A Night of Long Knives - Hardcover

Cantrell, Rebecca

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0765320452 ISBN 13: 9780765320452

Publisher: Forge Books, 2010

Synopsis

Journalist Hannah Vogel has vowed to never again set foot in her homeland of Germany while the Nazis are still in power. She has good reason: three years ago in 1931, she kidnapped her “son,” Anton, from the man claiming to be his father--Ernst Rohm, head of the Nazis' SA. A powerful man not to be trifled with, Hannah knows that Rohm will never stop searching for them.

Hannah is asked to write about a zeppelin journey from South America to Switzerland, but Switzerland turns out to be too close. The zeppelin is diverted to Munich, where Hannah and Anton are kidnapped and, to Hannah's horror, separated.

It’s unlucky timing for Rohm, however.  Hitler has ordered the execution of Rohm and hundreds of his storm troopers and is determined to wipe out any remaining traces of his name. The Night of the Long Knives has begun.

When Rohm is killed before Hannah can ascertain Anton’s whereabouts, she desperately enlists all of her remaining sources and friends to locate Anton before the Nazis do. And the Gestapo is closing in…

Thrilling and powerful, A Night of Long Knives breathtakingly recreates a shattered and betrayed city as it plunges into darkness. 

About this title

About the Author

Rebecca Cantrell majored in German, Creative Writing, and History at the Freie Universitaet of Berlin and Carnegie Mellon University. She currently lives in Hawaii with her husband and son.

Reviews

Cantrell's sequel to her acclaimed debut, A Trace of Smoke (2009), will disappoint those expecting a realistic portrayal of 1934 Nazi Germany. When the zeppelin transporting journalist Hannah Vogel and her adopted son, Anton, to Switzerland lands in Germany instead, the pair are captured by Ernst Röhm, head of the paramilitary SA, who claims to be the boy's father. Hannah manages to get away from Röhm through the coincidental intervention of Hitler himself, who happens to enter Röhm's hotel room to have him arrested at just the right time. The plot focuses on Hannah's search for Anton, with a murder mystery thrown in two-thirds of the way through. Full of miraculous escapes, the novel comes across as a far-fetched thriller rather than a serious effort to convey the tightening Nazi grip. Readers interested in suspenseful books set during the same period in Europe will find Alan Furst's spy series (Shadow Trade, etc.) more rewarding. (June)
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After escaping Germany in 1931 (A Trace of Smoke, 2009), after kidnapping her adopted son, Anton, from SA leader Ernst RÖhm, who wants to believe the boy is his son, Hannah Vogel vowed never to return to her homeland. Yet here she is, three years later, with Anton at her side, watching the zeppelin in which they are riding land not in Switzerland, the intended destination, but in Germany. RÖhm is behind the unscheduled stop, and soon Hannah and Anton have been abducted by brownshirts. Hannah will be forced to marry RÖhm, thus countering the scandal brewing over his homosexuality. But it's too late: the Night of the Long Knives, Hitler's purge of the SA, has begun and will leave RÖhm dead. Hannah escapes in the melee, but Anton is lost, prompting a frenzied search across Germany and drawing Hannah into all levels of political intrigue. Once again, Cantrell nails the prewar German landscape, although this time, with the Nazis in power, the mood has gone from Weimar decadence to tight-lipped uncertainty. The thriller plot plays out somewhat predictably, but the appeal here is all about atmosphere and the historical moment. --Bill Ott

Edition details

• Publisher: Forge Books
• Publication date: 2010
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0765320452
• ISBN 13: 9780765320452
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 320