The Double Agents

April 30, 2007
Actors David Niven and Peter Ustinov, along with James Bond creator Ian Fleming, all of whom actually served Britain in WWII, help the heroes of Griffin’s Men at War series deceive the Germans in this solid sixth installment (after 2006’s The Saboteurs) from the bestselling author and his son, Butterworth. In 1943, the OSS’s William J. “Wild Bill” Donovan spearheads a disinformation effort to trick the Nazis into believing that the western Allies won’t invade the European continent through Sicily. One of Donovan’s most accomplished operatives, USAAF Maj. Richard Canidy, devises a clever scheme (albeit one familiar to readers of Ewen Montagu’s The Man Who Never Was) to plant phony plans on a corpse, along with love letters drafted by the requisite attractive female spy. Some fans may find the prominent role of the real-life celebrities a distraction, but all will enjoy the suspenseful ride.