Codename: Cipher

When terrorists kidnap a U.S. Army major and obtain nuclear explosives, Los Angeles newspaper reporter Jonathan Cane becomes a deadly target in a divided Germany

Freadhoff's slick, well-written debut is lent an air of authority and authenticity by recent events in Europe, most notably the reunification of Germany. Holding a U.S. Army major hostage, terrorists have gained control of a cache of nuclear weapons housed in an Army ammunitions depot in Ochsenburg, Germany, and have threatened to detonate the weapons unless infamous terrorist Hamid al Hamani is released from prison. Jonathan Cane, a journalist for an L.A. newspaper who had once lived in Ochsenburg, requests and is granted the assignment. As Cane delves deeper into the incident, he raises myriad questions. Why are Henry's captors attempting to free Hamani, previously denounced by his own comrades? And why don't the terrorists simply take the explosives and flee? Is it really Hamani they want or are they using his release as a cover for some other demand? As Cane approaches the truth, he realizes he is also perilously close to his own demise. Freadhoff builds suspense well throughout, but a too hasty resolution detracts from his otherwise taut novel.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

What seems to be a straightforward case of Middle Eastern terrorism in newly united Germany turns out to be much less simple- -and perhaps not even Middle Eastern--in this first novel by a veteran newspaperman. A small band of terrorists, presumed to be Iraqis, takes over an ammunition dump containing nuclear weapons at the US Army base in Ochsenburg, Germany. The terrorists have only one demand--the release of one of their number now held in a German prison. Reporter Jonathan Cane, who once worked and fell in love in Ochsenburg, flies in from L.A. to cover the story. Unsatisfied with the highly controlled and sanitized information being released by military authorities, Cane goes digging in the territory he knows so well. In addition to turning up a number of inconsistencies in the military story, he discovers that the Army officer held as hostage in the ammunition dump is the martinet married to Cane's lost love, Maria Henry. And then a meeting with Maria reveals that the supposedly Iraqi terrorists who invaded the Henry household couldn't understand Arabic. Cane smells a very big story but runs into stone walls at every turn. And then the loyal landladies at this hotel tell him he is being sought by a rather creepy Army officer. Dodging frequent attempts on his life, Cane and his local friends piece together a plot that has nothing to do with Arabs and a great deal to do with the dark side of the German character. Mildly tense thriller. Interesting scenery and authentic detail. -- Copyright ©1991, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Terrorists, nuclear weapons, and kidnapping are skillfully combined in this first novel. Jonathan Cane, a reporter who once worked in West Germany, returns to a reunited Germany to cover a terrorist takeover of a nuclear weapons dump and the kidnapping of a U.S. Army major. After the terrorists demand and get the release of Hamid al Hamani, Jonathan discovers that the terrorists may not be who they appear to be and that the release of al Hamani may have been only a front to get nuclear weapons. Freadhoff, a reporter for Stars and Stripes , uses his journalism background and solid writing skills to keep the reader's attention while he reveals who the terrorists really are and what their reasons are for taking the nuclear weapons. This is good weekend reading.
- Karen Stewart, Colorado Leg islative Council Lib., Denver
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.