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Prague Spring: A Simon Wolfe Mystery
The murder of a United States congressman's son sends Inspector Simon Wolfe of the San Francisco Police Department on a pursuit in which he is blackmailed with his past as an Israeli assassin. When Inspector Wolfe falls in love with the dead boy's psychiatrist and must protect her from a rogue Nazi operative, he is forced to come to terms with his uncompromising notions of justice that were formed when he was a prisoner in Theresienstadt and Auschwitz. This gripping tale of murder and deceit interweaves history and mystery against the charged and colorful background of Berkeley in the 1960's. Wolfe is a difficult and sympathetic character who relentlessly pursues the truth in a time of desperate optimism. This is more than just a story of good versus evil; it satisfies the genre and then slips its boundaries to provide readers with a deeper understanding of the the law and the pitfalls of love.
The first-person narrative voice with its world-weary tone is masterfully rendered... evoking irresistible "hard-boiled" detectives like Lawrence Block's Matt Scudder and Walter Mosley's Easy Rawlins... blessed with an engaging character and abundant intrigue. -- Kirkus Discoveries
This fast-paced detective story is distinctive in that it weaves two events in 1968--Berkeley's student protests and the Czech uprising against the Soviet Union, for which the book is named, and mixes in flashbacks by the central character to his time as a prisoner in Theresienstadt and Auschwitz. Inspector Simon Wolfe works for the San Francisco Police Department, and is a Holocaust survivor who was a member of the Mossad's "Nokim," a group that killed Nazis. When a congressman's son is murdered, Wolfe's attempts to solve the crime are inhibited by the police and the congressman as he is blackmailed about his past. He is further compromised by his feelings for the murder victim's psychiatrist, who is a child of Holocaust survivors herself. Wolfe is a sympathetic character, though he is a loner with unshakable opinions. Wolfe's insistence on following through with this case leads the reader to explore the ideas of political corruption, revenge, justice, and survival. -- Jewish Book Council
San Francisco police inspector Simon Wolfe is a Holocaust survivor who, as a Haganah avenger, assassinated Nazis in Europe. He originally came to the United States in 1952 as a Mossad agent sent to kill a former German mayor who had burned his town's Jews in a synagogue. That mission was aborted, but now, years later, current events infringe on the Why does a congressional candidate whose son died suspiciously, want the boy's death ruled an accident? And why is he using an ex-Nazi strongman to blackmail Wolfe about his past--he was a ghetto guard in Theresienstadt and originally entered the United States illegally--to stop the investigation?
When Wolfe consults with the dead boy's psychiatrist--who happens to run an oral survivor history project--they find points of commonality, especially the moral dilemma they have both When is it permissible to take a life? This is an intelligent novel that has humor as well as pain. -- Hadassah Magazine
If you like detective novels, you'll love David Del Bourgo's "Prague Spring." Written as a Simon Wolfe mystery, the action of the book is set in San Francisco in the 1960s, nearly two decades after the Holocaust, and after the war that still haunts the protagonist. Wolfe, a former Mossad agent and member of its Nokim -- a group that tracked and killed former Nazis -- is now a San Francisco Police Department detective.
There's sex. There's lust. There's blackmail. Of course, there is a lot of suspense. It is one of those novels that the reader just can't put down. -- Baltimore Jewish Times
The story goes through numerous twists and turns before the ultimate conclusion. The crime drama... is very satisfying, with the various plot twists coming fast and furious and never predictably. -- ABNA Publisher W
The first-person narrative voice with its world-weary tone is masterfully rendered... evoking irresistible "hard-boiled" detectives like Lawrence Block's Matt Scudder and Walter Mosley's Easy Rawlins... blessed with an engaging character and abundant intrigue. -- Kirkus Discoveries
This fast-paced detective story is distinctive in that it weaves two events in 1968--Berkeley's student protests and the Czech uprising against the Soviet Union, for which the book is named, and mixes in flashbacks by the central character to his time as a prisoner in Theresienstadt and Auschwitz. Inspector Simon Wolfe works for the San Francisco Police Department, and is a Holocaust survivor who was a member of the Mossad's "Nokim," a group that killed Nazis. When a congressman's son is murdered, Wolfe's attempts to solve the crime are inhibited by the police and the congressman as he is blackmailed about his past. He is further compromised by his feelings for the murder victim's psychiatrist, who is a child of Holocaust survivors herself. Wolfe is a sympathetic character, though he is a loner with unshakable opinions. Wolfe's insistence on following through with this case leads the reader to explore the ideas of political corruption, revenge, justice, and survival. -- Jewish Book Council
San Francisco police inspector Simon Wolfe is a Holocaust survivor who, as a Haganah avenger, assassinated Nazis in Europe. He originally came to the United States in 1952 as a Mossad agent sent to kill a former German mayor who had burned his town's Jews in a synagogue. That mission was aborted, but now, years later, current events infringe on the Why does a congressional candidate whose son died suspiciously, want the boy's death ruled an accident? And why is he using an ex-Nazi strongman to blackmail Wolfe about his past--he was a ghetto guard in Theresienstadt and originally entered the United States illegally--to stop the investigation?
When Wolfe consults with the dead boy's psychiatrist--who happens to run an oral survivor history project--they find points of commonality, especially the moral dilemma they have both When is it permissible to take a life? This is an intelligent novel that has humor as well as pain. -- Hadassah Magazine
If you like detective novels, you'll love David Del Bourgo's "Prague Spring." Written as a Simon Wolfe mystery, the action of the book is set in San Francisco in the 1960s, nearly two decades after the Holocaust, and after the war that still haunts the protagonist. Wolfe, a former Mossad agent and member of its Nokim -- a group that tracked and killed former Nazis -- is now a San Francisco Police Department detective.
There's sex. There's lust. There's blackmail. Of course, there is a lot of suspense. It is one of those novels that the reader just can't put down. -- Baltimore Jewish Times
The story goes through numerous twists and turns before the ultimate conclusion. The crime drama... is very satisfying, with the various plot twists coming fast and furious and never predictably. -- ABNA Publisher W
286 pages, Paperback
First published April 1, 2009
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7 people want to read
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
April 4, 2010
Someone has murdered a US congressman’s son. This case brings in Inspector Simon Wolfe of the San Francisco PD. He will have to use everything in his arsenal to track down the killer. It won’t be easy as the killer is smart. It will be the battle of the wits.
It appears that the killer may have one up on Wolfe. The killer knows something about Wolfe’s past life before he became Inspector. Wolfe used to be an Israeli assassin but the question is…what does Wolfe’s past have to do with the present? This is the million dollar question that Wolfe must find the answer to before it is too late
I liked the beginning of this book. The pace started out right. Unfortunately, the adrenaline rush I felt in the beginning let me pretty soon afterwards. This of course seemed to apply only to me, as all the other reviews I saw for this book were glowing. I am not saying that I hated the book but only that it didn’t engage me as much as I had hoped it would. It was the characters and the storyline. I couldn’t connect with any of them. I appreciated that at the beginning of this book, Mr. Del Bourgo shared that the tried to be as accurate with the historical timelines and facts as he could with a fiction novel. Prague Spring showed that Mr. Del Bourgo showed good promise as an author.
It appears that the killer may have one up on Wolfe. The killer knows something about Wolfe’s past life before he became Inspector. Wolfe used to be an Israeli assassin but the question is…what does Wolfe’s past have to do with the present? This is the million dollar question that Wolfe must find the answer to before it is too late
I liked the beginning of this book. The pace started out right. Unfortunately, the adrenaline rush I felt in the beginning let me pretty soon afterwards. This of course seemed to apply only to me, as all the other reviews I saw for this book were glowing. I am not saying that I hated the book but only that it didn’t engage me as much as I had hoped it would. It was the characters and the storyline. I couldn’t connect with any of them. I appreciated that at the beginning of this book, Mr. Del Bourgo shared that the tried to be as accurate with the historical timelines and facts as he could with a fiction novel. Prague Spring showed that Mr. Del Bourgo showed good promise as an author.
Displaying 1 of 1 review