The action-packed, fast-paced thriller “Enemy Within” is set in 1918 as the German Imperial Army marches across Europe and the American military fabricates a chemical weapon that could turn the tide of the war.
As the plot opens German spy, Paul Becker (aka Hermann Ascoff) has been assigned to find out about the Americans’ research and to stop production of their latest weapon, but as he does the body count mounts.
In an exciting and riveting page- turner Major Thomas Tunney a Military Intelligence agent and his colleagues begin hunting for the killer after the death of a chemist, and a break in at a military base but their prey is elusive and deadly, and only with patience and diligent detective work will they be able to stop him.
In a subplot Maggie Myers and her family are introduced; the young woman struggling to keep Clay Tree Farm from financial bankruptcy. Tension escalates when she meets Paul Becker at the market and he deviously offers to help with the workload which has grown exceedingly heavy since her father’s illness. With little opportunity to meet young men Maggie becomes attracted to Paul never suspecting he might have an ulterior motive for his actions. Intensity and suspense continually escalate when Major Tunney uncovers clues to Becker’s whereabouts, heightening the action with a violent confrontation at the farm.
Mick Bose is an expert at keeping the reader on the edge of their seat in this cat and mouse game as the German high command waits to hear that their operative’s mission is successful before moving forward with their plans, and the American military puts pressure on Thomas to find the spy before something catastrophic happens.
The characters are intense, complex and realistic, infusing the story with high- energy, passion and drama. Thirty-four -year -old Major Thomas Tunney is street smart and tough, having been raised in the Bronx. He’s smart, perceptive and stubborn, determined to find the spy and bring him to justice. Maggie Myers a young woman facing the restrictions of wartime works hard to keep the farm afloat. She’s strong, pragmatic, passionate and feminine enough to want to have a man in her life. Yet it’s the cold ruthlessness and cleverness of Paul Becker that adds a realistic, terrifying chill to the story.
I thoroughly enjoyed “Enemy Within” rate it highly, and impressed enough to want to read other novels by Mick Bose.