Greg Iles

On the brink of the 1944 Allied invasion of Europe, Winston Churchill learns of the Nazi development of a horrifying new weapon, and a pacifist American doctor and a fanatical Jewish assassin undertake a deadly mission. Reprint.

Black Cross

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The story begins in modern day upon the deaths of a doctor's grandparents. A rabbi comes to the house and begins to tell a tale of how the grandfather, Mark McConnell (Mac), earned a medal during WWII. The story then moves back to take place in WWII as Mac, who is a scientist and a pacifist, teams up with a Jonas Stern, Jewish activist/soldier, to combat the Nazi devlopment of a deadly nerve gas with a commando mission.

The portions of the story that take place inside the concentration camp are both gripping and sad - the horrific treatment of concentration camp victims never fails to shock and disgust me and the author pulled no punches when describing life inside the camp.

The story was compelling and makes for a good read as long as you can suspend your disbelief at some of the points where the action is not quite plausible. The characters were well-developed although the arc of Jonas Stern's character seems a little too much. He goes from a hardcore soldier (bordering on assassin/terrorist) to something much less harsh with a spark of humanity.

Overall, this was a good story as long as you can get past the occasionally over-the-top heroics by Mac and Jonas and you can stomach the descriptions of the Nazis' treatment of camp prisoners .

Black Cross

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