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Flowers from Berlin #1
Flowers from Berlin
MORE THAN 1,000,000 COPIES IN PRINT OR DOWNLOADED!
Trade Paperback available also, only through Amazon..
Perhaps the greatest American spy novel! Ever!
International Best Seller. Rights sold in UK and Japan. Spanish and French language editions coming in 2014.
The classic American spy novel, from the author of, "False Flags: Betrayal in London," "The Sandler Inquiry: A Spy in New York" and "Payback in Panama."
Noel Hynd is (a few notches above the Ludlums and Clancys of the world." - Booklist
Love and betrayal, spies and patriots, murder and romance, Roosevelt versus Hitler on the eve of World War Two. "Winds of War" meets "The Eye of The Needle."
This espionage thriller follows FBI agent William Cochrane's efforts to stop a Nazi spy from assassinating FDR. Toss in a love affair with a British Secret Service operative and you have the makings of a page-turner. LJ's reviewer found the book "complex in characterization, crisp in dialogue, and thorough in its background" (LJ 3/15/85).
"First rate!" - The Cleveland Plain-Dealer
"A Chiller!" - Los Angeles Times
"A Super spy novel!" The Savannah News-Presse
It is 1939. Roosevelt is winding down his second term in the White House. The Nazis have taken Austria, and Stalin’s Red Army is systematically eliminating the Kremlin’s enemies. Europe is going to hell in a handbasket. With isolationist sentiment running high in America, and the president’s popularity at an all-time low, Hitler seizes the moment and dispatches his secret weapon: An agent named 'Siegfried' who conceals himself behind the mask of middle-class America. A chameleon who can change identities and personalities at will. A cold-blooded killer who will win the war for Germany.
A banker, linguist, and demolitions expert who has successfully infiltrated German intelligence, FBI Special Agent Thomas Cochrane is handpicked by Roosevelt for an impossible mission: To find Hitler’s spy before he carries out a plan that will remove the president from office at a critical moment in the century’s history. As Cochrane, with the help of British Intelligence agent Laura Worthington, circles closer to his elusive quarry, a spy with supporters in the highest levels of U.S. government readies the world stage for a final act of annihilation that will alter the tide of war--and the future of the free world--in unthinkable ways.
Imagine a world where your most precious inalienable rights are denied. Where individual freedom is a thing of the past. Imagine World War II without FDR ...
Hardcover Publication by Doubleday & Co., 735,000 first mass market paperback printing from Pinnacle Books. E-book editions 2010-2013.
Trade Paperback available also, only through Amazon..
Perhaps the greatest American spy novel! Ever!
International Best Seller. Rights sold in UK and Japan. Spanish and French language editions coming in 2014.
The classic American spy novel, from the author of, "False Flags: Betrayal in London," "The Sandler Inquiry: A Spy in New York" and "Payback in Panama."
Noel Hynd is (a few notches above the Ludlums and Clancys of the world." - Booklist
Love and betrayal, spies and patriots, murder and romance, Roosevelt versus Hitler on the eve of World War Two. "Winds of War" meets "The Eye of The Needle."
This espionage thriller follows FBI agent William Cochrane's efforts to stop a Nazi spy from assassinating FDR. Toss in a love affair with a British Secret Service operative and you have the makings of a page-turner. LJ's reviewer found the book "complex in characterization, crisp in dialogue, and thorough in its background" (LJ 3/15/85).
"First rate!" - The Cleveland Plain-Dealer
"A Chiller!" - Los Angeles Times
"A Super spy novel!" The Savannah News-Presse
It is 1939. Roosevelt is winding down his second term in the White House. The Nazis have taken Austria, and Stalin’s Red Army is systematically eliminating the Kremlin’s enemies. Europe is going to hell in a handbasket. With isolationist sentiment running high in America, and the president’s popularity at an all-time low, Hitler seizes the moment and dispatches his secret weapon: An agent named 'Siegfried' who conceals himself behind the mask of middle-class America. A chameleon who can change identities and personalities at will. A cold-blooded killer who will win the war for Germany.
A banker, linguist, and demolitions expert who has successfully infiltrated German intelligence, FBI Special Agent Thomas Cochrane is handpicked by Roosevelt for an impossible mission: To find Hitler’s spy before he carries out a plan that will remove the president from office at a critical moment in the century’s history. As Cochrane, with the help of British Intelligence agent Laura Worthington, circles closer to his elusive quarry, a spy with supporters in the highest levels of U.S. government readies the world stage for a final act of annihilation that will alter the tide of war--and the future of the free world--in unthinkable ways.
Imagine a world where your most precious inalienable rights are denied. Where individual freedom is a thing of the past. Imagine World War II without FDR ...
Hardcover Publication by Doubleday & Co., 735,000 first mass market paperback printing from Pinnacle Books. E-book editions 2010-2013.
435 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 1, 1985
1278 people are currently reading
890 people want to read
About the author
Noel Hynd
62 books218 followers I've been a published novelist for longer than I care to admit, since 1976. I'm frequently asked, however, how I first got published. It's an interesting story and involved both Robert Ludlum and James Baldwin, even though neither of them knew it --- or me --- at the time.
My first agent, a wonderful thorughly perofessional gentleman named Robert Lantz was representing Mr. Baldwin at the time. This was around 1975. Balwin, while a brilliant writer, had had some nasty dealings with the head of Dell Publishing. Dell held Jimmy's contract at the time and he could not legally write for anyone else until he gave Dell a book that was due to them. Nonetheless, he refused to deliver a manuscript to Dell and went to Paris to sit things out.
The book was due to The Dial Press, which Dell owned. Baldwin was widely quoted as saying....and I'm cleaning up the quote here, "that he was no longer picking cotton on Dell's planatation."
The book was due to The Dial Press. The editor in chief of The Dial Press was a stellar editor who was making a name for himself and a fair bit of money for the company publishing thriller-author Robert Ludlum. A best seller every year will do that for an editor. Anyway, Baldwin fled New York for Paris. The editor followed, the asignment being to get him to come happily back to Dial. As soon as the editor arrived, Baldwin fled to Algeria. Or maybe Tunisia. It hardly mattered because Baldwin was furious and simply wouldn 't do a book for Dell/Dial. The editor returned to NY without his quarry. Things were at a standstill.
That's where I entered the story, unpublished at age 27 and knowing enough to keep my mouth shut while these things went down. I had given 124 pages of a first novel to Mr. Lantz ten days eariler. Miraculously, his reader liked it and then HE liked it. It was in the same genre that Ludlum wrote in and which the editor at Dial excelled at editing and marketing.
My agent and the editor ran into each other one afternoon in July of 1974 in one of those swank Manhattan places where people used to have three martinis for lunch. The agent asked how things had gone in Europe. The editor told him, knowing full well that the agent already knew. The next steps would be lawyers, Baldwin dragged into US Courts, major authors boycotting Doubleday/Dell, Dial, maybe some civil rights demonstrations and.......but no so fast.
Mr. Lantz offered Dial the first look at a new adventure/espionage novelist (me). IF Dial wanted me after reading my 124 pages, he could sign me, but only IF Baldwin was released from his obligations at Doubleday. I was the literary bribe, so to speak, that would get Jimmy free from Dial. It seemed like a great idea to everyone. It seemed that way because it was. Paperwork was prepapred and paperwork was signed. Voila!...To make a much longer story short, Dial accepted my novel. The editor instructed me on how to raise it to a professional level as I finished writing it over the next ten months. I followed orders perfectly. I even felt prosperous on my $7500 advance. He then had Dial release Mr. Balwin from his obligation. Not surpringly, he went on to create fine books for other publishers. Ludlum did even batter. Of the three, I'm the pauper but I've gotten my fair share and I'm alive with books coming out again now in the very near future, no small accmplishment. So no complaints from me.
That''s how I got published. I met Ludlum many times later on and Baldwin once. Ludlum liked my name "Noel" and used it for an then-upcoming charcter named Noel Holcroft. That amused me. I don't know if either of them even knew that my career had been in their orbits for a month 1975. They would have been amused. They were both smart gifted men and fine writers in dfferent ways. This story was told to me by one of the principals two years later and another one confirmed it.
Me, I came out of it with my first publishing contract, for a book titled 'Reve
My first agent, a wonderful thorughly perofessional gentleman named Robert Lantz was representing Mr. Baldwin at the time. This was around 1975. Balwin, while a brilliant writer, had had some nasty dealings with the head of Dell Publishing. Dell held Jimmy's contract at the time and he could not legally write for anyone else until he gave Dell a book that was due to them. Nonetheless, he refused to deliver a manuscript to Dell and went to Paris to sit things out.
The book was due to The Dial Press, which Dell owned. Baldwin was widely quoted as saying....and I'm cleaning up the quote here, "that he was no longer picking cotton on Dell's planatation."
The book was due to The Dial Press. The editor in chief of The Dial Press was a stellar editor who was making a name for himself and a fair bit of money for the company publishing thriller-author Robert Ludlum. A best seller every year will do that for an editor. Anyway, Baldwin fled New York for Paris. The editor followed, the asignment being to get him to come happily back to Dial. As soon as the editor arrived, Baldwin fled to Algeria. Or maybe Tunisia. It hardly mattered because Baldwin was furious and simply wouldn 't do a book for Dell/Dial. The editor returned to NY without his quarry. Things were at a standstill.
That's where I entered the story, unpublished at age 27 and knowing enough to keep my mouth shut while these things went down. I had given 124 pages of a first novel to Mr. Lantz ten days eariler. Miraculously, his reader liked it and then HE liked it. It was in the same genre that Ludlum wrote in and which the editor at Dial excelled at editing and marketing.
My agent and the editor ran into each other one afternoon in July of 1974 in one of those swank Manhattan places where people used to have three martinis for lunch. The agent asked how things had gone in Europe. The editor told him, knowing full well that the agent already knew. The next steps would be lawyers, Baldwin dragged into US Courts, major authors boycotting Doubleday/Dell, Dial, maybe some civil rights demonstrations and.......but no so fast.
Mr. Lantz offered Dial the first look at a new adventure/espionage novelist (me). IF Dial wanted me after reading my 124 pages, he could sign me, but only IF Baldwin was released from his obligations at Doubleday. I was the literary bribe, so to speak, that would get Jimmy free from Dial. It seemed like a great idea to everyone. It seemed that way because it was. Paperwork was prepapred and paperwork was signed. Voila!...To make a much longer story short, Dial accepted my novel. The editor instructed me on how to raise it to a professional level as I finished writing it over the next ten months. I followed orders perfectly. I even felt prosperous on my $7500 advance. He then had Dial release Mr. Balwin from his obligation. Not surpringly, he went on to create fine books for other publishers. Ludlum did even batter. Of the three, I'm the pauper but I've gotten my fair share and I'm alive with books coming out again now in the very near future, no small accmplishment. So no complaints from me.
That''s how I got published. I met Ludlum many times later on and Baldwin once. Ludlum liked my name "Noel" and used it for an then-upcoming charcter named Noel Holcroft. That amused me. I don't know if either of them even knew that my career had been in their orbits for a month 1975. They would have been amused. They were both smart gifted men and fine writers in dfferent ways. This story was told to me by one of the principals two years later and another one confirmed it.
Me, I came out of it with my first publishing contract, for a book titled 'Reve
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 134 reviews
August 9, 2016
If this would have been the first spy novel I ever read, I would have been reading more over the years. I enjoyed this book a ton! While it is somewhat predictable at times, overall it is a very suspensful and quick read. I found myself really pulling for Cochrane and Laura, two of the very likeable heros.
Based on historical facts, the story is a page-turner. I personally think it's as good as anything I've read from Le Carre or Follett.
Based on historical facts, the story is a page-turner. I personally think it's as good as anything I've read from Le Carre or Follett.
August 5, 2022
A most interesting historical thriller. In a world full of bad guys, a couple 'barely' manage to do the 'right thing'. The parallels between 1938-1941 America and Trump's America remain astonishing. The world was but a single event from Hitler's victory....
November 22, 2019
I was very disappointed. Too simplistic, plot nothing to speak of.
August 12, 2019
Set in the years prior to the United States entry into WWII, FBI Special Agent Bill Cochrane is trained, used and set up for failure by his FBI mentor and supervisor Bill Farrell. This entertaining story about the world of spies and saboteurs in promotion of Nazi Germany and fascism and, what many would call today, the protection of European values in the US.
Special agent Cochrane is assigned to make contact with the US operative in Germany only to find out that his US contact has disappeared/killed prior to his arrival. In the meantime, he finds a Nazi government functionary willing to trade the secrets Abewhr for an escape for he and his family from Germany.
Meanwhile, in England, the British secret service has its eye on list of aristocratic American families with Communst leanings. The British attempt to enlist their female recruit who happens to go on tour to the U.S. and falls for the very person that happens to be on the British list.
In addition, the FBI and the British are after same person who is known under names to each spy agency. Their plot twists are amazing as guessing through the book, who in the FBI is the double agent and how many, including J. Edgar Hoover, hold the same pro Nazi sentiments and are aiding and abetting a government that has not yet declared itself an enemy of the United States.
It almost reads as potential movie script, although I think similar films have already been made.
Special agent Cochrane is assigned to make contact with the US operative in Germany only to find out that his US contact has disappeared/killed prior to his arrival. In the meantime, he finds a Nazi government functionary willing to trade the secrets Abewhr for an escape for he and his family from Germany.
Meanwhile, in England, the British secret service has its eye on list of aristocratic American families with Communst leanings. The British attempt to enlist their female recruit who happens to go on tour to the U.S. and falls for the very person that happens to be on the British list.
In addition, the FBI and the British are after same person who is known under names to each spy agency. Their plot twists are amazing as guessing through the book, who in the FBI is the double agent and how many, including J. Edgar Hoover, hold the same pro Nazi sentiments and are aiding and abetting a government that has not yet declared itself an enemy of the United States.
It almost reads as potential movie script, although I think similar films have already been made.
July 25, 2014
Frankly, I found this novel disappointing. Not so much in the plot as in the stereotyped characters, including a cartoonish J Edgar Hoover, FDR, and others. This doesn't hold a candle to Ambler, Le Carre, Furst and others in this genre.
October 22, 2023
Engaging World War 2 spy novel
Noel Hynd knows how to write a fast-moving and engaging World War 2 spy novel. His character, William Cochrane is a resourceful FBI operative. He battles the Gestapo in Berlin, and a Nazi espionage agent who viciously operates in the US. Hynd knows how to pace a story to keep it moving. While his style and language doesn’t quite evoke the era for me, the storyline he created is intriguing, and makes me interested in reading the third book in this series. I will say that I’m surprised Hynd isn’t better known as an author. The two two books I have read in this series warrant more attention for him than he has received.
Noel Hynd knows how to write a fast-moving and engaging World War 2 spy novel. His character, William Cochrane is a resourceful FBI operative. He battles the Gestapo in Berlin, and a Nazi espionage agent who viciously operates in the US. Hynd knows how to pace a story to keep it moving. While his style and language doesn’t quite evoke the era for me, the storyline he created is intriguing, and makes me interested in reading the third book in this series. I will say that I’m surprised Hynd isn’t better known as an author. The two two books I have read in this series warrant more attention for him than he has received.
September 6, 2025
history in a novel
Well done!
History stew with spice and stoicism all carefully blends to perfection gives the reader a delicious treat .
Well done!
History stew with spice and stoicism all carefully blends to perfection gives the reader a delicious treat .
March 18, 2023
Noel Hynd's "Flowers from Berlin" is one engaging spy thriller. From August 1939 to November 1939, the novel focuses on William T. Cochrane, an FBI special agent, and Siegfried, a Third Reich saboteur. Siegfried raises havoc on the American east coast, destroying war materiel and killing people who get in his way. Cochrane is aware of Siegfried's activities and seeks to stop him. However, Siegfried soon finds a worthy target of his efforts: President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Siegfried radios Berlin for permission to assassinate Roosevelt. Berlin's answer comes straight from Hitler: "Flowers from Berlin" (mission approved). Hynd does a masterful job recreating 1939 Washington DC, and FBI bureaucracy as Cochrane doggedly pursues Siegfried. "Flowers from Berlin" is a real treat for historical thriller readers.
March 21, 2023
Thoroughly enjoyable historical novel, full of Nazi's, communists, corrupt FBI agents etc.
It was good till the end, Hynd really fluffs the conclusion of the yarn.
Dissapointing.
It was good till the end, Hynd really fluffs the conclusion of the yarn.
Dissapointing.
September 26, 2012
This is an excellent World War II spy novel. It is about a German Abwehr agent operating within the United States prior to its entry into the War. Realizing that US involvement in the war is inevitable, this unknown but devious spy hopes to alter the course of the war through one terrible act.
The characters in this book are complex and their relationships involved. It takes the author quite a while to get these all established for the reader so the beginning stages of the book develop rather slowly but once this is done, the book moves along rapidly.
Although this is a work of fiction, the author does provide an excellent historical context and shares quite a bit of information about the thoughts and actions of President Roosevelt, the activities of the wartime FBI, and what Washington, DC was like during that time period.
The characters in this book are complex and their relationships involved. It takes the author quite a while to get these all established for the reader so the beginning stages of the book develop rather slowly but once this is done, the book moves along rapidly.
Although this is a work of fiction, the author does provide an excellent historical context and shares quite a bit of information about the thoughts and actions of President Roosevelt, the activities of the wartime FBI, and what Washington, DC was like during that time period.
April 5, 2018
Excellent story, but needs further editing
I am such a stickler for spelling and punctuation that I usually stop reading if there are too many mistakes. There were a few of those in this book, but the story is so good that I had to keep going. I would read late, then get up a little earlier to read some more before going to work. There are commas and apostrophes where they don't belong, words left out of sentences, and the main character's name switches from Thomas to Bill and back again in the author's notes at the end (you really have to pay attention!). But if you get past those things, this is a book you would really enjoy. I think it would make a great movie!
I am such a stickler for spelling and punctuation that I usually stop reading if there are too many mistakes. There were a few of those in this book, but the story is so good that I had to keep going. I would read late, then get up a little earlier to read some more before going to work. There are commas and apostrophes where they don't belong, words left out of sentences, and the main character's name switches from Thomas to Bill and back again in the author's notes at the end (you really have to pay attention!). But if you get past those things, this is a book you would really enjoy. I think it would make a great movie!
September 18, 2014
A well done fictional WWII thriller. When Hitler sends a spy code name Siegfried to the US to sabotage a meeting, he blends into US like. But he is a ruthless killer and many bodies follow in his wake. Roosevelt send an FBI agent to find and kill him but it is not an easy task as they know nothing about him, what he looks like, etc. Full of suspense as he tracks this killer to an island in South Georgia where he has a terrible plot in the working-this will keep you on the edge of your seat. as a fan of WWII novels, I wish Noel Hynd would write more like this one.
December 26, 2023
DNF at 60%. This felt so disjointed and would’ve benefitted from an editor with a very heavy hand.
May 7, 2018
A disappointment after reading all the hoopla promotions . The author does not reach the levels of the writings of Daniel Silva, Fredrick Forsyth, and Len Deighton .
July 22, 2023
Mills & Boon of the spy novel.
The heroines willingness to pop into bed with male characters after 2 mins slightly unbelievable.
Nicely written though just childish
The heroines willingness to pop into bed with male characters after 2 mins slightly unbelievable.
Nicely written though just childish
May 6, 2018
Unfortunately for Noel Hynd, the first of his books I read was The Truman's Spy, a very fine espionage novel that set the bar so high that it was difficult for the other books to live up to the expectations.
I found Flowers From Berlin gave a very instructive background on the dawn of the art of espionage in the 1930's, on the role of the FBI before the OSS (and its follower, the CIA) were created and on the interaction with the much older British intelligence services. Specifically, the novel offers an interesting insight into the penetration of Nazi spies in the American system: the fiction builds on a real event (the Duquesne spy ring), which I was not aware of; the novel also provides good insights on the motives which pushed American nationals to become Nazi agents on American soil before the US entry into WWI.
So why 3 stars only? There nothing particularly wrong here, actually Flowers From Berlin is a good book, but not as great as The Truman's Spy...
I found Flowers From Berlin gave a very instructive background on the dawn of the art of espionage in the 1930's, on the role of the FBI before the OSS (and its follower, the CIA) were created and on the interaction with the much older British intelligence services. Specifically, the novel offers an interesting insight into the penetration of Nazi spies in the American system: the fiction builds on a real event (the Duquesne spy ring), which I was not aware of; the novel also provides good insights on the motives which pushed American nationals to become Nazi agents on American soil before the US entry into WWI.
So why 3 stars only? There nothing particularly wrong here, actually Flowers From Berlin is a good book, but not as great as The Truman's Spy...
March 8, 2017
I enjoyed this spy story set just before WWII (or at least the US entry to the war) both for the story itself, and for the glimpse of the development of early US intelligence agencies. Even though it is set in a historical setting, so I knew Roosevelt wasn't really blown up by an agent of the German government, the suspense was good enough that I wondered if it was a revisionist historical novel for a while. And even though the agent was revealed before the end, there was still plenty of action up to the end. One of the things that really struck me, was that although this is set in the 1940's, and was written in 1985, the isolationist attitude of many of the American people was frighteningly similar to the America First rhetoric we are hearing today.
April 15, 2020
( Format : Audiobook )
"No such thing as coincidence in this work."
An excellent synopsis has already been given so there will be no further rehearsal of the story.
The characters are all provided with full back histories and are well developed and, set in the pre war period for the United States, the action feels feasible, exciting and dreadful.
Narration by the excellent George Kuch brings everything further to life with his fine performance.
For readers who enjoy detailed spy stories and accurate historical locations, this is a great book and highly recommended. Good, too, for thriller fans.
"No such thing as coincidence in this work."
An excellent synopsis has already been given so there will be no further rehearsal of the story.
The characters are all provided with full back histories and are well developed and, set in the pre war period for the United States, the action feels feasible, exciting and dreadful.
Narration by the excellent George Kuch brings everything further to life with his fine performance.
For readers who enjoy detailed spy stories and accurate historical locations, this is a great book and highly recommended. Good, too, for thriller fans.
July 6, 2020
Flowers From Berlin. Noel Hynd
Spies or traitors can sometimes come from two schools of thought. Someone who is opposed to the current political arena and POTUS. They view themselves as patriots. The second group disillusioned people from the higher end of society who sense their way of life and American ideals as crumbling. In this novel the second person is an assassin working for the Nazi's who he views as the saviors of mankind. The Patriot is in the upper echelon of J Edgar Hoover's FBI. The FBI agent pursuing the assassin is relentless. A pit bull. This is an excellent and highly believable spy thriller. My highest recommendation!!
Spies or traitors can sometimes come from two schools of thought. Someone who is opposed to the current political arena and POTUS. They view themselves as patriots. The second group disillusioned people from the higher end of society who sense their way of life and American ideals as crumbling. In this novel the second person is an assassin working for the Nazi's who he views as the saviors of mankind. The Patriot is in the upper echelon of J Edgar Hoover's FBI. The FBI agent pursuing the assassin is relentless. A pit bull. This is an excellent and highly believable spy thriller. My highest recommendation!!
May 30, 2022
Historical Fiction
One of the best spy novels set during the early years of WWII. Like all good spy novels our heroe is no different containing the beliefs and actions of a saint. Someone who you would be proud to call your son. Historical figures like Donovan and Dulles are true to what most of us know. I sense a movie of this novel could be done as all the scenes flow like a film. Covers many of the inspiring German resistance groups The White Rose for example all these aspiring acts are woven together to tell a thrilling page turner that for all intents really happened. Highly plausible and like all good spy novels the good guys win.
One of the best spy novels set during the early years of WWII. Like all good spy novels our heroe is no different containing the beliefs and actions of a saint. Someone who you would be proud to call your son. Historical figures like Donovan and Dulles are true to what most of us know. I sense a movie of this novel could be done as all the scenes flow like a film. Covers many of the inspiring German resistance groups The White Rose for example all these aspiring acts are woven together to tell a thrilling page turner that for all intents really happened. Highly plausible and like all good spy novels the good guys win.
February 10, 2023
1934-1939. What can I add that has not already been reviewed about this pre WWII thriller? Kudos to Noel Hynd — a master craftsman storyteller — your deep skill set certainly shines in this book. Flowers from Berlin (brilliant title!) has the suspense of a Hitchcock movie and the nuances of a Dan Brown novel. This timeline spy journey is well planned and goes by quickly. Each character is given a wide breadth of exploration, culminating in all of them coming together for a thrilling yet expected ending. I am looking forward to continuing this series from Mr. Hynd as he takes us well into the 1990s.
April 16, 2020
I enjoyed this book. I'm a fan of spy novels covering the era from before WW2 though the cold war.
The author does a good job with the story as it unfolds just before America entered the war with Germany. He kind of mergers the German spy with a young man who enters university for a study of the Christina religion, and to become a preacher in an established church in a small town in NJ. With romantic interests and did he marry the girl for love or because she was useful in his effort to spy for Germany......Read the book to find out.
The author does a good job with the story as it unfolds just before America entered the war with Germany. He kind of mergers the German spy with a young man who enters university for a study of the Christina religion, and to become a preacher in an established church in a small town in NJ. With romantic interests and did he marry the girl for love or because she was useful in his effort to spy for Germany......Read the book to find out.
February 24, 2022
Great read
Really enjoyed this, as I did a couple of Noel Hynd's other novels. The story is engaging and kept my attention. I do think he should have made Laura a few years older...she seems a bit young to have the maturity depicted in this story. Additionally, he needs a new proofreader...or someone needs to proof the Kindle version for errant returns. In the middle of sentences there are line breaks, and there are a few typos. It was the same in the other books of his that I read.
Really enjoyed this, as I did a couple of Noel Hynd's other novels. The story is engaging and kept my attention. I do think he should have made Laura a few years older...she seems a bit young to have the maturity depicted in this story. Additionally, he needs a new proofreader...or someone needs to proof the Kindle version for errant returns. In the middle of sentences there are line breaks, and there are a few typos. It was the same in the other books of his that I read.
May 13, 2025
History and the FBI
Bill Cochran joined the FBI right after his wife’s death at age 21. The FBI was struggling in its inception. And the world was starting to see Hitler gaining more and more power. Interestingly, the wiles of Chamberlain and Stalin lead to fears of a Second World War, not too long after TheGreat War. Humanity is shown in its better form in Bill Cochran; and in its worse forms in Stephen Fowler, Dick Wheeler, Hitler and the Nazis. I really enjoyed this novel, both history and fiction.
Bill Cochran joined the FBI right after his wife’s death at age 21. The FBI was struggling in its inception. And the world was starting to see Hitler gaining more and more power. Interestingly, the wiles of Chamberlain and Stalin lead to fears of a Second World War, not too long after TheGreat War. Humanity is shown in its better form in Bill Cochran; and in its worse forms in Stephen Fowler, Dick Wheeler, Hitler and the Nazis. I really enjoyed this novel, both history and fiction.
July 25, 2017
While I enjoyed this novel and liked the historical accuracy, the characters are thin and stereotyped and I thought vthe plot jumped forward at critical points without any investigative details. It seemed almost that chapters had been removed at points in the story, leaving me to look backwards wondering where I missed parts.
It's an easy read with minimal intellectual or emotional investment. Not the worst I've ever read, but nowhere even close to brilliance.
It's an easy read with minimal intellectual or emotional investment. Not the worst I've ever read, but nowhere even close to brilliance.
February 26, 2020
Could have been a decent story, only if. Only if the author did not have the persistent urge to over-indulge in continuous drivel. One is forced to experience boring and repetitious conversations, the inner thoughts of every character, regardless of relevance and indeed, share different individuals' pointless dreams time and again. Switched to extreme speed-reading half way through, in order to lessen the irritation.
April 17, 2022
Top notch historical fiction with lessons for today
The story follows a protagonist in pre WW2 Europe and later in the US where a covert battle has begun. What I found striking is how the commentary informs and hopefully alarms the reader of today. The book was written in the 80’s but you would guess it was very recently written to expose some in comfortable truths of today.
I recommend this book.
The story follows a protagonist in pre WW2 Europe and later in the US where a covert battle has begun. What I found striking is how the commentary informs and hopefully alarms the reader of today. The book was written in the 80’s but you would guess it was very recently written to expose some in comfortable truths of today.
I recommend this book.
July 26, 2022
A real page-turner
As a story, un-put-downable. As historical fiction, woven skillfully through events that actually happened. As a romance, not quite credible; Laura’s breakneck change of heart served the story nicely, but the twist was simplistic. Complex, traumatic, her situation deserved to be treated with some depth. As deft as this writer is, Hynd could have done it . Having said that, I still give it 5 stars—a rip-roaring tale with a satisfying conclusion.
As a story, un-put-downable. As historical fiction, woven skillfully through events that actually happened. As a romance, not quite credible; Laura’s breakneck change of heart served the story nicely, but the twist was simplistic. Complex, traumatic, her situation deserved to be treated with some depth. As deft as this writer is, Hynd could have done it . Having said that, I still give it 5 stars—a rip-roaring tale with a satisfying conclusion.
July 15, 2018
Engrossing Read!
Not usually one for spy novels, I could hardly put this one down. Characters were well developed and the plot has enough twists and turns to keep one turning the pages. I usually finish a book in a couple of days but this one took a while as I read carefully to understand the characters and how their actions could have impacted the history of my lifetime.
Not usually one for spy novels, I could hardly put this one down. Characters were well developed and the plot has enough twists and turns to keep one turning the pages. I usually finish a book in a couple of days but this one took a while as I read carefully to understand the characters and how their actions could have impacted the history of my lifetime.
October 14, 2018
An Excellent Spy Novel!
It reads like a documentary but is definitely a fine novel full of suspense and intrigue. Gives you somewhat of a perspective of how America was before getting into WW2. Not as much as Winds of War but pretty interesting. The fine police work of Bill Cochrane in finding the spy was precise and interesting.
It reads like a documentary but is definitely a fine novel full of suspense and intrigue. Gives you somewhat of a perspective of how America was before getting into WW2. Not as much as Winds of War but pretty interesting. The fine police work of Bill Cochrane in finding the spy was precise and interesting.
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