BLACK CROSS by Greg Iles

In the late stages of WWII, Hitler and the Nazis will take desperate measures to change the course of the war and intelligence confirms the Allies’ worst fears: Highly poisonous gases with the potential to stop the D-Day invasion in its tracks are being developed at a secretive camp near the northeast coast of Germany. An American doctor-scientist and a fierce Jewish commando are tasked by Winston Churchill himself with a secret mission that he hopes will force Hitler and his henchman Himmler to abandon their plans to gas Allied troops. The backdrop for the mission is laid out at the highest levels in meetings in which Churchill, Eisenhower and other historical figures analyze the conundrum the Allies find themselves in through heavily-researched dialogue passages. Cozy settings for these exchanges made me envision the characters on stage in a theater setting. Then the mission commences and gritty portrayals take over, of military action, the heinous effects of poisonous gas, and day-to-day concentration camp life coupled with the utter cruelties of SS guards. A sense of suspense propels the story forward as it grapples with the balance political leaders must find in sacrificing some for the betterment of many, and the internal motivations necessary to complete a mission fraught with horrific human consequences. I’m happy to finally add Mississippi master-storyteller Greg Iles’ book to my list of takes on world war fiction. His fast-moving prose that couples deliberation at the highest levels with gritty on-the-ground action brings to mind Upton Sinclair’s Lanny Budd WWII novels, albeit with far more somber undertones. As far as WWII novels from recent years, I’d draw a comparison of Black Cross with The Saboteur as deft portrayals of an essential secret mission.