Revenge of Odessa by Frederick Forsyth with Tony Kent

This is an impressive and heart-stirring story that investigates the possibility of the resurrection of the Odessa - the Nazi group known from the past, that appears to be ready to rise again. How far has their poison travelled around the world? Georg Miller is a German investigative journalist who runs into an old dementia patient in the hospital while collecting stories from victims of a terrorist attack. A sliver of a story from the old man cracks open a historical and present-day Nazi horror story that has Georg in the firing line. In the USA, a political staffer gets a hint of some uncomfortable political toxic possibilities in her role within the office of a rising Senator. She is horrified to think that fetid corruption is about to rise to the surface and is afraid for her life. With assassins and corrupt influences hiding within reliable places there appears to be nowhere to turn. Can either Georg or Vanessa survive to reveal the threats to modern society? 

This is a book that makes you wonder - can Nazi ideologues hijack terrorists of other ideologies for their own purposes? Could they infiltrate every level of society in order to position themselves ready to ‘take over’ the world? How can those who discover their lies and the horrors they plan for global political systems, escape the murderous intents of their supporters? I was really captivated by the mastery of the storytelling in an arena of spies, politics, assassins and innocence. Frederick Forsyth’s career as an investigative journalist has given us modern thrillers that are powerful reminders of evil’s influence, and his recent death means this is his last. This is a story for adults who can juggle the intensity of the murderous individuals who are involved, and the political ramifications of the Nazi power play - it is a real page-turner with action aplenty. The ending seemed to come too quickly and almost felt incomplete, until the ‘kick in the guts’ last page.

Themes: Nazism, extremists, journalism, terrorism, American politics, assassins, espionage, thriller.

Carolyn Hull