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3.85 AVERAGE
3.85 AVERAGE
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Of note, in this novel - I quite liked the way closure was provided to all characters, minor and major in the end.
Other than that, it was fast paced, lots of attention to detail. A bit emotional at times when reading about the atrocities, a couple of movie like scenes with the villain. Overall, an enjoyable read.
Other than that, it was fast paced, lots of attention to detail. A bit emotional at times when reading about the atrocities, a couple of movie like scenes with the villain. Overall, an enjoyable read.
dark
informative
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
An enjoyable thriller based around hunting Nazis and a quick read. There are a few one-liners that don't land, but overall I liked this story and it delved into a bit of history about post-war Germany that I was unfamiliar with.
medium-paced
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
medium-paced
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
tense
medium-paced
"The Odessa File" is probably the best espionage thriller that I have read, certainly the best that did not take place in wartime. It's the story of Peter Miller, a German journalist who comes across secrets from World War II that he gleaned from the diary of a Jewish holocaust survivor who had just died. Miller is a journalist of a bygone era. Unlike American journalists of today, Miller saw himself as a dogged crusader for the truth, and not a cog in the propaganda aparatus of the current administration. Anyway, in the course of his research he uncovers the "ODESSA", an organization of former SS officers who have scattered across the globe after the war.
Miller wants to infiltrate this organization and blow it open. With the help of the Israeli Mossad, he assumed the identity of an SS NCO and, after a tough grilling, was allowed into the ODESSA organization. But ODESSA got wise to him, and eventually he became the prey rather than the hunter.
This is a great page turner and very interesting. The fact that the novel deals with a "real", or at least suspected to be real, organization of ex-SS Nazis and a real life SS officer named Roschmann who was unearthed in South America in the 1970s after this novel became a movie, makes it even more exciting. My only problem with this novel is that it commits the cardinal sin of mystery and suspense novels, it relies too much on chance and coincidence. Miller discovers the diary after coincidentally pulling his car over in the street and figuring out about the Jewish man. There are several twists in the story that come about purely through chance. This takes away from the story. It makes things sound like a lucky guy stumbled into a good thing, rather than a skilled operative who succeeds through a brilliant effort. Granted that Miller is not a professional spy so I suppose liberties need to be accepted. Still, this detracted from the novel in my mind.
I would recommend "The Odessa File" to anyone who likes a good espionage thriller.
Miller wants to infiltrate this organization and blow it open. With the help of the Israeli Mossad, he assumed the identity of an SS NCO and, after a tough grilling, was allowed into the ODESSA organization. But ODESSA got wise to him, and eventually he became the prey rather than the hunter.
This is a great page turner and very interesting. The fact that the novel deals with a "real", or at least suspected to be real, organization of ex-SS Nazis and a real life SS officer named Roschmann who was unearthed in South America in the 1970s after this novel became a movie, makes it even more exciting. My only problem with this novel is that it commits the cardinal sin of mystery and suspense novels, it relies too much on chance and coincidence. Miller discovers the diary after coincidentally pulling his car over in the street and figuring out about the Jewish man. There are several twists in the story that come about purely through chance. This takes away from the story. It makes things sound like a lucky guy stumbled into a good thing, rather than a skilled operative who succeeds through a brilliant effort. Granted that Miller is not a professional spy so I suppose liberties need to be accepted. Still, this detracted from the novel in my mind.
I would recommend "The Odessa File" to anyone who likes a good espionage thriller.