Publisher's Weekly Review
For this average WWII thriller, bestseller Gross (The One Man) draws on the true story of the efforts of a small team of Norwegian patriots to halt the Nazi program to build an atomic bomb by sabotaging heavy water production at a remote factory in Norway. The book's sluggish first half centers on the team's preparation for the mission and the wait for an ideal insertion moment. The second half also contains long periods of relative inactivity, though the action picks up whenever the valiant Norwegians encounter the Germans and their supporters, the Hirden of the Nasjonal Samling party. In an author's note, Gross reveals that his lead, Kurt Nordstrom, is based on a real participant in the raids on the Norsk Hydro factory and Mael ferry, but Nordstrom comes across as a caricature of the hardy and capable hero. Nordstrom's primary foe, Capt. Dieter Lund of the Hird, is similarly a stock villain. Still, history buffs may appreciate the skill with which Gross combines fact and fiction. 125,000-copy announced first printing; author tour. Agent: Simon Lipskar, Writers House. (Aug.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Kirkus Review
A suspenseful World War II thriller based on actual events.Kurt Nordstrum is part of a ragtag resistance that wants to take Norway back from the Nazis and from the puppet dictator, Vidkun Quisling. The war is going badly for Germany, and rumors among the Quislings have it that the Norsk Hydro plant in southern Norway is Hitler's "golden goose," though nearly no one understands why. The Nazi defeat at Stalingrad gives Hitler "a new urgency to develop a weapon that could tilt the war his way." He desperately needs the "heavy water"deuterium oxidethe Norsk plant secretly produces; it is critical to the making of an atomic bomb. Norsk is set atop unscalable cliffs above an impenetrable gorge, is connected by a single suspension bridge, and is under constant heavy guard. British Special Operations assigns Nordstrum and his small team a virtually impossible mission: penetrate the plant and destroy the heavy water supply and the means of its production. The task is extraordinarily dangerousan earlier attempt results in the "loss of forty elite men," so the Norwegians are chosen for "one last raid." Tension permeates the pages even for readers who know the historical outcome. The skill and bravery of the saboteurs are not exaggerated. The real saboteurs' task was virtually impossible, and they did it anyway. So the author didn't have to invent this plothistory handed it to him, and the story has been told before. (Kirk Douglas and Richard Harris star in the 1965 movie The Heroes of Telemark.) But Gross brings his characters to life, even Nordstrum's traitorous nemesis, Dieter Lund, who is charged with protecting Norsk Hydro "at all costs." And it's winter, so expect great skiing scenes. A terrific story filled with tension and surprises right to the end. That's two World War II winners in a row for Gross (The One Man, 2016, etc.). Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Library Journal Review
Gross's second stand-alone World War II novel (after The One Man) opens in Norway 1942. Kurt Nordstrum is a man without an army but still doing all he can to thwart the Nazis and their puppet government that has overtaken his country. He is asked by a trusted friend to smuggle microfilm to the British with intelligence on what is really going on at the Norsk Hydro plant. This intel could change the course of the war. Nordstrum hijacks a civilian ship and, after a tense air chase by Nazis, is able to get the microfilm to Aberdeen. Thus begins a plan of attack to destroy the heavy water being produced at the plant that could give Germany the option for nuclear war. Can Kurt and his team successfully sabotage the plant before the Nazis develop the capability to bring the world to its knees? From its opening pages, Gross's novel grips readers as they follow the tough-minded and persistent Nordstrum every step of the way. VERDICT Highly recommended for thriller fans as well as lovers of historical fiction based on true events. [See Prepub Alert, 3/13/17.]- Susan Moritz, Silver Spring, MD © Copyright 2017. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
