Customer Reviews

Hitler's Silver Box

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The reader of "Hitler's Silver Box" gets a quick introduction to the chief villain, who kidnaps, tortures, and slaughters innocent people (and an innocent dog) in the first few pages. Later on, Gerhard struck me as a bit dumb when he tried to pose as a Jew, but didn't seem to know anything about Judaism. In common with many other chief villains, he thought he was much cleverer than he actually was. The other neo-Nazis in this book were stereotypical villainous hulks who got outwitted, shot, and blown up as needed, but not before they inflicted pain and suffering on the good guys.

This thriller is split into two sections, and the most horrifying narrative takes place in the Theresienstadt Concentration Camp during World War II, where the hero's Uncle Max, a Jewish silversmith was forced to make the eponymous box as a birthday gift for der Führer. This part of the book reminded me of Primo Levi's memoir, "The Periodic Table Publisher: Everyman's Library" where the author was forced to practice his profession of chemistry in Auschwitz.

Uncle Max survives the war and moves to Chicago, where his past finally catches up with him. His nephew, an ER physician, is surprised at his uncle's unexpected death, and becomes suspicious when he is told that his uncle, an Orthodox Jew, had requested to be cremated. His uncle's pet dog had also died under suspicious circumstances, and after Dr. Starkman has read his uncle's memoirs, he hesitantly takes up the search for the silver box and its vile contents.

(I was surprised that Uncle Max had a dog. The Talmud says that it is forbidden to keep a pet that will scare other people, and specifically mentions a barking dog.)

This story takes many unexpected twists and turns, and I found myself really rooting for the good guys. I was especially taken with the alcoholic funeral director who turned out to have a secret past of his own. Dr. Starkman's experiences in the emergency room are gripping, and I expect a whole new book might evolve out of them. It took me awhile to get caught up in the story of the search for the silver box, because the Theresienstadt excerpts made hard reading, but once I did, I couldn't put this book down until I finished it.

***review copy supplied by author

Dr.Malnak has brought the Holocaust into the 21st Century. He reminds us of what we must always keep in mind, "that these hatreds never really end...they may become dormant...but they are never but a spark away from reigniting."

Malnak's plot flows effortlessly and his characters are as heroic, resolute or evil as this story demands. His ending is satisfying with enough of a twist to satisfy the most demanding fans of action and intrique.

I am a lecturer on the Holocaust. To use the event in fiction must always be done with great concern for the victims and the survivors. Malnak shows that sensitivity and is successful in insuring that "never again" means "never...under any circumstance...again".

This is a great read that is satisfying throughout its entirety.

It all rings true. The history of the box is right in line with many accounts I've read of how the Nezis operated. Of course the current-day material...could be true. Especially if you follow the post-war Nazis and their activities in South America. A region with more twins than statistically reasonable, say.

But that aside, Dr. Malnak has written not just a disturbing book, but a highly entertaining one including a dangerous chase and a peek at some current-day fanatical followers of Hitler. Strong protagonists, evil villains, something worth fighting for--this has all the ingredients.

Really well worth a read.

Allen Malnak's first novel, "Hitler's Silver Box," opens as Uncle Max is being held prisoner in his own Chicago suburban home. Max is being tortured for valuable information on the whereabouts of a silver box that he made as a prisoner in Theresienstadt Concentration Camp during World War II. He is accidentally killed by the home invaders due to an overdose of sodium pentothal. The death should have been highly suspicious, yet a valid death certificate is signed and Max is cremated

Enter his nephew and only surviving relative, Dr. Bruce Starkman, and the reader is now drawn closer to the edge of his chair. Dr. Starkman, an ER Doc at Cook County Hospital, finds many inconsistencies in the circumstances of his uncle's death: to begin with, Orthodox Jews are not cremated -- especially in Irish funeral homes -- nor was there an autopsy, which should be de rigueur in a suspicious sudden death.

Receiving little help from the police, Dr. Sparkman begins to investigate on his own and the action intensifies. His ex-girlfriend is murdered, Neo-Nazis are on his trail, the funeral parlor owner is severely beaten, and questions continue to surface regarding his uncle's mysterious death. With the help of the niece of Uncle Max's prison mate at Theresienstadt, who happens to be a security agent at the Israeli embassy in Paris, the investigation moves to France and then on to the Czech Republic and an action packed conclusion.

The author, Dr. Allen Malnak, has created authentic characters in a well written action/thriller that has plenty of both. If you want to know what the silver box contains and why it was so valuable, read the book.

Bookreview.com rates this book as excellent.

Hitler's Silver Box is a compelling, exciting thriller that will keep you on the edge of your seat until the end.
In a two-story Georgian house in one of Chicago's affluent suburbs, Max Bloomberg, an old bookseller, is brutally killed. Before murdering him, the killers burn his holy books and ask him for `the box.' The old man refuses to give them any information. However, unbeknown to them, he's left his secret journal to his nephew.

Enters Dr. Bruce Starkman, Chief ER Resident at Chicago's Cook County Hospital. Bruce is crushed when he learns about his beloved uncle's unexpected murder. Although Bruce would like to accept the murder as an unfortunate turn of fate, he soon becomes suspicious. Why was Uncle Max, an orthodox Jew, cremated? Uncle Max would never have allowed cremation. Why was his bookstore vandalized? And why is a black Chevy following Bruce lately? The situation gets more complicated when he inherits a large sum of money and property from his uncle, suddenly making him a suspect.

Thus begins Bruce's search for the journal, and once he discovers it, the reader is transported to 1945 when Max was 23 years old and a prisoner at the Theresienstadt concentration camp. Tension escalates, innocent people are killed, and together with Miriam, a beautiful and extremely smart Israeli woman with military training, Bruce travels to Paris and the Czech Republic. It quickly becomes evident to Bruce that he must outwit the neo-Nazis and find the silver box his uncle built--and the secret document hidden within it--if he is to save the world from an imminent Nazi resurgence.

The premise is ambitious, the stakes are high. Hitler's Silver Box is a well-written novel full of non-stop action and suspense. The story is written from multiple points of view separated by chapters. From the beginning, I was hooked. The pace is quick and the scenes full of tension. There's a lot of dialogue and little exposition, thus propelling the action further. I especially found Max's journal engrossing and compelling, distressing and shocking. The horror of Max's story touched me at a profound level. It is one of those tales not easily forgotten. The journal adds depth and another dimension to the book. I also liked how the voice, pace and tone in the journal are different from the rest of the novel. The protagonist, Bruce Starkman, is sympathetic and I really enjoyed all his `medical' insights; it's obvious the author is a medical doctor himself. Miriam, with her quick tongue, adds a lot of color and spunk to the scenes and I wish she had appeared much earlier in the story. I didn't care much about Bruce's ex-girlfriend, who's quite active in the beginning, though keeping in mind what happens to her, I suspect why the author didn't make her too likable.

In short, Hitler's Silver Box is a fast-moving, entertaining read and one of those books that would make a good film. Recommended.

Author: Allen Malnak
Publisher: Two Harbors Press
ISBN: 978-1-937293-36-9

So much has been written in the realm of fiction concerning holocaust survivors that I didn't expect anything unique when I picked up a copy of Allen Malnak's debut haunting thriller, Hitler's Silver Box. Was I in for quite a surprise!

The fictionalized story follows Dr. Bruce Starkman and his uncle Max Bloomberg, a survivor of the Theresienstadt concentration camp. While Max was in the camp, and owing to his silversmith skills, he was commanded to craft a small silver box that was to be given to Hitler as a present from his hideous henchmen. Apparently, the box was to be used to hide some extremely important Nazi documents. Most horrendous was that the silver Max used was extracted from the teeth of the thousands of Jews that were slaughtered by these barbarians.

As the yarn unravels, we learn that Bruce, after both his parents had died when he was a young lad, had a very close relationship with his uncle. Bruce is extremely distraught when he receives a phone call from his uncle's attorney and is informed that Max had died and his body transported to a non-Jewish funeral home, where he was cremated

According to Bruce, all of these details were very much out of character, as his uncle was an orthodox Jew and cremation is strictly forbidden under Jewish law. He is also dumbfounded when he discovers that the death certificate didn't contain any clear cause of death. Apparently, there were needle punctures and bruises on his uncle's body and furthermore, someone claiming to be the medical examiner, completely by-passed performing an autopsy. Another troubling element was that his uncle left money and written instructions concerning the care of his dog that he knew was already dead and buried. Something surely didn't add up. To complicate matters, Bruce believes he is being followed.

While all of this is materializing, Bruce finds himself in the middle of a relationship breakup with a smart beautiful woman who unfortunately becomes enmeshed in his troubles and, after disappearing for a few days, is found dead. Is there a connection between his uncle and girlfriend's deaths?

Determined to find out what is going on, Bruce comes across his uncle's personal journal concerning his prison experiences in the Theresienstadt concentration camp, some fifty years ago-something he had never discussed with him during his lifetime. Also discovered is a white manilla envelope with a crude, yellowed map with names he didn't recognize. And what really shakes up Bruce is his uncle's note mentioning that if he should find the envelope, he would already be dead. Poring over the personal journal, Bruce uncovers more about the mysterious box and what it contains, particularly, as stated by his uncle, "the thought that he was actually reproducing the dreaded swastikas on a present for the fiend whose grandiose goal was the total destruction of my people."

Half way through the book Bruce meets up with an attractive aggressive Israeli woman, Miriam, who works for security in the Israeli Embassy in Paris. Upon learning what Bruce is up to concerning his uncle's silver box and the secret document therein contained, Miriam insists on helping him track it down. The couple find their way to the Czech Republic and at the same time they are being hunted down by a bunch of nasty and savage neo-Nazis killers bent on finding the box and the document before Bruce and Miriam have the opportunity to destroy it. Let the games begin!

What really sticks out in this novel is that Malnak serves up just the right balance of nonstop chills and thrills. His scenes are crystal clear, permitting the reader to picture every detail, as he deftly weaves together a plot with unexpected twists and turns that never gets boring, thus providing great entertainment. It is a novel that it isn't as if you can't put the book down, but rather you don't dare put it down as readers are hurtled toward a chilling climax replete with plenty of action. In the end, Malnak has succeeded in creating a great intoxicating and breathtaking read that will keep you up at night. Most of his characters are well-realized with the exception of Miriam, who should have been introduced at an earlier stage in the narrative and more fully developed-after all, she does play a vital role in the plot.

The book is not only most informative but written in an unusual and unique format. The storyline is well thought out and is expressed in a manner easily readable for those who are not medically oriented and/or historically informed. It certainly must be made into a film!

Hitler's Silver Box is fast, vividly written and thick with fascinating historical detail. The characters are engaging and fully realized. The plot is compelling and delivers a lot of surprises. This is more than just a thriller, although it serves up all the basic elements with style to spare: exotic settings, beautiful girls, narrow escapes and mysterious strangers. Unlike most novels in this genre, Hitler's Silver Box deals with the consequences of violence from a different perspective. How does an emergency room doctor ethically square taking lives to save his own and others? Along the way, Starkman manages to balance "do no harm" with "shoot to kill." At the end, I craved more pages to turn.

Dr. Malnak's vivid descriptions of the characters make this a very easy and exciting read. His ability to project the emotions, feelings and surroundings through the lens of the main characters puts you squarely in the center of the action - you can clearly feel what Bruce Starkman is thinking and sensing. The reminder of the holocaust with its senseless tragedy and atrocities that occurred 70 years ago is also chilling. This book is a great balance of fact and fiction. Well done!