Stealing Trinity

by Ward Larsen

April, 1945: As Germany collapses, the Third Reich makes a desperate grab for its most valuable asset – Die Wespe, a spy deep in the Manhattan project. The man chosen to carry out the mission is Alexander Braun --American born, Harvard educated, and a ruthless killer.Amid the quiet leisure of Newport, a young heiress and British Army investigator flush out the agent and track him to the wastelands of New Mexico.July 16, 1945: the world’s first atomic test, codename Trinity. In the days that follow, four people vie for control of the secret that will change the world.

Genres: Thriller, Historical Fiction, Fiction, Mystery, Espionage, Historical, Suspense

326 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 1, 2008

About the author

Ward Larsen is the USA Today bestselling author of espionage thrillers. A seven-time winner of the Florida Book Award, his first novel, The Perfect Assassin, has been optioned for film by Amber Entertainment.
A former Air Force fighter pilot, he has also served as an airline captain, and is a trained aircraft accident investigator.

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Reviews

[Michael L Wilkerson (Papa Gray Wolf) · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am now engrossed in the 4th David Slaton thriller and having read the first 3 I decided to read Stealing Trinity.

VASTLY different! VASTLY I say.

I felt that this was almost a WWII love story and I still feel that, and not a well written one. You have Lydia who is in love with Alex Braun, unbeknownst to her a spy for the failed Third Reich, and you have Michael Thatcher. (Any relation to Margaret?) Michael is a major in the intelligence branch of the British army, a widower who lost his wife and the love of his life when a German plan taking part in the blitz was shot down and crashed with their load of bombs into the Thatcher home. And now he hunts Nazis with a vengeance and wants none to escape just because the war is over.

Braun is charged with stealing the secrets of the Manhattan Project, the brain trust created to develop the atomic bomb. With the war in Europe over before he is delivered to the U.S. shores his motivation comes not for any love of the Faterland (Germany if you didn't know) but rather for whatever he can get for those secrets.

And so begins the improbable chase across America and even into the far Pacific with Braun now having been revealed to Lydia as the scoundrel and cad that he is and in hot pursuit are Thatcher who has taken leave (of his senses?) to pursue Braun in spite of the FBI telling him to go home and who try to arrest him just to get him out of their hair. Oh, and Lydia joins the chase also. And the FBI? They really are unconcerned for the most part.

Did I mention improbable?

The skulduggery is weak, the chase is . . . what's that word again? Oh yes, improbable, and the romance is tepid at best.

Larsen's David Slaton series is the opposite of this book; thrilling, action, romance though hardly graphic but certainly not tepid, so you can see why, with my estimation of this book that I was disappointed.

I started Assassin's Code this morning and the only reason I'm not reading it still was due to my own hunger and my cat demanding to be fed as well. I will read more of Slayton and I'll delve into Larsen's Jammer Davis series and even his stand alone, Cutting Edge novel. I consider Stealing Trinity to be a literary bump in the road and so far I haven't seen that same bump in his other books.

[Katherine Robeson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was a great read. It was centered around the manhattan project and the atomic bomb. It is a thriller and keeps you turning the pages to see what happens next. I really enjoyed it! A fun read!

[Vera Lafleur · Rating 5 out of 5]

The title refers to Trinity, the code name for the atomic bomb developed in Los Alamos, New Mexico during World War II. A fascination "what if" story. The author is well-versed in history, aeronautics, and the ramifications of the human psyche. Germany has surrendered but there's still Japan to deal with. The tale involves a German scientist embedded in the super-secret Manhattan Project and the ruthless American born, Harvard educated German officer sent to retrieve his secrets. Against all odds, a determined British officer and a naive young woman learn the truth and thwart the scheme in a tension-filled over the top conclusion. The ending seems a bit contrived but would make an exciting Hollywood movie.

[Wayne · Rating 4 out of 5]

An exciting piece of historical fiction.
Ward Larsen has drawn interesting characters in this adventure involving a Nazi scientist working on the Manhattan Project and willing to steal the secrets to the atomic bomb... a ruthless killer hired by Nazi loyalists following Germany's defeat in 1944 to get the Nazi scientist out of the US... a British investigator sent to the US to find the killer and prevent the theft of the secrets... a wealthy woman from Long Island who had been the killer's lover in college and whose family provides refuge to the killer unaware of his plans...and an FBI agent who doubts the British agent's claim that there is a plot to "steal Trinity" (the 1st A-Bomb).
The chase is on. An extremely interesting tale of espionage and derring-do.

[Manda · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Stealing Trinity" by Ward Larsen is a gripping historical fiction that immerses readers in a heart-pounding adventure. From the outset, the action-packed thriller ensnares with its intensity, leaving no room for boredom. The clever incorporation of a major historical event adds depth and intrigue to the narrative, making it truly remarkable. Ward Larsen's masterful storytelling keeps the pages turning effortlessly, as readers become invested in the well-developed characters and their mission. This enthralling blend of history, espionage, and thrill makes "Stealing Trinity" an outstanding read that will leave readers on the edge of their seats, eagerly following every twist and turn until the very end.

[Bruce Raterink · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ward Larsen is the king of fast paced, action packed, espionage novels. This is a standalone, focused on WWII, German spies, and the Manhattan Project. The well developed characters and non stop action kept me reading late into the night. If you like this, you owe it to yourself to read Ward Larsen's David Slaton series and Jammer Davis series. All are fast paced, non stop action, military/espionage thrillers. Highly recommended

[Meredith Angwin · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this book a lot, though I found it to be sort of similar to Ken Follett's "The Eye of the Needle." However, "Eye of the Needle" is the best thriller that I ever read, so I guess that is okay. I recommend it.

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book….

I found Larsen to blend a great amount of history into his fiction in this book making this very fun to read. I have found Larsen to be a good author and happy the digital library is carrying more of his work, looking forward to more good reading!

[Yemic · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5
I was expecting a major Sci-Fi vibe from 'Stealing Trinity,' given the types of genres the author typically writes. That said, it was still an enjoyable read, even though it turned out to be an alternate history.

[Douglas Hughes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fact-based fiction, fast action, great characters, great character development, and even a possible setting for the Indianapolis sinking. Larsen is a great story teller.

[Michael Goulette · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not as good as his other books but still readable.

[Clark · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good blending of fiction and history.

[John Romig · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sirprise.

Surprisingly this was a rather good book.//.

The
Review I read did not look this .good. Will g e t more of thi





o

[Deb Dormer · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent gripping story

Another excellent story from this author, cleverly bought together in a page turning and exciting conclusion, a highly recommended read,

[Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought the endin was rather weak, but other than that, I really enjoyed the book.

[Sheila · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not impressed. A quick read more of a love story.

[Jerry Summers · Rating 4 out of 5]

It all started with the Indy sinking at the end of WWII. An English major hunts an American Nazi spy trying to steal the Manhattan secrets. Like around the world in 80 days but in reverse.

[A.L. Sowards]

This was a fun read. I thought the concept was pretty awesome: as Berlin crumbles around them, a few of Hitler’s minions devise a desperate plan to steal America’s atomic secrets and rebuild the Third Reich. They already have a scientist imbedded in the Manhattan Project, so they just need someone to go get him and his information. They pick Alex Braun because he used to live in the US. He agrees to the job, because you don’t say no the the SD, and because, hey, who wouldn’t want out of Berlin in April 1945? Once he gets back to the US, Alex is more interested in picking up where he left off with a former girlfriend than he is with stealing atomic secrets. But it turns out she’s married. And a British Nazi hunter is on his tail. And he needs money. I won’t go further because I don’t want to spoil the plot.

The book isn’t completely clean; there’s some swearing and some sex. I could tell the author did a lot of research, but he missed a few small things. Larsen strained credibility a few times, and his point of view was fuzzy in a few scenes, but I still really enjoyed the book. I’d recommend it to fans of Jack Higgins or Alistair MacLean.

[Michael Feeney · Rating 3 out of 5]

Impulse buy; picked up as Kindle deal of the day months ago and picked away at it a bit at a time before seriously powering through it recently. Very glad I did.

Very different than my usual read, but that's the whole point, isn't it? I can easily see why historical fiction is such a popular genre. This sort of "What if" thinking is natural to everyone, and so makes for an inexhaustible supply of scenarios.

This one is quite simple in the telling: the pursuit of a loose thread; a Nazi agent tasked with stealing the secrets of the Manhattan Project in the days after the surrender of Germany.

Great thriller; interesting story. Well written, but switches perspective/voice a little too frequently; gets a little distracting. Inclusion of female protagonist so prominently into the third act changes the tone of the piece. Turns the feel from tight spy story to Hollywood thriller. Not necessarily a bad thing, just unexpected and tonally at odds with the earlier chapters.

All in all, a very enjoyable read; looking forward to move of the author's works.

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

The early part of this novel reminded me of "Day of the Jackel". The villain, Alex Braun, seems to be a sociopath who thinks nothing of killing to achieve his ends. He is tracked by a determined British agent driven, in part, by his own internal angst. The novel alternates the storyline between these two main characters and I found this to be interesting and made for easy reading. The later part of the novel reverts to the standard thriller format focusing more on far stretched coincidence and improbable physical action - standard thriller format. While I enjoyed the earlier sections much more this book should appeal to most thriller fans.

The e-book version is available on Amazon for half the price of the paperback. While there are a few grammar errors, the editing is better than most e-books.

[Chuck · Rating 3 out of 5]

It seems I can only go so long without reading a Los Alamos, NM, Manhattan Project, Nazi spy story. This was my most recent fix. The project is nearing completion and Die Wespe, the Nazi spy has collected the secrets but has no way to transmit them back to the Fatherland. The solution; send in an action hero to extricate him and bring the documents back. The Allies retaliate by putting their ace spy catcher on the case. The plot gets a little loose and far
fetched at that point. The climax was disappointing.

[Jenn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Period piece set around the Manhattan Project and the end of WWII. I wasn't so sure I was going to like this when I started it, but it just kept building and building that I couldn't help but read as much as I could during the day and again later at night after giving my hands a rest, reading until I was literally dropping my phone on the floor because I was so tired and been up so late reading.

If you like espionage and chases over countries and continents, men with honor or twisted senses of it, you should check this one out.

[Ed · Rating 4 out of 5]

Spy-Counterspy towards the end of WWII. The title of this 2008 novel, of course, refers to Trinity as the code name for the first nuclear explosion, as part of the Manhattan Project.

Thriller - In the waning days of WWII Berlin, three top Nazis meet to finalize a plan to restore the Reich. They send Alex Braun, a Harvard educated soldier from the Russian Front on a mission to the US to meet an agent, Die Wespe, who has infiltrated the Manhattan Project. Major Michael Thatcher, British Intelligence, learns of the plan and determines to stop Braun.

[Helen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my second book by mr Larson and all I can say is there no end to this mans knowledge on a mechanical level. In fly by wire it was aviation. This time it is an In depth knowledge of espionage and shipping at the end of WW2. A good story which was mostly well done. The only niggle was a series of coincidences which I did not find that plausible. For instance Braun and Lydia arriving almost at the same time at some rinky dink train station in the Midwest.

[Gregg Chiota · Rating 3 out of 5]

Solid book using the Manhatten Project as its background and the intense effort of the crumbling German Reich to steal its secrets. Follows a British investigator to America in pursuit of a German spy who was charged in the last days of the Third Reich to rendevous with a German scientist who had secretly been stealing nuclear plans.

[Applefruit · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book, and I'm becoming a true Ward Larsen fan. This story is set after WWII. Alexander Braun, a ruthless Nazi, is hunted by British Major Michael Thatcher. The story is not a typical cat-and-mouse game at all. Braun is a fascinating character, and unfortunately I was much more interested in him (the villain) than the hero, Thatcher. Overall, this was a good read.

[Jennie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a great spy novel that takes place during WWII. It deals with a scientist/spy trying to smuggle out the secrets of the Manhattan project before the first atomic bomb is dropped. The story is very gripping and has interesting historical notes.

[Ray · Rating 4 out of 5]

Written cinematically, this book has everything needed for a blockbuster movie. The first thing I did after finishing it was to turn to page 1 and start again, to more fully appreciate the intricate twists.

[Carol · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was pretty hard to get into in the beginning. It jumped around a lot and seemed to take a long time to get to the point. It picked up about half way through and ended pretty well. Basically, it's a so- so book in my opinion.

[Eddie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this little book. A page turner. Nazis lose the war but send out a spy to steal the documents from The Manhattan Project for later use by escaped Nazi higher-ups who have gone to Argentina. Would make a good thriller movie starring Tom Cruise.