cover image The Faust Conspiracy

The Faust Conspiracy

James Baddock. Walker & Company, $18.95 (180pp) ISBN 978-0-8027-1081-9

Set in wartime England, this violent, deftly written thriller relates an attempt to assassinate King George VI--and the race to prevent it. Emotionless SS Major Karl Vogel is ordered to lead an expert marksman into England for the kill, but a group of anti-Hitler conspirators, hoping to make a separate peace with the Allies against Russia, sends agent Paul Koenig to stop Vogel at any cost. Persuaded by information not revealed until the wrenching conclusion, Paul tries to fulfill a mission made even more daunting by the hard-earned breakthroughs of detectives and M15 agents endeavoring to unravel what seems to be a pair of deadly plots. There is so much at stake for all concerned that bystanders are obliterated with grim regularity, but the bloodshed, while graphic, is never gratuitous. Skilled writing and dialogue and well-sustained tension contribute to an entertaining read. (July)