Format: Paperback, 320 pages
Release Date: February 21, 2023
Publisher: Kensington
Source: Publisher
Genre: Historical / Fiction / World War II
Perfect for fans of Kate Quinn, Kristin Hannah, and Pam Jenoff,
this thrilling, high-stakes Cold War novel from a bestselling author
follows one couple’s relentless pursuit of an infamous fugitive Nazi
scientist across Europe in the aftermath of WWII.
Berlin, 1948:
World War II may be over, but a new era of conflict has begun. The
Russians have cut off all access to the western part of Berlin in an
attempt to seize it from the Allies. The thirst for power, dominance,
and revenge is as strong as ever, and anti-Semitism is still rampant.
When a store in West Berlin is vandalized with swastikas, Sara Sturm, a
German woman working for the US Department of Public Affairs, is
dispatched to investigate, and meets Max and Karl Portnoy, two Jewish
survivors of the Holocaust.
Sharing their stories of loss, Sara
and Max form a bond. Max and his family were sent to a concentration
camp during the war, where his parents and sister perished. The man who
betrayed them, Nazi nuclear scientist Heinz Hoffman, is now a wanted
criminal. Since Max and his brother are among the very few who can
identify him, Sara agrees to accompany them to Hoffman’s last known
whereabouts, hoping they will finally be able to bring him to justice.
But
tracking the elusive Hoffman is not just difficult, it’s perilous. From
the mountainous backroads of Bavaria to the Soviet border, Sara and Max
race to evade assassins sent by the top-secret Odessa organization. And
then there are other adversaries, hidden but no less lethal, determined
to gain control of Hoffman and the knowledge he possesses—knowledge
that may determine the course of countless wars to come.
Before the Storm, by author James D. Shipman, mixes fact and fiction. The story is told from multiple points of view, primarily those of the protagonist Sara Sturm, a German who works for the Americans Office of Public Affairs, and the Nazi she’s hunting, Heinz Hoffman who may have been one of the primary scientist on German's attempt to create nuclear weapons. There is also a third character; a man named Otto who has a very bad reputation after his participation in the Battle of the Bulge. Otto is a member of the group known as Odessa.
Set in 1948 against the backdrop of the Berlin Blockade by the Soviet Union, this fast-moving Cold War thriller brings to life the shifting alliances that splintered the Allies in the years immediately following WWII. The story takes place over just a few days in October 1948, sending Sara Strum and Matt Portnoy on a breakneck race throughout Europe in pursuit of a war criminal, from the Tiergarten and Stasi Headquarters of Berlin, to the Soviet border, Bavaria’s mountainous backroads and Schloss Leutstetten, and more.
It is inspired by Beate and Serge Klarsfeld, the real-life husband and wife Nazi-hunting team who spent decades hunting down Nazis and bringing them to justice. They were responsible for finding and organizing the extradition to France of Klaus Barbie, a.k.a. the “Butcher of Lyon,” helped clinch the convictions of former Nazis and their collaborators, and documented all 76,000 Jews deported from France. While the protagonists of Shipman’s novel are not married, they do have a romantic relationship tainted by Cold War government elements.
While the characters are fictional, this novel incorporates many
historical facts and truths, including the fact that the Catholic
church, particularly the Franciscan monks, worked with Odessa and the
CIA to hide former Nazis and relocate them to South America. The story also has a pretty twisted ending that involves some curious revelations about all of the primary characters from Sarah, to Max, to Hoffman, to Otto. While there is some romance, it doesn't overshadow the highly important message of this story sends to readers about the horrors of war, and the sickness of antisemitism.
The story explores how German scientists were swooped up by the Americans and Soviets, and rather than being punished for their significant use of slave labor they were given careers and homes in the United States and Russia. It also paints a highly realistic portrait of West Berlin under Soviet blockade, when it was cut off from the rest of the US/French/English territory of Germany as part of the Russian effort to take over the entire city. It also paints a highly realistic portrait of West Berlin under Soviet blockade, when it was cut off from the rest of the US/French/English territory of Germany as part of the Russian effort to take over the entire city.
As always, I encourage readers of this book, as well as my review, to do your own research when it comes to the Berlin blockade after World War II, as well as the tremendous work done by the Americans in order to fly massive supply drops into West Berlin. I would also encourage you to read about the Catholic Church and how they literally helped Nazi's flee persecution by the allies. Many of them ended up in South America while many others were given amnesty by the American government in order to help the US beat the Soviets in dominance. Something China has now past and will continue to do so for the near future.
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