The House of Special Purpose

Jane Todd WWII Thrillers #2

by Christopher Hyde

Christopher Hyde continues to carve an indelible niche in the world of international thrillers. This WWII story is filled with actual events, historical figures, and a true-to-life atmosphere and intrigue that pull the reader in and don’t let go.   November 1941. Freelance news photographer Jane Todd and Scotland Yard detective inspector Morris Black are recruited by Wild Bill Donovan of the OSS. Their orders are to trace an artifact rumored to exist from the bloody days of the Bolshevik Revolution. The missing relic may hold the key to forging or destroying the balance of power in the war that is sure to involve the U.S.   As the long-cold trail heats up for Jane and Black, close on their heels are a brutal Nazi assassin, a mysterious countess with a very shady past, and the lethally charming head of NKVD operations in America.   “Hyde’s storytelling is pure genius.”—New York Daily News “[Hyde] draws tension with the skill of a surgeon.”—New York Times bestselling author Michael Connelly

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Historical Fiction

394 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 4, 2004

About the author

Christopher Hyde has worked as a researcher, editor, TV interviewer specialising in stories of technology, intelligence and the environment.
He also writes using the pseudonyms

A.J. Holt.
Paul Christopher.

Reviews

[Jack · Rating 3 out of 5]

Many true facts to this story, learned a lot of history about the Romanov's and World War II

[Brian Martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoying this series. Great story. Looking forward to the next one.

[Pete · Rating 4 out of 5]

This novel was similar to those by Steve Berry and I found it very enjoyable. It's an adventure quest with a historical basis. The characters are very well crafted especially Jane Todd and Morris Black. I lost count of how many cigarettes those two smoked but I was beginning to worry they might die from cancer rather than from the villains they faced. It was fun having Ian Fleming along for the ride and the humor poked at J. Edgar Hoover was perfect. As a bonus I learned that the chestnut game I played as a youngster is called "conkers" and what "toad in the hole" refers to.

[Robert Galloway · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another thriller researched to a fault,like using a time machine.It's akin to joining the dots where the dots are researched facts or historical figures and the story is fitted around this.In spite of this Christopher Hyde (or whatever his name is) has produced an engaging ,thrilling yarn.Recommended.

[Jeff Dickison · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very good WWII espionage film as Jane Todd tries to track down the film of the Romanov's being executed. Full of historical facts, it appears that everyone in the book is out to double cross someone else. Cracking good fun. Recommended, especially to WWII buffs.

[Richard · Rating 2 out of 5]

I’ll give it 2 stars for an intriguing start. But, I could not get into it. To me it dragged. Had to stop reading it.

[Donna Halloran · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was tough to get through. It was incredibly dated. Part of it was that I didn't stick with it so I had to get back into the story/characters