Today I have Codename Edelweiss by Justin Kerr-Smiley on my blog. I do apologise as it is quite late. Thanks to Random Things Tours and the publisher for my copy of the book to take part.
In 1976, Argentina is governed by a military junta bankrolled by former Nazis. It is the anniversary of a mysterious village fire in the jungle. The lone survivor, a Guaraní boy, is now a Jesuit priest. A Jewish journalist, Ariel Guzman, interviews him at his mission. The man claims Adolf Hitler escaped from Berlin with Eva Braun and made a secret camp near the Iguaçu Falls. The Führer ordered the village’s destruction, but the priest refuses to say why. He mentions the codename Edelweiss and will only reveal the person’s identity if he dies. Argentina’s most powerful man is billionaire and Waffen-SS veteran Tiago Hecht. He is searching for Edelweiss so that he can establish a Fourth Reich. Hecht now has confirmation Hitler’s son is alive. But so does the Mossad and they have sent an agent to eliminate him.
The only sanctuary for ‘Edelweiss’ is at the Vatican, but time is running out. The hunt is on…
Codename Edelweiss is a conspiracy thriller that fired my imagination straight away. For as long as I can remember there has always been the conspiracy theories that Hitler didn’t die in his bunker. The questions such as how did he get out and where did he go?
This is a book that works on the idea that he did. He escaped with Eva Braun and they travelled to Argentina to start afresh. Justin Kerr-Smiley writes this story so well that I could really believe this happened. There are so many theories around and this story is more realistic than most theories that I have heard.
Set from the end of World War Two and spanning the years to the 1970s. This is a tale of the search for Hitlers child, and what an exhilarating and addictive read I found it to be. The agencies and organisations that get involved, range from the Vatican to the Argentinian Junta. Inbetween there are various unsavoury characters, and Israel too. As you can imagine the ripple of repercussions aren’t the nicest especially when you discover all of the different factions that are part of the story.
Codename Edelweiss is a book that I found a riveting read. It’s based on historical fact, then, brilliantly woven together with fiction, unexpected twists and an ending that fitted perfectly. I will be looking out for this author’s work from now on.
Author Bio
Justin Kerr-Smiley was born in 1965 and educated at Newcastle University. He worked as a journalist for twenty-five years and has reported from the Balkans, Northern Ireland, the West Bank and South America. He has also written for the Guardian, The Times and the Spectator. He is the author of two previous novels, including Under The Sun. He lives in London.
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