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The Accomplice
From the author of Leaving Berlin, a heart-pounding and intelligent espionage novel about a Nazi war criminal who was supposed to be dead, the rogue CIA agent on his trail, and the beautiful woman connected to them both.
Seventeen years after the fall of the Third Reich, Max Weill has never forgotten the atrocities he saw as a prisoner at Auschwitz—nor the face of Dr. Otto Schramm. He was the camp doctor who worked with Mengele on appalling experiments and who sent Max’s family to the gas chambers. As the war came to a close, Schramm was one of the many high-ranking former-Nazi officers who managed to escape Germany for new lives in South America, where leaders like Argentina’s Juan Perón gave them safe harbor and new identities. With his life nearing its end, Max asks his nephew Aaron Wiley—an American CIA desk analyst—to complete the task Max never could: to track down Otto in Argentina, capture him, and bring him back to Germany to stand trial.
Unable to deny his uncle, Aaron travels to Buenos Aires and discovers a city where Nazis thrive in plain sight, mingling with Argentine high society. He ingratiates himself with Otto’s alluring but damaged daughter, whom he’s convinced is hiding her father. Enlisting the help of a German newspaper reporter, an Israeli agent, and the obliging CIA station chief in Buenos Aires, he hunts for Otto—a complicated monster, unexpectedly human but still capable of murder if cornered. Unable to distinguish allies from enemies, Aaron will ultimately have to discover just how far he is prepared to go to render justice.
Seventeen years after the fall of the Third Reich, Max Weill has never forgotten the atrocities he saw as a prisoner at Auschwitz—nor the face of Dr. Otto Schramm. He was the camp doctor who worked with Mengele on appalling experiments and who sent Max’s family to the gas chambers. As the war came to a close, Schramm was one of the many high-ranking former-Nazi officers who managed to escape Germany for new lives in South America, where leaders like Argentina’s Juan Perón gave them safe harbor and new identities. With his life nearing its end, Max asks his nephew Aaron Wiley—an American CIA desk analyst—to complete the task Max never could: to track down Otto in Argentina, capture him, and bring him back to Germany to stand trial.
Unable to deny his uncle, Aaron travels to Buenos Aires and discovers a city where Nazis thrive in plain sight, mingling with Argentine high society. He ingratiates himself with Otto’s alluring but damaged daughter, whom he’s convinced is hiding her father. Enlisting the help of a German newspaper reporter, an Israeli agent, and the obliging CIA station chief in Buenos Aires, he hunts for Otto—a complicated monster, unexpectedly human but still capable of murder if cornered. Unable to distinguish allies from enemies, Aaron will ultimately have to discover just how far he is prepared to go to render justice.
324 pages, Paperback
First published November 5, 2019
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 376 reviews
May 12, 2021
4 "stylish and compelling" stars !!
The Book that I wish More of You would Read Award of 2020
Thank you to Netgalley, Atria Books and the author for a copy of an e-book in exchange for my honest review. This was published in November 2019 !
This is my first read of Mr. Kanon and I was both entertained and impressed by the quality of the narrative, the sharpness of the dialogue and the surprises that lay within.
Max who has a CIA desk job, hunts a Nazi in hiding in Buenos Aires on the request of his uncle. This Nazi doctor was responsible for many of Max's family's deaths in a concentration camp. He become enamored of his daughter but who is friend or foe in this exciting spy thriller? Who is fooling who ? The atmosphere of Buenos Aires is told in rich detail and the sensuality of the love affair along with a host of minor players make this a most intriguing novel.
I hope to read more by Mr. Kanon in the future.
The Book that I wish More of You would Read Award of 2020
Thank you to Netgalley, Atria Books and the author for a copy of an e-book in exchange for my honest review. This was published in November 2019 !
This is my first read of Mr. Kanon and I was both entertained and impressed by the quality of the narrative, the sharpness of the dialogue and the surprises that lay within.
Max who has a CIA desk job, hunts a Nazi in hiding in Buenos Aires on the request of his uncle. This Nazi doctor was responsible for many of Max's family's deaths in a concentration camp. He become enamored of his daughter but who is friend or foe in this exciting spy thriller? Who is fooling who ? The atmosphere of Buenos Aires is told in rich detail and the sensuality of the love affair along with a host of minor players make this a most intriguing novel.
I hope to read more by Mr. Kanon in the future.
October 6, 2019
This is a great piece of espionage fiction! It was sexy and fast-paced. The dialogue was fierce and tangible. A spy-thriller-romance set against the backdrop of history made for a great read.
It is as described: In 1962, Aaron seeks to justify his Uncle Max’s last wish in hunting down a Nazi, Otto Schramm, who never payed for his war crimes. Otto served as a medical doctor for the Nazis, performing tortuous medical experiments on children and sending others to the gas chambers. Aaron flies to Buenos Aires from Hamburg to find Otto who has been using a different identity. But, after meeting Otto’s daughter, Aaron is unsure if he can fulfill his quest.
Thematic elements: War crimes is obviously a major topic, considering the subject and setting. Aaron internally struggles to rectify capturing Otto. How is justice served to the dead when their lives cannot be replaced? How do you properly punish someone responsible for the deaths of innocent victims? Does it matter how they died, once gone? Can a death serve a purpose, or can it be useful? Is there such thing as a useful death?
My technical notes: The first 17% is mainly dialogue where Max is trying to convince Aaron to find the ex-Nazi, Otto, and bring justice to the Jews that Otto harmed or killed by bringing Otto back to Germany for trial. Aaron’s actual espionage quest in action does not begin until 25% when he arrives in Buenos Aires. Most of the book is energetic dialogue between the characters, the characters in spy-action, or sexy time. The first 15-20% it took me while to adjust to the pacing of the names of characters, because their interaction moves so quickly. Otto Schramm, the Nazi criminal Aaron is chasing, is fictitious.
I really enjoyed the dynamic characters and the complexity of their relationships. I didn’t plan on reading this so quickly, but the relationships and plot were a driving force, so I finished it sooner than anticipated. Thank you to NetGalley and Atria for a copy! Opinions are my own.
More on this:
-Joseph Kanon is the author of The Good German which was made into a movie starring George Clooney and Cate Blanchett.
-If you are interested in reading about Nazi doctors, I highly recommend Doctors from Hell: The Horrific Account of Nazi Experiments on Humans. It is not very long, has pictures, and is written by a journalist, so it is not a very tedious nonfiction read.
Doctor's From Hell review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
It is as described: In 1962, Aaron seeks to justify his Uncle Max’s last wish in hunting down a Nazi, Otto Schramm, who never payed for his war crimes. Otto served as a medical doctor for the Nazis, performing tortuous medical experiments on children and sending others to the gas chambers. Aaron flies to Buenos Aires from Hamburg to find Otto who has been using a different identity. But, after meeting Otto’s daughter, Aaron is unsure if he can fulfill his quest.
Thematic elements: War crimes is obviously a major topic, considering the subject and setting. Aaron internally struggles to rectify capturing Otto. How is justice served to the dead when their lives cannot be replaced? How do you properly punish someone responsible for the deaths of innocent victims? Does it matter how they died, once gone? Can a death serve a purpose, or can it be useful? Is there such thing as a useful death?
My technical notes: The first 17% is mainly dialogue where Max is trying to convince Aaron to find the ex-Nazi, Otto, and bring justice to the Jews that Otto harmed or killed by bringing Otto back to Germany for trial. Aaron’s actual espionage quest in action does not begin until 25% when he arrives in Buenos Aires. Most of the book is energetic dialogue between the characters, the characters in spy-action, or sexy time. The first 15-20% it took me while to adjust to the pacing of the names of characters, because their interaction moves so quickly. Otto Schramm, the Nazi criminal Aaron is chasing, is fictitious.
I really enjoyed the dynamic characters and the complexity of their relationships. I didn’t plan on reading this so quickly, but the relationships and plot were a driving force, so I finished it sooner than anticipated. Thank you to NetGalley and Atria for a copy! Opinions are my own.
-Joseph Kanon is the author of The Good German which was made into a movie starring George Clooney and Cate Blanchett.
-If you are interested in reading about Nazi doctors, I highly recommend Doctors from Hell: The Horrific Account of Nazi Experiments on Humans. It is not very long, has pictures, and is written by a journalist, so it is not a very tedious nonfiction read.
Doctor's From Hell review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
March 2, 2020
I read this book because one of the 2020 Booker judges chose it as their novel of 2019 (https://www.theguardian.com/books/201...)
The book, set in 1962, opens in Hamburg with an ageing Auschwitz survivor (Max Weill) trying to persuade his CIA desk analyst nephew Aaron to take on Max’s post war quest to bring Concentration Camp Nazi’s to justice – his expose of a child-murderer Pudulski gained him a Time-Cover feature alongside the (real-life) Wiesenthal.
The request takes on additional urgency when, to his shock, Max suddenly spots a Nazi he long sought but has long assumed dead – Schramm: Josef Mengele’s (fictional) deputy. The shock itself causing him to have a cardiac episode and increasing the need for someone else to hunt down Schramm.
Schramm was an old colleague of Max pre-war and on arrival at Auschwitz pulls Max out of the line, separating him from his son who he assures Max will be OK. In fact his son is immediately gassed (something Schramm later argues was a merciful acceleration of the inevitable) and Schramm then forces Max to assist him in his tasks, albeit never quite pushing him past the point at which he knows Max will prefer death.
The deteriorating Max exerts moral pressure on Aaron by revealing the full extent of his and his family’s own involvement with Schramm: he also sets him up with an investigative journalist (who specialises in looking into the children of Nazis and has contacts in the German judiciary) and with a Mossad agent – they quickly work out that Schramm has broken cover to attend his ex-wife’s funeral (a funeral at which Max is struck by the poise and appearance of Schramm’s daughter Hanna), but an aborted attempt there to photograph Schramm only alerts him to their pursuit as well as leading to the journalist being beaten and hospitalised by Schramm’s bodyguard.
Aaron then takes the only lead open – travelling to Buenos Aires (where Schramm was known to have lived before his exposure and apparent death in a car crash) and using the CIA station chief there to introduce him to Hanna (using the journalist’s articles on Nazi children as a legitimate cover) and the remainder of the book follows his quest to bring Schramm to justice.
There are a number of strong points to the book.
Many thrillers are research exposition heavy – this I found impressively the opposite. Real life details like for example the circumstances of Eichmann’s arrest or the Catholic-church facilitated ratlines are given just enough detail to facilitate the plot and to send the interested reader to Wiki/Google to research further.
The book is nuanced – particularly around the attitudes of different parties to old Nazis – and the compromises needed. Mossad can be shamed into direct action, but the backlash after Eichmann’s (as we would not term it) extraordinary rendition and the need to conserve precious manpower, money and international (particularly US/CIA) goodwill for the increasingly existential relations with the surrounding Arab states, makes them cautious and preferring either a German sponsored trial or swifter and deniable retributive justice. The US/CIA not just have to consider their own fixation on communism as the main threat, and (not unconnectedly) their allies of circumstance in Latin America, but in Argentina the complications of the exiled but still powerful Peronist clique (and what opportunities they may have to compromise others who can then investigate that clique). And Aaron has to decide what form of justice really matters 15-20 years after events, how it ends with him actually assisting a Nazi, with a Nazi’s daughter as his accomplice, and how it impacts his relationship with her.
Finally the author is (as Lee Child says) very strong on dialogue – in particular I think he is very strong on the unspoken words and implications behind the words spoken, particularly when neither of the two parties is being straight with the other: we see this for example in: Aaron and Hanna’s sexually charged but also duplicitous conversations; the on-the-record/off-the-record conversations between Aaron and the CIA station chief; and in some emotionally charged conversations at a German-émigré heavy reception that Aaron attends.
Where I think the book is weaker though is in the romance/actions side. The character of Aaron – desk operative turned all-action agent is unconvincing; the immediate sexual relationship with Hanna clichéd; and the actions scenes rather over-the-top and over-familiar (car chases, airport scenes, cemetery shoots outs, and a follow-that-cab scene where the pursuer openly acknowledges the cliché is itself now simply a cliché).
But overall an entertaining read and better than I had expected.
The book, set in 1962, opens in Hamburg with an ageing Auschwitz survivor (Max Weill) trying to persuade his CIA desk analyst nephew Aaron to take on Max’s post war quest to bring Concentration Camp Nazi’s to justice – his expose of a child-murderer Pudulski gained him a Time-Cover feature alongside the (real-life) Wiesenthal.
The request takes on additional urgency when, to his shock, Max suddenly spots a Nazi he long sought but has long assumed dead – Schramm: Josef Mengele’s (fictional) deputy. The shock itself causing him to have a cardiac episode and increasing the need for someone else to hunt down Schramm.
Schramm was an old colleague of Max pre-war and on arrival at Auschwitz pulls Max out of the line, separating him from his son who he assures Max will be OK. In fact his son is immediately gassed (something Schramm later argues was a merciful acceleration of the inevitable) and Schramm then forces Max to assist him in his tasks, albeit never quite pushing him past the point at which he knows Max will prefer death.
The deteriorating Max exerts moral pressure on Aaron by revealing the full extent of his and his family’s own involvement with Schramm: he also sets him up with an investigative journalist (who specialises in looking into the children of Nazis and has contacts in the German judiciary) and with a Mossad agent – they quickly work out that Schramm has broken cover to attend his ex-wife’s funeral (a funeral at which Max is struck by the poise and appearance of Schramm’s daughter Hanna), but an aborted attempt there to photograph Schramm only alerts him to their pursuit as well as leading to the journalist being beaten and hospitalised by Schramm’s bodyguard.
Aaron then takes the only lead open – travelling to Buenos Aires (where Schramm was known to have lived before his exposure and apparent death in a car crash) and using the CIA station chief there to introduce him to Hanna (using the journalist’s articles on Nazi children as a legitimate cover) and the remainder of the book follows his quest to bring Schramm to justice.
There are a number of strong points to the book.
Many thrillers are research exposition heavy – this I found impressively the opposite. Real life details like for example the circumstances of Eichmann’s arrest or the Catholic-church facilitated ratlines are given just enough detail to facilitate the plot and to send the interested reader to Wiki/Google to research further.
The book is nuanced – particularly around the attitudes of different parties to old Nazis – and the compromises needed. Mossad can be shamed into direct action, but the backlash after Eichmann’s (as we would not term it) extraordinary rendition and the need to conserve precious manpower, money and international (particularly US/CIA) goodwill for the increasingly existential relations with the surrounding Arab states, makes them cautious and preferring either a German sponsored trial or swifter and deniable retributive justice. The US/CIA not just have to consider their own fixation on communism as the main threat, and (not unconnectedly) their allies of circumstance in Latin America, but in Argentina the complications of the exiled but still powerful Peronist clique (and what opportunities they may have to compromise others who can then investigate that clique). And Aaron has to decide what form of justice really matters 15-20 years after events, how it ends with him actually assisting a Nazi, with a Nazi’s daughter as his accomplice, and how it impacts his relationship with her.
Finally the author is (as Lee Child says) very strong on dialogue – in particular I think he is very strong on the unspoken words and implications behind the words spoken, particularly when neither of the two parties is being straight with the other: we see this for example in: Aaron and Hanna’s sexually charged but also duplicitous conversations; the on-the-record/off-the-record conversations between Aaron and the CIA station chief; and in some emotionally charged conversations at a German-émigré heavy reception that Aaron attends.
Where I think the book is weaker though is in the romance/actions side. The character of Aaron – desk operative turned all-action agent is unconvincing; the immediate sexual relationship with Hanna clichéd; and the actions scenes rather over-the-top and over-familiar (car chases, airport scenes, cemetery shoots outs, and a follow-that-cab scene where the pursuer openly acknowledges the cliché is itself now simply a cliché).
But overall an entertaining read and better than I had expected.
February 1, 2020
Joseph Kanon’s latest novel is a masterpiece of psychological suspense. Set in 1962, an aging Nazi-hunter, Max Weill, sees on the street one of the worst perpetrators of the Holocaust, Otto Schramm, who’s been thought to be long-dead but instead is alive and well. Infamous for torturing children, Schramm was also personally responsible for sending Max’s relatives to their deaths. Relying alternatively on family fealty, a desire for revenge, and the pursuit of justice for Schramm’s many victims, Max convinces his nephew, Aaron, a CIA desk officer, to do what age and frailty prevents him from doing himself: hunt Schramm down. The chase takes Aaron to Argentina, known to be a haven for Nazis on the lam, where he meets and seduces Schramm’s daughter, complicating his mission because he falls in love with her. Told largely through dialogue, and set in intriguing Buenos Aires, The Accomplice is a fast-paced story that defines page turner. The choice of the title remains a puzzle until the end when Kanon deftly uses it to underscore the deeply psychological (and philosophical) issues that permeate the whole story.
December 4, 2019
For the remaining survivors of the Holocaust the term “statute of limitations” is meaningless, they still want justice. No one knows how many of Hitler’s murderers remain alive or where they might be, but for the few their culpability in the Nazi death machine should merit capture, trial, and punishment no matter their age or medical condition. As in the recent novel ONCE WE WERE BROTHERS by Ronald H. Batson, the obsession on the part of a few to bring these criminals to justice dominates the story line as does Joseph Kanon’s latest novel, THE ACCOMPLICE. Kanon, a prolific novelist whose books include THE GOOD GERMAN, LOS ALAMOS, ALIBI, and his most recent novel LEAVING BERLIN has once again written a thriller based on what appears to be actual events exhibiting a superb command of history and the characters that have driven it.
Kanon’s current effort begins in 1962 in a Hamburg restaurant where a Holocaust survivor and Nazi hunter named Max Weill is having dinner with his nephew Aaron. Max’s brother who happens to be Aaron’s father and his son Daniel and wife Ruth perished in the Nazi death camps and Max wants justice as he cannot forget the atrocities he witnessed as a prisoner in Auschwitz. Max tries to convince his nephew who is an American CIA agent to track down Dr. Otto Schramm, a camp doctor wo assisted Joseph Mengele with his deadly experiments that led to the death of Max’s family. Aaron is reluctant but after Max has a heart attack he agrees to try and find this doctor. The problem is that at the end of the war there was a “ratline” for Nazis to escape Europe and travel to South America, in Schramm’s case Argentina under the dictatorship of Juan Peron.
Kanon has set the stage for a fascinating story as following the capture of Adolph Eichmann and his trial in Israel in 1961 interest in capturing these “desk murderers” is at its height. It seems while Max was having a heart attack in the restaurant, he spotted Dr. Otto Schramm walking in the street, the same Schramm who conducted sterilization experiments and made selections for the gas chambers. The same Schramm that sent Max’s son and wife to their deaths. The same Schramm that Max, a physician was forced to work with in Auschwitz. Kanon will eventually center his story in Buenos Aires as Aaron’s life is about to change due to many conflicting and complicating factors.
Many historical currents emerge in Kanon’s story. The role of Mossad in capturing Eichmann is in the background throughout reflected in the character of Nathan who is part of the Israeli embassy in Argentina. The role played by the ratline after the war is reflected in Monsignor Luis Rosas. What life was like in Buenos Aires for former Nazis and the Peron regime and the successor government took care of them. Flashbacks to the concentration camps and their victims constantly appear. Importantly, Kanon delves into the role the United States played in coopting former Nazis into the service of the CIA as a tool against the Soviet Union during the burgeoning Cold War. Not a very ethical move on the part of Washington policymakers but the fear of the communist menace allowed the United States to make a number of “problematic” decisions.
Other characters that Kanon effectively develops include Fritz Gruber, who was Max’s partner in hunting Nazis. Goldfarb, a sewing machine factory owner in Buenos Aires who assisted Aaron and the Mossad. Dr. Markus Bildner, a Nazi who had been in charge of Schramms sterilization experiments under Mengele and assisted Schramm in his desire to leave Argentina. Jamie Campbell a CIA operative in Buenos Aires assists Aaron at first in his quest for justice. But once higherups in Washington have other ideas for Schramm it becomes a battle to keep the Nazi doctor away from the CIA as well as the Israelis who want to kill him. Aaron goal is to send him to Germany for trial which becomes very difficult once governments become involved. The most important character is Hannah Crane who turns out to be Schramm’s daughter. The give and take between her and Aaron is fascinating as they do the love dance, or perhaps she is just a means to getting her father. Their relationship has a touch of realism as Aaron begins to fall for her, but the memory of his promise to Max clouds his judgement.
The story moves along at a fast pace, but Aaron and his cohorts find themselves in a dangerous web and Kanon carries this process to the end of the novel. One might think they know what the ending of the plot will result in – but they will be quite surprised. Kanon has once again delivered an interesting story, tinged with historical accuracy, and the result is that the reader may not be able to put it down.
Kanon’s current effort begins in 1962 in a Hamburg restaurant where a Holocaust survivor and Nazi hunter named Max Weill is having dinner with his nephew Aaron. Max’s brother who happens to be Aaron’s father and his son Daniel and wife Ruth perished in the Nazi death camps and Max wants justice as he cannot forget the atrocities he witnessed as a prisoner in Auschwitz. Max tries to convince his nephew who is an American CIA agent to track down Dr. Otto Schramm, a camp doctor wo assisted Joseph Mengele with his deadly experiments that led to the death of Max’s family. Aaron is reluctant but after Max has a heart attack he agrees to try and find this doctor. The problem is that at the end of the war there was a “ratline” for Nazis to escape Europe and travel to South America, in Schramm’s case Argentina under the dictatorship of Juan Peron.
Kanon has set the stage for a fascinating story as following the capture of Adolph Eichmann and his trial in Israel in 1961 interest in capturing these “desk murderers” is at its height. It seems while Max was having a heart attack in the restaurant, he spotted Dr. Otto Schramm walking in the street, the same Schramm who conducted sterilization experiments and made selections for the gas chambers. The same Schramm that sent Max’s son and wife to their deaths. The same Schramm that Max, a physician was forced to work with in Auschwitz. Kanon will eventually center his story in Buenos Aires as Aaron’s life is about to change due to many conflicting and complicating factors.
Many historical currents emerge in Kanon’s story. The role of Mossad in capturing Eichmann is in the background throughout reflected in the character of Nathan who is part of the Israeli embassy in Argentina. The role played by the ratline after the war is reflected in Monsignor Luis Rosas. What life was like in Buenos Aires for former Nazis and the Peron regime and the successor government took care of them. Flashbacks to the concentration camps and their victims constantly appear. Importantly, Kanon delves into the role the United States played in coopting former Nazis into the service of the CIA as a tool against the Soviet Union during the burgeoning Cold War. Not a very ethical move on the part of Washington policymakers but the fear of the communist menace allowed the United States to make a number of “problematic” decisions.
Other characters that Kanon effectively develops include Fritz Gruber, who was Max’s partner in hunting Nazis. Goldfarb, a sewing machine factory owner in Buenos Aires who assisted Aaron and the Mossad. Dr. Markus Bildner, a Nazi who had been in charge of Schramms sterilization experiments under Mengele and assisted Schramm in his desire to leave Argentina. Jamie Campbell a CIA operative in Buenos Aires assists Aaron at first in his quest for justice. But once higherups in Washington have other ideas for Schramm it becomes a battle to keep the Nazi doctor away from the CIA as well as the Israelis who want to kill him. Aaron goal is to send him to Germany for trial which becomes very difficult once governments become involved. The most important character is Hannah Crane who turns out to be Schramm’s daughter. The give and take between her and Aaron is fascinating as they do the love dance, or perhaps she is just a means to getting her father. Their relationship has a touch of realism as Aaron begins to fall for her, but the memory of his promise to Max clouds his judgement.
The story moves along at a fast pace, but Aaron and his cohorts find themselves in a dangerous web and Kanon carries this process to the end of the novel. One might think they know what the ending of the plot will result in – but they will be quite surprised. Kanon has once again delivered an interesting story, tinged with historical accuracy, and the result is that the reader may not be able to put it down.
June 24, 2019
I won this book on the goodreads giveaway and this is my review.
I wanted to like this book more than I did. The premise was very intriguing. But, I think, the main character, Aaron let me down. He was never committed to being anything. At first, he didn't want to help his uncle track the war criminal. Then, as his uncle convinced him somewhat that it needed to be done, he half way helped.
After his uncle's death, he felt obligated, but his heart wasn't in it. After meeting, Hannah, the daughter of the suspected war criminal, he let his feelings get in the way of any real decision.
He was back and forth so much as to who he wanted to be or not to be that I couldn't really believe him in any role. He only reacted to happenings around him.
It was a bit lightweight for a book that, supposedly, was about the hunting of the men who perpetuated the atrocities of the Nazis. I wanted more and didn't get it.
Nothing felt real...only just enough to pretend to care. Not even sure who was the Accomplice and who wasn't. Though, I did think the ending was somewhat interesting.
I wanted to like this book more than I did. The premise was very intriguing. But, I think, the main character, Aaron let me down. He was never committed to being anything. At first, he didn't want to help his uncle track the war criminal. Then, as his uncle convinced him somewhat that it needed to be done, he half way helped.
After his uncle's death, he felt obligated, but his heart wasn't in it. After meeting, Hannah, the daughter of the suspected war criminal, he let his feelings get in the way of any real decision.
He was back and forth so much as to who he wanted to be or not to be that I couldn't really believe him in any role. He only reacted to happenings around him.
It was a bit lightweight for a book that, supposedly, was about the hunting of the men who perpetuated the atrocities of the Nazis. I wanted more and didn't get it.
Nothing felt real...only just enough to pretend to care. Not even sure who was the Accomplice and who wasn't. Though, I did think the ending was somewhat interesting.
February 12, 2020
Otto the doctor who sent living human beings to be gassed and enforces the services in Auschwitz of a Jewish doctor he schooled with whilst sending his son to the gas chamber is the target, hiding in Argentina.. Agencies and individuals are focused on finding the man and bringing him to trial but there are many obstacles along the way.
It is not straight forward bur rather complicated by conflicting objectives held by intelligence agency vs government vs individuals vs relationships.
Library Loan
It is not straight forward bur rather complicated by conflicting objectives held by intelligence agency vs government vs individuals vs relationships.
Library Loan
February 12, 2020
I'm not sure what I think about this novel. I may be way too familiar with the subject matter to thoroughly enjoy it, as none of it surprised or was a revelation to me in any way. As an Israeli, I've heard about Eichmann's trial and Nazi hunters again and again, and was familiar with the moral discussions around the issue. Still, I'm happy that other readers would become more knowledgable on the subject through this novel.
Additionally, I thought the main characters were not well written. Max's nephew had no personality of his own and was too easily manipulated by almost every other character. Too cardboard for my taste. I didn't believe the romantic liaison in the novel for one second, and don't get me started on how Schramm's daughter is not a real person but a kind of male fantasy model. I've read Kanon's previous novels and know he can do better than this. Schramm himself is an old man but easily manages to run, jump, hit and outmaneuver stronger, trained men much younger than him. Really?
So all in all, not a great novel at all, but may help inform people on the subject of the Holocaust and Nazi hunting.
Additionally, I thought the main characters were not well written. Max's nephew had no personality of his own and was too easily manipulated by almost every other character. Too cardboard for my taste. I didn't believe the romantic liaison in the novel for one second, and don't get me started on how Schramm's daughter is not a real person but a kind of male fantasy model. I've read Kanon's previous novels and know he can do better than this. Schramm himself is an old man but easily manages to run, jump, hit and outmaneuver stronger, trained men much younger than him. Really?
So all in all, not a great novel at all, but may help inform people on the subject of the Holocaust and Nazi hunting.
September 2, 2023
This was a typical run of the mill espionage "thriller" featuring a Jewish Nazi hunter/CIA agent in Argentina who falls in love with the daughter of the Nazi he's hunting. It seemed to be written with a movie script in mind.
Typical that is until the tiny "Reader's Guide" at the end, where the "topics and questions for discussion" include:
"Otto Schramm is a fictional character, but many of the facts mentioned by the characters about Nazis in exile are true: the "ratlines" that Argentine leader Juan Peron used to help the Nazis escape Germany, the assassination of Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann.......How much of a responsibility do you think writers of historical fiction have to make sure the underlying facts of their books are accurate?"
Uh....the same amount of responsibility that writers of Reader's Guides have??
(The novel isn't alternate history - the author never writes that Eichmann was assassinated.)
Minus one star for the Reader's Guide and the cover photo, which shows people wearing 1940s clothes when the book is set in 1962.
June 8, 2025
The Accomplice involves a search for a former Nazi hiding in Argentina. Set in 1962, Aaron Wiley, a CIA desk analyst, is the American nephew of Max Weill, an Auschwitz survivor and Simon Wiesenthal-like Nazi hunter. When his uncle becomes ill, Aaron offers to pursue Dr. Otto Schramm, an unrepentant Nazi war criminal. Schramm was reputed to be deceased but had recently resurfaced.
Aaron travels to Buenos Aires and contacts Schram’s daughter, keeping secret the real reason for befriending her. The setup is well crafted, and the dialogue is realistic. I enjoyed the first half, and the theme of justice versus revenge. I am not convinced of the plausibility of a specific event that takes place toward the end. I feel like the thriller genre is not quite the right vehicle for a book with this type of moral complexity.
3.5
Aaron travels to Buenos Aires and contacts Schram’s daughter, keeping secret the real reason for befriending her. The setup is well crafted, and the dialogue is realistic. I enjoyed the first half, and the theme of justice versus revenge. I am not convinced of the plausibility of a specific event that takes place toward the end. I feel like the thriller genre is not quite the right vehicle for a book with this type of moral complexity.
3.5
November 13, 2019
As we used to say back home about a tobacco crop, Joseph Kanon’s The Accomplice is “fair to middlin’.” That is, it’s good. Just not that good. I keep waiting for him to drop another The Good German. This one is about Nazi hunting in 1962, that is post-Eichmann, post Hannah Arendt. The plot is fairly simple on the surface, but Kanon has enough joy and juice to make it more than interesting. From Germany to South America, from the CIA to the Mossad and with a love story that teeters on passion, the novel engages and wraps us up in a comfy “what’s next?” Along the way we have some astute comments upon human nature such as “The Jews who built that thought they were German. But the Germans didn’t think so." The work just needed a bit more soul.
October 23, 2020
this was fine
March 2, 2025
Joseph Kanon's fine historical thrillers are mostly set in the couple of decades after the Second World War and deal with the far-reaching fallout of that catastrophe. This one takes place, after a brief preliminary episode in Hamburg, in Buenos Aires in 1962, where a notorious fugitive Nazi has gone to earth. (The historical background is well-known, as a number of Nazi bigwigs found refuge in Argentina, including Adolf Eichmann, who was famously abducted there by Israeli agents in 1960 and taken to Israel to be tried and executed.)
Aaron Wiley (originally Weill) is a CIA desk jockey born in Germany who was sent to America as a child to escape the Holocaust; his uncle Max Weill survived Auschwitz and has dedicated his life to tracking down Nazi war criminals. Max's particular bête noire is Otto Schramm, a henchman of the diabolical (and historical) Joseph Mengele, who carried out cruel medical experiments on prisoners. Schramm fled to Argentina after the war and was later reported dead in an auto accident; the convenient coincidence that opens the book finds Aaron visiting Max when the old man catches sight of a figure on a Hamburg street who he insists is Schramm. The suspicion is confirmed; on his deathbed Max gets Aaron to promise he will carry on the quest to bring Schramm to justice. And so Aaron is off to Argentina, on leave from his job in Washington and determined to carry out his uncle's wishes.
In Buenos Aires he encounters Schramm's daughter, a well-to-do divorcee and social butterfly, who may or may not be protecting her father under his new identity. There is immediate chemistry between the two, and they fall into a torrid affair. This provides the emotional, ethical and plot complications that make up the story.
Like all of Kanon's novels, the book brings to life a particular time and place and illuminates a historical episode through the experiences of vividly portrayed characters. In this one, he explores the rationalizations and states of denial that allowed Nazi war criminals and their families to live with themselves as they dodged pursuit, defiant but afraid of ending up like Eichmann. Kanon refuses to caricature his villains, knowing that the banality of evil is what makes it so frightening. That is the mark of a fine writer.
Aaron Wiley (originally Weill) is a CIA desk jockey born in Germany who was sent to America as a child to escape the Holocaust; his uncle Max Weill survived Auschwitz and has dedicated his life to tracking down Nazi war criminals. Max's particular bête noire is Otto Schramm, a henchman of the diabolical (and historical) Joseph Mengele, who carried out cruel medical experiments on prisoners. Schramm fled to Argentina after the war and was later reported dead in an auto accident; the convenient coincidence that opens the book finds Aaron visiting Max when the old man catches sight of a figure on a Hamburg street who he insists is Schramm. The suspicion is confirmed; on his deathbed Max gets Aaron to promise he will carry on the quest to bring Schramm to justice. And so Aaron is off to Argentina, on leave from his job in Washington and determined to carry out his uncle's wishes.
In Buenos Aires he encounters Schramm's daughter, a well-to-do divorcee and social butterfly, who may or may not be protecting her father under his new identity. There is immediate chemistry between the two, and they fall into a torrid affair. This provides the emotional, ethical and plot complications that make up the story.
Like all of Kanon's novels, the book brings to life a particular time and place and illuminates a historical episode through the experiences of vividly portrayed characters. In this one, he explores the rationalizations and states of denial that allowed Nazi war criminals and their families to live with themselves as they dodged pursuit, defiant but afraid of ending up like Eichmann. Kanon refuses to caricature his villains, knowing that the banality of evil is what makes it so frightening. That is the mark of a fine writer.
December 11, 2019
Although I seem not to have written about them, I have read most of Kanon's thriller's--and they are excellent. Strong characterizations, complex and twisty story lines, strong sense of time and place, historical details, mostly edgy, dark tone, often bittersweet. With the setting in South America as well as Germany, this also reminded me of Hitchcock's Notorious--time to watch that again.
October 26, 2019
I received a free publisher's advance reviewing copy.
If you’re interested in this book, you probably know the story of Josef Mengele, the infamous doctor who “sorted” new arrivals at Auschwitz and subjected many to horrific tortures. Mengele escaped to South America and was never captured, eventually dying in a swimming accident. Unsatisfying, right? What Kanon seems to be doing here is using the fictional Otto Schramm as a Mengele stand-in, but this time his death is a fake and our protagonist, Aaron Wiley (born Weill), is going to track him down and bring him to some sort of justice.
Aaron works for the CIA, but he’s a junior agent. He goes after Schramm unofficially, as an obligation to his Uncle Max, who was forced to work for Schramm at Auschwitz, where Max’s young son was gassed. The action of the book takes place in Buenos Aires, where Aaron tracks down Schramm and some of his Nazi friends. Aaron also becomes involved with Hanna, Schramm’s daughter, at first as a way of getting to Schramm, but maybe there is something more there.
This book reminded me a little bit of Marathon Man, the 1976 movie adapted by William Goldman from his best-selling book. It’s a similar setup, with a young Jewish man up against a despicable and ruthless war criminal. And, like Marathon Man, this is an excellent, atmospheric thriller. I always have high hopes for a Joseph Kanon novel, and he delivers here.
If you’re interested in this book, you probably know the story of Josef Mengele, the infamous doctor who “sorted” new arrivals at Auschwitz and subjected many to horrific tortures. Mengele escaped to South America and was never captured, eventually dying in a swimming accident. Unsatisfying, right? What Kanon seems to be doing here is using the fictional Otto Schramm as a Mengele stand-in, but this time his death is a fake and our protagonist, Aaron Wiley (born Weill), is going to track him down and bring him to some sort of justice.
Aaron works for the CIA, but he’s a junior agent. He goes after Schramm unofficially, as an obligation to his Uncle Max, who was forced to work for Schramm at Auschwitz, where Max’s young son was gassed. The action of the book takes place in Buenos Aires, where Aaron tracks down Schramm and some of his Nazi friends. Aaron also becomes involved with Hanna, Schramm’s daughter, at first as a way of getting to Schramm, but maybe there is something more there.
This book reminded me a little bit of Marathon Man, the 1976 movie adapted by William Goldman from his best-selling book. It’s a similar setup, with a young Jewish man up against a despicable and ruthless war criminal. And, like Marathon Man, this is an excellent, atmospheric thriller. I always have high hopes for a Joseph Kanon novel, and he delivers here.
April 13, 2023
nice thriller. interesting. hunting a nazi doctor in Argentina. sensitive writing.
May 8, 2020
A gripping spy thriller, in which American agent Aaron Weill, at the behest of his Nazi-hunting uncle Max, tries to track down a doctor, Otto Schramm, who worked with Mengele in Auschwitz, in hopes of performing an Eichmann-like extraction from South America. Max's goal, which becomes Aaron's, is to bring him back to Germany to face a trial for his unspeakable crimes; however, both the Israelis and the Americans have slightly different ideas. Past reads of Alibi and The Prodigal Spy indicated that author Joseph Kanon would have an absorbing grasp of post-World War II history, and a strong sense of the nuances of espionage in a murky world of ambiguous loyalties and fallible justice. I just didn't expect to be so moved by his characters, particularly Hanna, Schramm's daughter. She demonstrates strength in ways that many would find impossible, and her story is just as dramatic as Aaron's. The setting and descriptions, from a cemetery in Germany to street scenes in Buenos Aires, are vivid and realistic. If you have the opportunity, listen to Jonathan Davis's narration, which I did as I read along. He brings the story to life.
January 26, 2024
A real page turner.
Read it in one sitting
Read it in one sitting
May 31, 2019
When Max, an Auschwitz survivor turned Nazi hunter, sees one of his former tormentors, he enlists his nephew Aaron to catch him. Otto Schramm, doctor and contemporary of Mengele, sent Max’s son to the gas chambers and used Max to experiment on Jewish children. But there’s one problem – the world thinks Otto died two years earlier in a car accident.
To prove Otto is still alive, Aaron goes to Buenos Aires to trail Otto’s alluring daughter Hannah. Of course things get complicated between them, and when the CIA and Mossad get involved, it’s a race to find Otto and extradite him to stand trial. With Eichmann’s recent arrest still on their minds, the German expats of Buenos Aires are justifiably nervous.
This is my first encounter with veteran author Kanon, and I appreciated his style of writing and his characters. He’s really good at writing conversational dialogue, which matters here where so much of the story is the characters exchanging ideas. I especially liked how Aaron had to constantly think on is feet and improvise depending on who has the best lead on Otto or determining how to get him out of Argentina once he’s accosted. I respected Hannah’s complexity how she dealt with her father’s guilt. The underlying theme of serving justice was a bit heavy-handed, but it was relevant. This novel was intriguing, sexy, fast-paced, and thought-provoking.
I received a copy of this book via the Amazon Vine program
To prove Otto is still alive, Aaron goes to Buenos Aires to trail Otto’s alluring daughter Hannah. Of course things get complicated between them, and when the CIA and Mossad get involved, it’s a race to find Otto and extradite him to stand trial. With Eichmann’s recent arrest still on their minds, the German expats of Buenos Aires are justifiably nervous.
This is my first encounter with veteran author Kanon, and I appreciated his style of writing and his characters. He’s really good at writing conversational dialogue, which matters here where so much of the story is the characters exchanging ideas. I especially liked how Aaron had to constantly think on is feet and improvise depending on who has the best lead on Otto or determining how to get him out of Argentina once he’s accosted. I respected Hannah’s complexity how she dealt with her father’s guilt. The underlying theme of serving justice was a bit heavy-handed, but it was relevant. This novel was intriguing, sexy, fast-paced, and thought-provoking.
I received a copy of this book via the Amazon Vine program
November 5, 2019
Well-Worth Reading!
Joseph Kanon has a proven track record for writing finely paced Cold War espionage thrillers with a flair for atmospheric detail, intriguing characters and suspenseful plotting, and his latest book, The Accomplice, definitely adds to his success. As stated in the book’s description, The Accomplice’s plot involves a Nazi war criminal who was supposed to be dead, the rogue CIA agent on his trail and the beautiful woman connected to them both.
Without having to resort to a book’s hero being involved in non-stop fights, shootings, and car chases, Kanon has crafted another intelligent thriller that relies on emotional precision and a mastery of tone to compel the reader to turn the pages at a brisk pace in order to try to figure out whom is deceiving whom and what happens next.
I highly recommend The Accomplice to fans of intelligent espionage/spy/suspense novels that are reminiscent of books by other current and former masters of this genre, such as John LeCarre, Len Deighton, Graham Greene, Alan Furst and Olen Steinhauer.
#The Accomplice #Net Galley
Joseph Kanon has a proven track record for writing finely paced Cold War espionage thrillers with a flair for atmospheric detail, intriguing characters and suspenseful plotting, and his latest book, The Accomplice, definitely adds to his success. As stated in the book’s description, The Accomplice’s plot involves a Nazi war criminal who was supposed to be dead, the rogue CIA agent on his trail and the beautiful woman connected to them both.
Without having to resort to a book’s hero being involved in non-stop fights, shootings, and car chases, Kanon has crafted another intelligent thriller that relies on emotional precision and a mastery of tone to compel the reader to turn the pages at a brisk pace in order to try to figure out whom is deceiving whom and what happens next.
I highly recommend The Accomplice to fans of intelligent espionage/spy/suspense novels that are reminiscent of books by other current and former masters of this genre, such as John LeCarre, Len Deighton, Graham Greene, Alan Furst and Olen Steinhauer.
#The Accomplice #Net Galley
July 24, 2024
Joseph Kanon’s The Accomplice stirs up a hell of a historical hornet’s nest. It begins with a conversation between a Nazi-hunting uncle and his CIA nephew. The uncle, a survivor, believes that he is close to the end of his life. The man he’s been hunting ever since the end of the war, Otto Schramm, is believed to be dead but Max Weill is not so sure. Aaron, the nephew, is reluctant to take on his uncle’s mission. After all, in 1962, the Nuremberg Trials are long over. Some convicted Nazis have already completed their sentences. In spite of Max’s tenacity, its a random siting of Schramm in Hamburg of all places that breaks through Aaron’s resistance...
Read the rest of my review at A Bookish Type. I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley, for review consideration.
Read the rest of my review at A Bookish Type. I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley, for review consideration.
March 14, 2020
Good, if not vintage, Kanon. Starts off a little slowly, as Kanon spends a great deal of time setting up the relationship between his two major characters (male and female). We know they're bound to wind up in bed together, but I have to say that there was too much clever dialogue and not enough sexual chemistry between them to make the setup really work. Nevertheless, when the plot gets rolling, there is lots of action and a typical Kanon hero who morphs from being a normal young man into a seemingly omniscient and invincible force. It's OK; Kanon hasn't lost his touch like some of his peers have done--he's still putting out a high quality product.
June 22, 2019
Sharp dialogue and well-developed characters make for a briskly paced read. Kanin is in fine form and delivers a compelling story. His stellar reputation in the spy/thriller genre continues to be well-deserved, Aaron, a desk analyst for The Company takes on his dying uncle’s wish to bring a Nazi war criminal hiding in Argentina to justice, Jumping from Hamburg to Buenos Aires in the army 1960s, Kanon successfully recreates the time and places his characters inhabit. Credible, moving and a delight to read,
January 26, 2020
Just couldn’t give this three stars. I have only one reason for this review, which is to say that The Accomplice is the least of Kanon’s books. The characters are mostly thin, underdeveloped. The story is very familiar and predictable. However, I have very much enjoyed Kanon’s earlier works, especially Istanbul Passage, and look forward to his next book. So, to the reader who is encountering Joseph Kanon for the first time in The Accomplice, I would urge to try one of his previous works. He really is a very interesting story teller.
February 13, 2020
I suppose it's debatable whether the world really needed another "hunting Nazi war criminals in South America" type story - it's a trope I'm admittedly not the greatest fan of. This was a solid take on the subject, but my attention kept wandering off.
December 31, 2021
Nazi-hunting in 1962 Buenos Aires. It was the setting that made me want to read it. I grew up in Montevideo, on the other side of the river, where weekend trips to Buenos Aires are a common occurrence. And it was fun to be able to really picture the setting (e.g. a truly excellent action scene in the Recoleta cemetery).
The plot was also very well-done and enjoyable. It's not just the action/chase plot (which is good on its own), but the the portrayal of the nuances and compromises required by the politics (some of it I found enraging, but had no trouble believing it would have been the case).
The only element I thought didn't work quite as well was the romance, which felt a bit clichéd. But I did like very much how that ended.
I listened to the audiobook, and that was pretty good. I had some trouble distinguishing between the voices of some characters (basically, when it was our main narrator and another American), but since many characters had accents, that was not much of a problem (and the accents were not comedic, and were well-done). The more important thing when speaking of accents is that Jonathan Davis, the narrator, pronounced the Spanish perfectly. I mean, the one time he had a longer sentence to read we ended up with a Mexican cemetery caretaker, but I'll give him a pass for that ;-)
The plot was also very well-done and enjoyable. It's not just the action/chase plot (which is good on its own), but the the portrayal of the nuances and compromises required by the politics (some of it I found enraging, but had no trouble believing it would have been the case).
The only element I thought didn't work quite as well was the romance, which felt a bit clichéd. But I did like very much how that ended.
I listened to the audiobook, and that was pretty good. I had some trouble distinguishing between the voices of some characters (basically, when it was our main narrator and another American), but since many characters had accents, that was not much of a problem (and the accents were not comedic, and were well-done). The more important thing when speaking of accents is that Jonathan Davis, the narrator, pronounced the Spanish perfectly. I mean, the one time he had a longer sentence to read we ended up with a Mexican cemetery caretaker, but I'll give him a pass for that ;-)
April 17, 2020
When his aged uncle, an Auschwitz survivor, convinces Aaron that he's spotted a Nazi war criminal believed long dead, the nephew finds himself embroiled in the thick of a dangerous game that leads him to Argentina and unimaginable complications. Yes, there is an expected love interest between Aaron and the hunted Nazi's daughter, but the suspense remains high through most of the novel as to just how complicit she is.
Further stumbling blocks develop when competing intelligence agencies become involved with agendas to either rescue, extradite, or assassinate Aaron's target.
These elements all contribute to an intelligent psychological thriller that immerses readers into the mindset of a moral, loyal, and somewhat naïve protagonist who is clearly out of his league in many situations. However, this is exactly what adds to the intense suspense that Kanon brings to the story which culminates in a conclusion that is both sensible and satisfying. This is an author who merits further investigation.
Further stumbling blocks develop when competing intelligence agencies become involved with agendas to either rescue, extradite, or assassinate Aaron's target.
These elements all contribute to an intelligent psychological thriller that immerses readers into the mindset of a moral, loyal, and somewhat naïve protagonist who is clearly out of his league in many situations. However, this is exactly what adds to the intense suspense that Kanon brings to the story which culminates in a conclusion that is both sensible and satisfying. This is an author who merits further investigation.
November 29, 2021
I can't remember the last time I read such a page turner! Picked it up on Tuesday just in time for a Thanksgiving flight home and finished it by Sunday.
The story is told almost entirely in dialogue, which keeps it very fast paced. This book wasn't a challenge, nor was it notable for it's character development but it doesn't turn into the super predictable drivel that a lot of spy novels fall into. The plot turns are foreshadowed without being given away. Kanon gives the reader just enough to pull them along without overexplaining.
Another super fun thing for me (the Mossad agents are named Nathan and Ari!) Another great random Little Free Library Find.
The story is told almost entirely in dialogue, which keeps it very fast paced. This book wasn't a challenge, nor was it notable for it's character development but it doesn't turn into the super predictable drivel that a lot of spy novels fall into. The plot turns are foreshadowed without being given away. Kanon gives the reader just enough to pull them along without overexplaining.
Another super fun thing for me (the Mossad agents are named Nathan and Ari!) Another great random Little Free Library Find.
January 14, 2020
Kanon has turned to writing screenplays, it seems. The Accomplice is fun, if one doesn’t dwell on the brief references to Nazi pediatric “experiments”. If even oblique descriptions of such things are disturbing, leave this book alone. I don’t know Mr Kanon, but am familiar with the Buenos Aires the tourists see, and I suspect his knowledge of the place is not much deeper than mine. However, to my ear—such as it is—it all rings true; the protagonist is hardly more than a tourist himself. Those who decide to roam around in the world of The Accomplice will find car chases among outdoor cafes, but a denouement that requires a Freudian deux ex machina. Considering that the book, like large swathes of the citizenry, spends a bit of time in or near an analyst’s office, it all hangs together, even so. In fact, if this isn’t eventually a major motion picture, you may call me Willie.
July 31, 2020
This novel kept me in suspense from start to finish. It was a story of intrigue and adventure. The premise that a presumed dead war criminal was living freely among us was very believable and reminded me somewhat of the series the Hunters. I'm somewhat bothered by Max's obsession until more is revealed about his relationship with Otto. I'm proud when Aaron takes up the cause, finds purpose in the hunt and understands Max more as he examines his own moral compass.
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