Product Description

Tells the story of the life-and-death hunt for a notorious Nazi criminal against a background of international arms deals.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #27750 in Books
• Published on: 1995-06-15
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 320 pages

Customer Reviews

Textbook Thriller
Master thriller writer Forsyth delivers big-time in this story of an intrepid freelance journalist tracking down an ex-Nazi in postwar Germany. Grounded heavily in research and reality, the story is based upon the disappearance of hundreds of wanted SS war criminals. As plenty of historians have since documented, there were organized efforts to help wanted Nazis disappear, especially to South America (see, for example, Uki Goni's book The Real Odessa). Here, Forsyth imagines the Odessa, a well-funded organization of former SS men who are taking the reins of German industry as it rebuilds, and helping Egypt with rocket technology with which to destroy Israel.

One day freelance German photojournalist Peter Miller comes into possession of the diary of an old concentration camp survivor who has recently committed suicide. The diary details the man's physical and mental torture in Riga, and claims that the camp commandant is still alive and living in Germany. Miller is simultaneously appalled at the atrocities described and eager for a big scoop, and so sets out to track down SS Captain Roschman (the real life "Butcher of Riga"). He quickly discovers to his surprise that the newsmagazines aren't interested in the story, it's explained to him that no one wants to pay to read about horrors perpetrated on Jews in some other country.

Miller decides to proceed on his own, and the book turns into a kind of procedural thriller as he doggedly pursues sources of information across Germany and it starts to dawn on him that no one is particularly interested in hunting down ex-Nazis. The combination of former Nazi influence in the police, along with the the realpolitik of the situation (live ex-Nazis vote, dead Jews do not), mean that the official channels are largely window dressing. Turning to other sources, like Simon Wiesenthal, Miller eventually finds himself in the company of a vigilante group of Jews dedicated to eliminating ex-Nazis. They, and their Mossad masters, want him to infiltrate Odessa by posing as an former SS man. What he doesn't know is that Odessa is on to him, and has assigned their "cleaner" to take care of him.

The final part of the book is stuffed with high tension as Miller gets possession of a blockbuster piece of intelligence about the Odessa, and closer and closer to Roschman. Meanwhile, the SS killer gets closer and closer to Miller... It all culminates in a nail-biting finale with one of the best twists at the end I've ever come across. The core story is top-level thriller stuff, absolutely outstanding. I could have done without Miller's girlfriend character, who seemed to exist mainly as a bit of T&A and an attempt to give Miller a little dimension. I also could have done without the subplot involving the rockets for Egypt, as it distracted from the more interesting story of Miller's hunt. Still, these are minor quibbles about an outstanding book.

Devoid of flaw it is almost as good as A Day of the Jackal
Set in post war Germany, Frederick Forsyth has once again provided us with a magnificent spy-thriller. Researched to the kilt and with a thick dense plot full of suspense and intrigue, this book measures up superbly to The Day of the Jackal by the same author. Harrowing Holocaust scenes are intermingled with a perceptive glare down the throat of an energetic and resourceful reporter determined to bring an SS captain called Roschmann to justice. The reporter (Miller) in order to get to the biggest story of his life must infiltrate the secret organisation of the Odessa. The sheer depth of detail and the manner in which the text is written would remind a reader more of a third hand account of a true story than any tale of fiction. The Day of the Jackal, perhaps because the plot is more fast moving along the surface would rank in this reviewers opinion as a better book, but The Odessa File comes across as an astute and unbelievably taut triller which will add not only entertainment to your life for a few hours but also a fair smack of history as well!!

A small review
Fascinating, shocking and just plain amazing. This is a book that demands to be read. I would challenge a man to put the book down when Forsyth describes the appaling conditions of the concentration camps. The twist at the end hits you like a train that seems to come back again and again. But this book also raises difficult questions. You are left wondering how humanity can stoop to such lows as those that Forsyth describes throughout the book and at more than one time is a chill sent down your spine with the thought "could this ever happen again?". Set over 40 years ago this book still seems relevent and that makes Forsyth the master of the storytelling.