The Saboteur

June 19, 2017
For this average WWII thriller, bestseller Gross (The One Man) draws on the true story of the efforts of a small team of Norwegian patriots to halt the Nazi program to build an atomic bomb by sabotaging heavy water production at a remote factory in Norway. The book’s sluggish first half centers on the team’s preparation for the mission and the wait for an ideal insertion moment. The second half also contains long periods of relative inactivity, though the action picks up whenever the valiant Norwegians encounter the Germans and their supporters, the Hirden of the Nasjonal Samling party. In an author’s note, Gross reveals that his lead, Kurt Nordstrom, is based on a real participant in the raids on the Norsk Hydro factory and Mael ferry, but Nordstrom comes across as a caricature of the hardy and capable hero. Nordstrom’s primary foe, Capt. Dieter Lund of the Hird, is similarly a stock villain. Still, history buffs may appreciate the skill with which Gross combines fact and fiction. 125,000-copy announced first printing; author tour. Agent: Simon Lipskar, Writers House.

April 1, 2017

In February 1943, Norwegian engineer and resistance fighter Kurt Nordstrum escapes to London with information about the Germans' progress toward building an atomic bomb. After training in the Highlands, he returns home with a team given the near-impossible task of attacking the mountaintop factory, then returns months later to finish the job. From the James Patterson coauthor and, on his own, an internationally best-selling author whose books include 2016's The One Man.

Copyright 2017 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

July 1, 2017

Gross's second stand-alone World War II novel (after The One Man) opens in Norway 1942. Kurt Nordstrum is a man without an army but still doing all he can to thwart the Nazis and their puppet government that has overtaken his country. He is asked by a trusted friend to smuggle microfilm to the British with intelligence on what is really going on at the Norsk Hydro plant. This intel could change the course of the war. Nordstrum hijacks a civilian ship and, after a tense air chase by Nazis, is able to get the microfilm to Aberdeen. Thus begins a plan of attack to destroy the heavy water being produced at the plant that could give Germany the option for nuclear war. Can Kurt and his team successfully sabotage the plant before the Nazis develop the capability to bring the world to its knees? From its opening pages, Gross's novel grips readers as they follow the tough-minded and persistent Nordstrum every step of the way. VERDICT Highly recommended for thriller fans as well as lovers of historical fiction based on true events. [See Prepub Alert, 3/13/17.]--Susan Moritz, Silver Spring, MD

Copyright 2017 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.