Author Stephen Hunter is new to me but one I will now keep an eye on. Hunter was formerly the chief film critic for The Washington Post and even won a Pulitzer for his collections of film criticism. He is also a prolific author, having written 20 novels and several works of non-fiction. There are 12 novels in his "Bob Lee Swagger" series plus two related spin-off series. This newest work (2021) is a stand-alone. The protagonist of this WWII era (1943) mystery is British Army Capt. Basil St. Florian. He has been a failure at everything his father has set him to do up to this point, but it turns out that he makes a really good spy--when he's not seducing Hollywood actresses! He parachutes into France, steals identity papers, and heads for Paris, where he is ordered to locate and photograph pages from a rare 17th century religious tract. Apparently the text serves as the basis for a "book code"--i.e., both sender and receiver rely on the same book to send and decipher encrypted messages. He can't steal the book because then the Nazis would know their codes have been compromised. The higher ups in the SOE (Basil's bosses) believe this pamphlet is the book code "key." They are also sure there is a Russian spy working at Bletchley Park and they are trying to use him/her in a clandestine manner to manipulate the Russians into a certain military strategy which they hope will end the war sooner. Having the key will allow them to identify this spy. The German policeman in Paris who is tracking Basil is very sharp, not a fan of the Nazis SS, but committed to finding Basil and it is the cat and mouse game between the two of them that comprises the bulk of the storyline. Publishers Weekly lauds Hunter's writing style as "a breezy, boys’ adventure book style that complements Basil’s derring-do exploits." A quick and engaging read.
No comments:
Post a Comment