AN AFFAIR OF SPIES......SPIES VS. NAZIS RACING FOR THE A-BOMB...(YOU HAD ME AT HELLO) (*****)

  An Affair Of Spies by Ronald H. Balson (2022)

What can I say? Thrilled, and blown away by this one.

            This book hit multiple bullseyes for me personally. I've always been obsessed and fascinated by  that particular episode of history that deals with the formulation and creation of the atomic bomb and all the participants involved,......I've pounced on and devoured every book and film on the subject, both fiction and non-fiction.

             And there's nothing I enjoy more than a behind-enemy-lines, suspense filled World War 2 spy thriller.  Any novel that involves courageous, daring spies going into the heart of occupied Europe to thwart the Nazis becomes an automatic 'must read' for me. 

            "An Affair Of Spies" combines both those things together -  American's desperate race to achieve an atomic bomb before Hitler''s Germany and a breathless, impossibly dangerous mission to to find out how far along the Nazis nuclear program has progressed, as well as help a German scientist escape to work on the Manhattan Project. 

            Nathan Silverman, a German refugee, whose parents arranged his own escape to the U.S. as a child is now a trained U.S. army soldier, preparing' for the eventual European invasion. But Silverman, the son of a brilliant physicist still trapped in Berlin with the rest of his family, is selected for a mission by no less than Gen. Leslie Groves, who's overseeing the race for an atomic bomb. 

            Silverman's 'mission impossible -  penetrate occupied Europe, bring the defecting scientist back to the U..S., discover the current status of the Nazis atomic efforts and learn the fate of his father, mother and sister.

             (I think the only thing missing from this mission was asking Nathan to cure cancer along the way....)

             Since Silverman has little or no knowledge of nuclear physics, he's accompanied by Dr. Allison Fisher, a young scientist who's been working within the Manhattan project and will know what vital data to collect and bring back with them.......if they can avoid relentless Gestapo agents who excel at hunting down and torturing spies.

           I wouldn't dare spoil all of the non-stop excruciating suspenseful episodes that follow  Nathan and Allison as they plunge into the lion's den of Berlin. Of course, nothing goes as planned and the surprises and sudden reversals-of-fortune thrown into their path really dial up the anxiety. As if there already wasn't enough nail-biting scenes packed into the book  this dynamic duo's attempts to pull off an outrageous plan to gather the top secrets they've been tasked with stealing had me squirming in fear for them.  

            Unquestionably a stay-up-all-night thriller for me, one of the best 5 star page-turners for all suspense thriller fans.  (*****)