Strike Zone

by Charles Robertson

In the fall of 1941, as Japan enlists the aid of the Nazis in its plan to bomb Pearl Harbor, a skilled Nazi saboteur is dispatched to destroy the Panama Canal and America's chances of reinforcing its damaged Pacific fleet

384 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1990

Reviews

[Dan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Like '70s bestsellers "The Day of the Jackal" (assassination of Charles de Gaulle) and "The Eagle Has Landed" (kidnapping of Winston Churchill), Charles Robertson's "Strike Zone" (1990) is about a fictional plot that we know up front is doomed to failure ... because, you know, history. In this case, it's a Nazi scheme -- in concert with Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor -- to blow up the Panama Canal Zone. Protagonist Harry Fox is a Rick Blaine knockoff who's running a bar in Panama City when he tumbles to the plot after the FBI promises to pardon him for past counterfeiting crimes if he'll help them steal $4 million from the Germans. Yeah. It's competent enough and one certainly gets the lowdown on Canal Zone history, geography and politics, but Fox is a bland hero who often seems more lucky than tough and it's kind of a slog before the bad guys get their comeuppance. Oh, shoot: Spoiler alert.