About
Reviews
Search
Submit
Home

Mystery Books for Sale

[ Home ]
[ About | Reviews | Search | Submit ]


  

DESPERATE GROUND
by James Benn
Xlibris, March 2001
373 pages
$22.99
ISBN: 0738848964


Buy in the UK | Buy in Canada

It is toward the end of the Second World War and Germany is facing almost certain defeat. It also appears the Russians will be the allies to take the city of Berlin. This doesnąt suit the partially insane German army Colonel, Erich Remke. Remke is on a crusade to kill as many Russian soldiers as he can as the gang rape and death of his fiancée at their hands constantly haunt him. Realistically he is aware he couldnąt have changed the outcome since he had begged her to leave East Prussia before the Russians arrived, but he constantly dreams about, and at time hallucinates, he is witness to her terror during the attack and her resulting death.

Remke has conceived a plan that would make the war go on indefinitely and allow him time to continue to kill Russians. He is going to try and persuade Hitler to let him implement a campaign that will cause the Russians and US to think they have started to engage each other in battle.

Captain Billy Boyle is a special investigator attached to Supreme Headquarters, Allied Expeditionary Forces. Usually Billy is sent out to investigate, arrest and keep under cover the sort of crime not associated with the war itself but that still occurs in Armies‹murder, theft, etc.. Since he is between investigations he is sent to observe the accuracy of the collection and transmission of allied intelligence from the field. He soon realizes that preparation of some unusual campaign is under way and that the plan must be discovered and stopped.

Benn has written a tightly plotted story. His characters are well drawn and believable; he doesnąt do a bad job with dialogue either. Since I like fiction about WWII and I like mystery this was a thoroughly enjoyable read for me. I can recommend it without reserve. At this time the book is available for online purchase and according to the correspondence with the author this book will be published in 2004 by Quiet Storm Publishing.

Reviewed by Martha Hopkins, May 2003

[ Top ]


QUICK SEARCH:

 

Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)


[ About | Reviews | Search | Submit ]
[ Home ]