes a target of the entire German police establishment when it is discovered what he's in Germany to do. He also manages to fall in love with his landlady and hook up with a con-man who saves his life on more than one occasion.

As always with Deaver's books, the plot has a great number of twists and surprises. I would suggest that the plotting is the real strength of this story and wanting to know "what happens next" is what kept me going early in the book.

Much like the background of a painting, the evils of Nazism are portrayed as a never-ending theme. In the end, we discover who are really the "good guys" and the "bad guys" but it's not always clear in the middle of the book.

I cannot unreservedly recommend a book of 542 pages as a quick read but once you get into it, I suspect you will want to finish it quickly, if for no other reason, than to unravel the plot.

[Huaerzeng Suobao · Rating 5 out of 5]

Garden of Beasts by Jeffery Deaver is an extremely thrilling read. Originally, I was searching the shelves at my local library for Chalice of Blood by Peter Tremayne, when at the corner of my eye, I see a book with a small swastika logo. Interested, I gravitate towards the book and read the summary. The book is about a “button-man” named Paul. I like how Deaver uses a slang to a hit-man. It gives a lighter tone to a dark occupation. Paul only assassinates other mobsters, all while claiming he’s merely “correcting God’s mistakes.” While on the surface Paul’s mentality may seem excusable, heroic even. This ideology brings up the question, “what gives you the right to choose who dies and who lives?” This type of “righteous” killing and brilliant tactics piques the interest of the government, and they ask Paul to become a covert agent, infiltrate Germany as a sports writer for the 1936 Berlin Olympics, and “touch off” (kill) one of Germany’s and Hitler’s most important man. If he accepts, Paul will be pardoned and get the financial means to restore his life. If he refuses, his fate will be the electric chair.

With such an intense summary, I knew the book would be good, but the thrilling rush of adrenaline I got while reading the book was amazing. Deaver creates a vivid cat-and-mouse chase between Paul, the man he's to kill and a detective that realizes Paul’s true motives in Germany.

[Charles · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was my first Deaver book and I found it to be a compelling read, perhaps because of my special interest in the events surrounding WW II. Paul Shuman is an American hit man recruited by a group hoping to derail German military preparations for war despite the limitations imposed on Germany after WW I by the Versailles Treaty. Sent to Germany under the cover of the American Olympic delegation, he is charged with assassinating the mastermind of the German rearmament. After arriving in Germany just prior to the opening of the 1936 Olympics, Shuman encounters a series of mishaps, including the assassination of his undercover contact and being pursued by both the Gestapo and the German civil police. The plot takes numerous twists and turns before a surprising final twist when all seems about to be lost. The author succeeds in creating fascinating characters and provides thoughtful insights into their thoughts and perspectives thorough a chaotic and historic period in Germany and the world. I look forward to sampling other books from this author.

[Jaksen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book. Great read. Worth the time. Set in 1936 Germany, as that nation prepares for war, (though pretending not to be), and against the backdrop of the Olympics, there are references throughout which are true to the events of the period. The MC is great, not perfect, but very likeable, and the cast of characters around him are realistic, non-stereotypic, and range from good people trying to live through horrific times to the truly sadistic, many of whom rose to power. There are plot twists; action; great descriptions; a love story; and insight into what drove the men who drove Germany to such a twisted and evil climax that it all had to come crumbling down. But of course, a lot of that's in the future, the 'stuff' we readers know that Paul Schumann, MC, and those around him do not.

I love Jeffery Deaver's books. I need to read more of them. He is def. going on my list.

[Marti · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was used to the Lincoln Rhyme series by Jeffery Deaver, but this book was a pleasure to read. For some reason, I am fascinated by World War II, and though fictional, there was a terrific feeling of what it would have been like to be in Berlin at the time of the Olympics. It is very strange to be rooting for a killer, but Paul Schumann was sent to do a righteous act. The civil policeman Kohl is an intelligent and interesting character. Ernst is portrayed as both a loving grandfather, and a ruthless, inhuman person. This book is over 500 pages, but worth it. =====

[Jessica Buzzard · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rounded up to 3.5

[Lilanthi · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am a big fan of Lincoln Rhyme adventures...but the tactics began to get a wee bit predictable.Plus,History is not a subject I like or know much about..so I picked this book with doubt,but I'm so glad I did..cos'I really enjoyed it.
Jeffry Deaver, the amazing master of plots and schemes and criminal investigations does it again!
Paul Schumann..the button man...has to accomplish the mission of correcting God's mistakes in Berlin.
While a lowly Inspector Whilly Kohle with surprising knack and foresight..tries to track him down.
The background is the Olympics in Germany...Hitler and his stooges...persecution of innocents..preparation for world war II
The whole story with all its action, epic twists and turns, dangers and betrayals...span over just 2-3 days!
Amazing story!

An intersting quote I want to record:-
“He was the Michelangelo in the art of hoarding credit, plundering glory and deflecting blame.” page 483 referring to Police Chief Himmler..which so reminds me of contemporary beasts!

[Linda Hart · Rating 3 out of 5]

Almost 4 stars, but really a "guy book" with fast moving, if unbelievable, storyline. Not especially well written. There is another book, In the Garden of Beasts: Love, Terror, and an American Family in Hitler's Berlin, by Erik Larson. That is the book I thought I was picking up at the library & it is supposed to be fantastic. I will read it, but will have to wait as it has 13 holds on it before my name.

[Owlsinger · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent look into the lives of "everyday" people caught up in the webs of spying and denouncements, black market dealings and smuggling, and the difficulties of just surviving as the National Socialists consolidate their political, military, and even municipal powers under Hitler et al. Set in the run-up to the 1936 Berlin Olympics, Deaver manages to work in a couple of the U.S.' star athletes as an undercover operation unfolds. Great pacing and suspenseful storytelling.

[Abe · Rating 5 out of 5]

A good story. The setting is Germany in 1936. Although a work of fiction, the author provides good insight about living conditions during Hitler’s rise to power. The story if full of intrigue and keeps the pages turning. I highly recommend it.

[Michael Strahlman · Rating 5 out of 5]

My favorite JD book. An interesting and believable insight into Nazi Germany. Particularly heartbreaking was the scene where the protagonist sees the officers leading the boys into the chamber.

[Conrad · Rating 5 out of 5]

A departure for Deaver, but there is no departure from his excellent writing. He is unmatched in his ability to tell a story.

[Barb · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. It kept you guessing and on edge until the last page! pretty realistic, i loved it!

[Shreerag Plakazhi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Standard boilerpot thriller with enough substance to keep you interested. Jeffery Deaver is a master.