American Colonel on a secret sea maneuver just before D-Day. Wounded and adrift for days, he washes ashore on German-occupied island of Jersey. The news gets to the Allied high command. Problem is, the Colonel knows the time/place of invasion; now he must be rescued or silenced.
From Library Journal
Colonel Hugh Kelso is privy to information regarding the Normandy landings, but he is injured and hiding on the German-occupied island of Jersey in May 1944. Kelso must be removed from Jersey before he is captured or, failing that, must be executed. Selected for the job is philosopher-turned-assassin Harry Martineau. To aid him in his impersonation of a Nazi officer, Harry secures the services of Sarah Drayton. Drayton's aunt is sheltering Kelso, and she is of an age to pose as Martineau's French mistress. Martineau is skillful but he is fortunate to obtain the help of an Italian naval officer and a Jewish actor-turned-German paratrooper who assist him in completing his task. Higgins combines powerful narrative with documentary detail in an exceptional tale that relies upon the interweaving histories of the various characters. BOMC alternate.
Colonel Hugh Kelso is privy to information regarding the Normandy landings, but he is injured and hiding on the German-occupied island of Jersey in May 1944. Kelso must be removed from Jersey before he is captured or, failing that, must be executed. Selected for the job is philosopher-turned-assassin Harry Martineau. To aid him in his impersonation of a Nazi officer, Harry secures the services of Sarah Drayton. Drayton's aunt is sheltering Kelso, and she is of an age to pose as Martineau's French mistress. Martineau is skillful but he is fortunate to obtain the help of an Italian naval officer and a Jewish actor-turned-German paratrooper who assist him in completing his task. Higgins combines powerful narrative with documentary detail in an exceptional tale that relies upon the interweaving histories of the various characters. BOMC alternate.
WWII setting
In his biggest and most exciting novel since The Eagle Has Landed, Jack Higgins sweeps the reader into one of the most extraordinary--and secret--episodes of World War Two: a mision to rescue, from the hands of the Germans, a man who knows the time and place of D-Day.
Colonel Kelso is and American, one of the handful of "Bigots"--the code name for officers who know the most crucial secret of the war. His disappearance after a landing craft is sunk during and exercise causes panic in the Allied high command; the news that he has escaped death only to be washed ashore in German-occupied Jersey redoubles the consternation. Somehow Kelso has to be snatched from under the Germans; noses--or else ruthlessly silenced.
Harry Martineau, philosphy don turned killer for his country, fluent in German, skilled in impersonating Nazi officers, is the obvious choice for so desperate an enterprise; nineteen-year-old Sarah Drayton, half French, who knows Jersey intimately, and in whose aunt's house Kelso is sheltering, is as inevitably destined to be his partner. And so Standartenfuhrer Max Vogel and his French mistress Anne-Marie Latour set off to rescue Kelso from the impregnable fortress that Jersey has become under German occupation.
Counterbluff upon counterbluff, deception upon deception, Jack Higgins builds up his enthralling story with all the ingenuity and drama that were the hallmarks of his previous books.
Colonel Kelso is and American, one of the handful of "Bigots"--the code name for officers who know the most crucial secret of the war. His disappearance after a landing craft is sunk during and exercise causes panic in the Allied high command; the news that he has escaped death only to be washed ashore in German-occupied Jersey redoubles the consternation. Somehow Kelso has to be snatched from under the Germans; noses--or else ruthlessly silenced.
Harry Martineau, philosphy don turned killer for his country, fluent in German, skilled in impersonating Nazi officers, is the obvious choice for so desperate an enterprise; nineteen-year-old Sarah Drayton, half French, who knows Jersey intimately, and in whose aunt's house Kelso is sheltering, is as inevitably destined to be his partner. And so Standartenfuhrer Max Vogel and his French mistress Anne-Marie Latour set off to rescue Kelso from the impregnable fortress that Jersey has become under German occupation.
Counterbluff upon counterbluff, deception upon deception, Jack Higgins builds up his enthralling story with all the ingenuity and drama that were the hallmarks of his previous books.
really enjoyed this book, you don't want to put it down.
A fast paced WWII spy thriller about a British undercover agent & his French resistance member assistant efforts to find & either rescue or silence a downed American officer with details of the D-Day invasion before the Germans can locate him.
Another Jack Higgins hit. Loved it. The story is so believable and keeps you interested throughout.
Colonel Kelso was a "Bigot" codeword for a man in possession of ultra-secret information - in his case the beaches in Normandy that had been chosen for the invasion. His disappearance after a landing-craft was sunk during an exercise caused panic in the Allied high command; the news that he had escaped death only to be washed ashore in German-occupied Jersey redoubled the consternation.
"Colonel Kelso was a "Bigot", codeword for a man in possession of ultra-secret information - in his case the beaches in Normandy that had been chosen for the invasion."
"Counter-bluff upon bluff, deception upon deception, jack Higgins builds up his enthralling story with all the ingenuity and panache that were the hallmarks of The Eagle has Landed."
"Counter-bluff upon bluff, deception upon deception, jack Higgins builds up his enthralling story with all the ingenuity and panache that were the hallmarks of The Eagle has Landed."
Another great Hawkins book. While reading you become part of the story. It's as if you were there all the time.
