The murder of her mentor compels a World War II agent out of the shadows and into danger.

1936. Journalist Hannah Vogel is in Berlin, ostensibly to cover the Summer Olympic Games for travel newspapers, but she's actually engaged in espionage. Under the name Adelheid Zinsli, she has become the lover of Lars Lang, an SS officer who, like her, is secretly working for the West...she thinks. They watch the opening ceremonies together in the massive Olympic Stadium. As Hitler struts triumphantly, Hannah plots to slip away from Lars so that she can meet her mentor, Peter Weill. Barely has Peter delivered his request that Hannah carry a certain valuable package out of the country than he collapses dead at her feet, presumably a victim of poison poured into the pocket flask he's always carried. Improvising quickly as a crowd that includes Lars gathers around her, Hannah identifies Peter as her father. Hannah's failure to tell Lars about her rendezvous with Peter drives a wedge into their relationship and adds a deeper layer of mistrust and danger as Hannah attempts to find the mysterious package and ferret out the identity of Peter's killer. Discovering Peter's secret notebook cleverly hidden in his umbrella sets her on a path that takes her deeper into the Gestapo and leads to a reunion with Boris, an ex-lover she realizes she's still in love with.

Hannah's third adventure (A Night of Long Knives, 2010, etc.) is an uneasy mix of romance, complicated thriller and mystery, greatly enhanced by the author's vivid portrait of prewar Berlin.

 

The third entry in Cantrell's award-winning historical series (A Trace of Smoke; A Night of Long Knives) is a fast-paced, action-packed tale set in Berlin during the 1936 Olympic Games. Journalist Hannah Vogel (posing as Swiss reporter Adelheid Zinsli) accompanies double agent SS Hauptsturmführer Lars Lang and his friend Andreas Huber to the games. Hannah excuses herself for a clandestine meeting with longtime mentor and friend Peter Weill, who dies suddenly in front of her. Uncertain and scared, Hannah desperately searches for the truth. VERDICT Cantrell's meticulous research and her vivid characters and strong plot—based on real people and actual events—will have special appeal to fans of historical fiction related to World War II Germany.—Melody Ballard, Pima County P.L., Tucson, AZ

Set in 1936, Cantrell's well-paced third mystery featuring German crime reporter Hannah Vogel (after 2010's disappointing A Night of Long Knives) returns to the high level of her debut, 2009's A Trace of Smoke. Sought by the Gestapo for kidnapping the son of a high-ranking Nazi official, Vogel has assumed the alias of Adelheid Zinsli, a Swiss reporter, to cover the Olympic Games while spying for the British. Vogel arranges to meet with her old mentor, Peter Weill, at the Berlin Olympic Stadium, but right after Weill tells her that he needs to get some information out of the country, he keels over. While the death appears to be the result of a heart attack, Vogel believes that poison was responsible. Her search for the truth, aided by an SS officer of uncertain trustworthiness, leads her to a deadly secret. While not in Philip Kerr's league, Cantrell does a fine job evoking the period. (July)