The Bookworm – A Novel - Softcover

Silver, Mitch

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1643131486 ISBN 13: 9781643131481

Publisher: Pegasus, 2019

Synopsis

Europe, 1940: It's late summer and Belgium has been overrun by the German army. Posing as a friar, a British operative talks his way into the monastery at Villers-devant-Orval just before Nazi art thieves plan to sweep through the area and whisk everything of value back to Berlin. But the ersatz man of the cloth is no thief. Instead, that night he adds an old leather Bible to the monastery's library and then escapes.

London, 2017: A construction worker operating a backhoe makes a grisly discovery--a skeletal arm-bone with a rusty handcuff attached to the wrist. Was this the site, as a BBC newsreader speculates, of "a long-forgotten prison, uncharted on any map?" One viewer knows better: it's all that remains of a courier who died in a V-2 rocket attack. The woman who will put these two disparate events together--and understand the looming tragedy she must hurry to prevent--is Russian historian and former Soviet chess champion Larissa Mendelovg Klimt, "Lara the Bookworm," to her friends. She's also experiencing some woeful marital troubles.
In the course of this riveting thriller, Lara will learn the significance of six musty Dictaphone cylinders recorded after D-Day by Noel Coward--actor, playwright and, secretly, a British agent reporting directly to Winston Churchill. She will understand precisely why that leather Bible, scooped up by the Nazis and deposited on the desk of Adolf Hitler days before he planned to attack Britain, played such a pivotal role in turning his guns to the East. And she will discover the new secret pact negotiated by the nefarious Russian president and his newly elected American counterpart--maverick and dealmaker--and the evil it portends.

Oh, and she'll reconcile with her husband.

About this title

Review

It is a masterpiece of speculative revisionism and in this aspect a captivating read, a romp.

A fascinating read for both conspiracy theorists and thriller fans.

High-speed chases, explosions, gunfights, murders and questionable romantic encounters add to the book's action. An intriguing 'what if' adventure about Hitler and WWII.

Hold on to your seats, readers, because this is a thrill ride of a story, made even more exciting because it's all so current and feels very real. I really liked the character of Dr. Larissa Klimt...she's as complex as the story she is telling. It will definitely satisfy the appetite of the conspiracy theorists out there, and it's a good mystery too.

Silver romps through history dropping names like so many crumbs...it is a highly entertaining, tongue-in-cheek tale.

The Bookworm by Mitch Silver is a gripping thriller....

This was a well-written story. Silver has quite the imagination, which made the book interesting and fun to read. Silver's storytelling skills are strong...the character development is solid and the building of the suspenseful atmosphere is great.

This novel has ties to certain political figures that we currently have in office...It also has ties to the Russian and American relationship that is currently unfolding. Silver does an excellent job with keeping mysteries and intrigue going throughout the novel and interweaving interesting bits so that the reader is continuously engaged. I was captivated the entire time...

The build-up of tension was steady throughout, with excellent pacing for the reveals of the historical and modern conspiracies. The writing was engaging and kept me hooked. The characters were well crafted and suited to their respective roles in the story.

Silver's novel flows smoothly...A very well done novel indeed.

About the Author

Mitch Silver was born in Brooklyn and grew up on Long Island. He attended Yale (B.A. in History) and Harvard Law School ("I lasted three days. I know the law through Wednesday, but after that..."). He was an advertising writer for several of the big New York agencies, living in Paris for a year with his wife, Ellen Highsmith Silver, while he was European Creative Director on the Colgate-Palmolive account. A previously published novelist (In Secret Service, S&S/Touchstone), Mitch and his wife Ellen live in Greenwich, Connecticut and have two children: Sloane is a nurse at Wake Forest Medical Center and Perry is an actor and the drummer for Sky Pony, a band in New York. Mitch also won the American Song Festival Lyric Grand Prize for "Sleeping Single in a Double Bed." His blood type is O positive, and he always writes his biography in the third person. For more info, please go to mitchsilverauthor.com.

About this edition

• Publisher: Pegasus
• Publication date: 2019
• ISBN 10: 1643131486
• ISBN 13: 9781643131481
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 352