Garden of Beasts A Novel of Berlin 1936 (Paperback)
| Author: Jeffery Deaver |
| Format: | Paperback | |||
|
||||
| Reputed for his vow to take only morally righteous assignments in 1936 New York City, a German-American hit man is forced by the government to pose as an Olympic contender and kill a member of Hitlers regime. By the author of The Vanished Man. Reprint. *Author: Deaver, Jeffery *Subtitle: A Novel of Berlin 1936 *Publication Date: 2005/01/25 *Number of Pages: 542 *Binding Type: Paperback *Language: English *Depth: 1.25 *Width: 4.25 *Height: 6.75 |
|
From the Publisher:
In the most ingenious and provocative thriller yet from the acclaimed New York Times bestselling author Jeffery Deaver, a conscience-plagued mobster turned government hitman struggles to find his moral compass amid rampant treachery and betrayal in 1936 Berlin. Paul Schumann, a German American living in New York City in 1936, is a mobster hitman known as much for his brilliant tactics as for taking only "righteous" assignments. But then Paul gets caught. And the arresting officer offers him a stark choice: prison or covert government service. Paul is asked to pose as a journalist covering the summer Olympics taking place in Berlin. He's to hunt down and kill Reinhard Ernst -- the ruthless architect of Hitler's clandestine rearmament. If successful, Paul will be pardoned and given the financial means to go legit; if he refuses the job, his fate will be Sing Sing and the electric chair. Paul travels to Germany, takes a room in a boardinghouse near the Tiergarten -- the huge park in central Berlin but also, literally, the "Garden of Beasts" -- and begins his hunt. In classic Deaver fashion, the next forty-eight hours are a feverish cat-and-mouse chase, as Paul stalks Ernst through Berlin while a dogged Berlin police officer and the entire Third Reich apparatus search frantically for the American. Garden of Beasts is packed with fascinating period detail and features a cast of perfectly realized locals, Olympic athletes and senior Nazi officials -- some real, some fictional. With hairpin plot twists, the reigning "master of ticking-bomb suspense" (People) plumbs the nerve-jangling paranoia of prewar Berlin and steers the story to a breathtaking and wholly unpredictable ending. |
This standalone historical thriller by the author of the Lincoln Rhyme series pits a mobster against the Third Reich. The government sets a trap for Paul Schumann, a German-American hitman for the mob, and once Paul springs it, offers him a choice: prison or the chance to do what he does best, but for Uncle Sam this time. Posing as a journalist covering the 1936 Olympics, Paul must kill Colonel Reinhard Ernst, the man responsible for rearming Hitler's Germany. But with both the Nazis and the Berlin police on his trail, will Paul be able to successfully carry out his mission?This standalone historical thriller by the author of the Lincoln Rhyme series pits a mobster against the Third Reich. The government sets a trap for Paul Schumann, a German-American hitman for the mob, and once Paul springs it, offers him a choice: prison or the chance to do what he does best, but for Uncle Sam this time. Posing as a journalist covering the 1936 Olympics, Paul must kill Colonel Reinhard Ernst, the man responsible for rearming Hitler's Germany. But with both the Nazis and the Berlin police on his trail, will Paul be able to successfully carry out his mission?
Praise
"[A] deliciously twisty tale....[I]t's the smart, shaded-gray characterizations of the principals that anchor the exciting plot....This is prime Deaver, which means prime entertainment." (starred review) 05/03/2004
Book Format:
