Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #9641 in Books
• Published on: 1998-05-08
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 496 pages

Synopsis
Set in North Africa, summer 1942, during Rommel's campaign against the British. This is the story of Alex Wolff, master spy, who treks across the Sahara and covertly enters the plot-ridden streets of wartime Cairo. And of Major Vandam, the British officer who is on Wolff's trail, sworn to destroy him. Wolff's mission is to steal British military plans and send them to Rommel, using a code whose key is buried in the pages of Daphne du Maurier's novel Rebecca. As Rommel's troops come closer to victory, Vandam edges closer to Wolff and the crucial key. There are incredible chase scenes: a motorcycle hurtling through blacked-out Cairo; the flash of a knife, a gush of hot blood, and the fleeting shadow of an escaping assassin; a harrowing race against death and a speeding train. Follett builds tension and suspense to a screaming pitch as he follows the adversaries across the internal desert to a confrontation as startling as it is explosive.

Customer Reviews

Great Spy Thriller
I picked this book up not really knowing what to expect. I was pleasantly surprised and was gripped from the very beginning - I must say the very first line of the story is probably among the most intriguing ever:

"The last camel collapsed at noon."

Great alternate spy/spycatcher chapter format to keep the chase alive and the pages turning, though I'm subtracting a point for some clumsy eroticism. I suppose that the spy thriller genre demands it, but I just cringe and feel like I'm reading Mills & Boone or something.

Otherwise pick up this book and enjoy.

A great spy novel, as good "Eye of the needle"
Although I can not agree that this book is better that the already legendary "Eye of the needle", I must admit that in his second book Ken Follett managed to do as well as in his first. This story takes place in Egypt during WWII and has for hero Alex Wolff, a German spy infiltrated in Cairo in 1942 by a daring raid through Sahara (this is partly inspired by real events - there was such an operation). Fluent in Arabic as well as in English, helped by local Arab sympatizers, Wolff proves to be a particularly dangerous man - information he transmits to Rommel headquarters helps Germans winning a couple of desert battles. Finally, British counter intelligence realises that there must be an undetected spy network somewhere in Cairo or Alexandria and the laborious investigation begins... This book is quite realistic and keeps good suspense until very end. I enjoyed reading it and recommend it warmly. Oh, and in fact, referring to the previous review, it already WAS adapted to cinema, in 1985, with David Soul playing Alex Wolff.

awesome
better than eye of the needle which get all the plaudits.....grippng..intresting....entertaining......why has this not been made into a film ?????