Why did Hitler chose not to invade England when he had the chance?
Europe, 1940: It’s late summer and Belgium has been overrun by the German army. Posing as a friar, a British operative talks his way into the monastery at Villers-devant-Orval just before Nazi art thieves plan to sweep through the area and whisk everything of value back to Berlin. But the ersatz man of the cloth is no thief. Instead, that night he adds an old leather Bible to the monastery’s library and then escapes.
London, 2017: A construction worker operating a backhoe makes a grisly discovery—a skeletal arm-bone with a rusty handcuff attached to the wrist. Was this the site, as a BBC newsreader speculates, of “a long-forgotten prison, uncharted on any map?” One viewer knows better: it’s all that remains of a courier who died in a V-2 rocket attack. The woman who will put these two disparate events together—and understand the looming tragedy she must hurry to prevent—is Russian historian and former Soviet chess champion Larissa Mendelovg Klimt, “Lara the Bookworm,” to her friends. She’s also experiencing some woeful marital troubles.
In the course of this riveting thriller, Lara will learn the significance of six musty Dictaphone cylinders recorded after D-Day by Noel Coward—actor, playwright and, secretly, a British agent reporting directly to Winston Churchill. She will understand precisely why that leather Bible, scooped up by the Nazis and deposited on the desk of Adolf Hitler days before he planned to attack Britain, played such a pivotal role in turning his guns to the East. And she will discover the new secret pact negotiated by the nefarious Russian president and his newly elected American counterpart—maverick and dealmaker—and the evil it portends.
Oh, and she’ll reconcile with her husband.
I was riveted during the prologue, but the author almost lost me completely on pages 7 and 8; anyone inclined to read this book should skip those pages. Nothing of consequence happens, and you'll be left with a mental image you'll never be able to unsee.
So given all that love and nausea happening before page 10, I was unsure of what the rest of the book was going to bring. Fortunately, the story evened out for the better. I went back to being lost in what is a fabulously decadent 'what if' fantasy of old school East vs. West. There are a lot of names dropped in this tale: Noël Coward, Marlene Dietrich, the Kennedys, even Ian Flemming. It was pure, escapist fun.
Unfortunately, Silver didn't quite stick the landing. He created an intensely intricate plot, but didn't give himself (or the publisher didn't give him) the pages to fully realise it. The result is a somewhat rushed and muddy climax that falls a little flat for lack of, and I can't believe I'm saying this, drama. I love what he wanted to do with it, but given more time and attention it could have been a breath-taking scene and that scene deserved the extra time and attention. Instead, it ended up being not much more than someone yelling "Fire" in a theatre. Finally, the last half dozen lines in the book should have been deleted. They were ridiculous, and of all the unrealistic things that happen in this book, they are by far, the most implausible.
This author is not without talent; I was enthralled for 75% of this book and it was, in spite of its shortcomings, a fun and entertaining read.
Reading updates
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Started reading
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23 March, 2018:
Finished reading
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23 March, 2018:
Reviewed