Goodnight Vienna: A Novel Of World War Two

by J.H. Schryer

It is March 1938. Hitler has marched into Vienna to a triumphant reception, but the 180,000 Jews living in the city fear the future. Katharine Simmons, an undercover SIS agent working at the British Passport Office, is distraught when her husband, also an undercover agent, is taken from their home and disappears without trace. Left alone in Vienna, Katharine's secret work prevents her from returning home, but the noose is tightening around the SIS operatives as a suspected double agent is betraying them. Can the love of a mystery man save Katharine from the Gestapo? Who is her secret betrayer? And what is the past that haunts her? In this extraordinary debut novel, love, honor and power compete against a backdrop of the growing tensions of 1930s Vienna.

Genres: Historical Fiction

192 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2009

Reviews

[Hannah · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is amazing. I have always enjoyed reading books based around secret agents in the world wars, this book is different from other books that I have seen though.
I really enjoyed that it was set in Vienna, it gave a different viewpoint from a lot of fiction/tv/movies.
The story was engaging and had characters that you really liked.
The only thing I would say was a negative point, is that I found it quite predictable. Having said that, I really didn't mind all that much, because there was enough going on to keep me interested, which is why it gains a 5 star rating from me.
If you like books about undercover war time agents, this is a great read.
It's set right before the war starts which is really interesting, seeing the build up to the war, and the work that the undercover agents were doing at that time.
It was quite simply excellent.

[Francois Houle · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've always enjoyed reading about that difficult time in human history and this book delivered for the most part. The novel depicts life after Hitler invaded Austria (without much effort). The story as a whole is good, but some of the writing wasn't as polished as I like. I felt the 2 main characters had seperate plot lines and didn't entertwine enough to make me feel for their seperation throughout the war. There is a lot of shifting point of view in the middle of scenes which I find very annoying and shows a lack of final editting. Even with these techincal shortcomings, the story was enjoyable and should be for those who like to read about WWII stories and the heroism of ordinary people to not let their spirit be destroyed.

[Debbie Trammell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good book

Enjoyed this story! Hoping there will be more with these characters after all the war has just started. I will recommend!