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This is a submarine war story with several interesting twists by a new writer on the historical thriller scene. Mannock brings a fresh voice to a genre which lends itself to suspense and takes us to a hidden world deep in the Louisiana swamps during a time when World War II could have gone either way. He presents a stage where Nazi submariners, bible-waving patriarchs and ancient Cajun conjurers clash. Bringing together cultures of such diverse purposes and lifestyles requires narrative skill and Mannock does not disappoint. I found the story engaging and, for the most part, the characters believable. He has several heroes and heroines for us to root for and several satisfyingly awful villains to hiss at. Where I heard a sour note, I dismissed it, knowing this is a first novel. I will definitely buy his next work, based on what he has accomplished in this one! If you enjoy learning about an existence based on surviving in the hostile environment of a deep Southern swamp, the thoughts of a Nazi U-boat captain who disagrees with his government's policies and an historic mystery solved, finally, in the present, you will like this book. While some of the plot threads and crisis points are telegraphed from afar, the novel works as a mystery, though hardly a standard one. Death has occurred as the novel opens, but until the end the reader is left guessing as to whose death it was. The crime is less a criminal act than an act of war, but it's still a nice puzzle in the classic sense of the reader working out what has happened. Mannock is a writer who will likely provide us with more plot goodies based on his own experiences in worlds most of us will never walk. I look forward to reading more of his stories. I do, however, wonder what marketing dweeb came up with the awful title! I hope Mannock is better served in the future.
Reviewed by Sharon Brondos, April 2004
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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)
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