The Honor of Spies (Honor Bound) [Hardcover]

W.E.B. Griffin (Author)

Book Description

Series: Honor Bound | Publication Date: December 29, 2009

Griffin's Honor Bound novels have been hailed as "terrific" (Newark Star-Ledger) and "immensely entertaining" (Kirkus Reviews), with "enough derring-do, romance and action to satisfy Griffin's legions of fans and bring him new ones" (Rocky Mountain News). The new book is his best yet. August 6, 1943: In his brief career in the Office of Strategic Services, twenty-four-year-old Cletus Frade has already been involved in a lot of unusual situations, but nothing like the one he's in now, standing with a German lieutenant colonel named Wilhelm Frogger in a Mississippi prisoner-of-war detention facility. Frade's job? To help Frogger escape.

Frogger's parents are in Frade's custody in Argentina, because of their involvement in a secret German plan to establish safe havens for senior Nazi officials in South America, and the younger Frogger has agreed to help find out what they know. Even more important, however, is the secret within the secret. Before he was captured in Africa, Frogger was part of a conspiracy; its goal: to assassinate Adolf Hitler. If the OSS can use his knowledge and connections to nudge that plot along, even just a little bit- they may be able to end this war right now. But Frade is not the only one who knows about the Froggers. Even as he stands there in Mississippi, a troop of Germans and Argentinians, led by a Colonel Juan Perón, is on its way to kill the parents and, after them, Frade himself. His career in the OSS may have been brief-but it may just be about to be over. Filled with the special flair that Griffin's fans have come to expect, The Honor of Spies is another rousing adventure from one of our finest storytellers.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Set in 1943, the tedious fifth entry in bestseller Griffin's sprawling Honor Bound series, coauthored with son Butterworth, picks up where Death and Honor (2008) left off, with Don Cletus Frade, a U.S. Marine Corps major, still trying to expose two Nazi secret missions: Operation Phoenix, which concerns large sums of money being smuggled into Argentina to be used by high-ranking Nazis who plan to flee the Reich if Germany loses the war, and another program that ransoms rich Jews out of Germany. Most of the many characters continue to scheme against one another and endlessly discuss their plots, coups, and assassination attempts. Brief, violent altercations occasionally interrupt the talk. As usual, the plot abruptly stops, presumably scheduled to resume in the next installment. Newcomers are advised to start with the first of the series. Those who prefer action in their WWII fiction should go elsewhere. (Jan.)
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From Booklist

The Honor Bound series, set during World War II, rolls steadily along. In this installment, OSS officer Cletus Frade has a tricky assignment: to help a German lieutenant escape a Mississippi internment camp so that Frade can use the man to make sure a German plot to assassinate Hitler succeeds. Frade also wants to find out what the man’s parents are up to in South America, where, rumor has it, the Germans are preparing for the arrival of senior Nazi officials, who will live there after the war. This is an extremely complex novel, with a large cast and, unfortunately, a lot of clutter, especially in the opening scenes. The story takes quite a while to get moving, and when it finally does, it’s frequently interrupted by lengthy chunks of expository dialogue. Still, the authors’ many fans will likely embrace the novel with open arms (even if casual readers may be a little less forgiving). --David Pitt

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 496 pages
• Publisher: Putnam Adult; 1 edition (December 29, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 039915566X
• ISBN-13: 978-0399155666
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.7 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (71 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #299,959 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

W.E.B. Griffin is the author of more than thirty epic novels in five series, all of which have been listed on The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Publishers Weekly and other best-seller lists. More than forty million of his books are in print in more than ten languages, including Hebrew, Chinese, Japanese, and Hungarian. Mr. Griffin grew up in the suburbs of New York City and Philadelphia. He enlisted in the United States Army in 1946. After basic training, he received counter-intelligence training at Fort Holabird, Maryland. He was assigned to the Army of Occupation in Germany, and ultimately to the staff of then-Major General I.D. White, commander of the U.S. Constabulary. In 1951, Mr. Griffin was recalled to active duty for the Korean War, interrupting his education at Phillips University, Marburg an der Lahn, Germany. In Korea he earned the Combat Infantry Badge as a combat correspondent and later served as acting X Corps (Group) information officer under Lieutenant General White. On his release from active duty in 1953, Mr. Griffin was appointed Chief of the Publications Division of the U.S. Army Signal Aviation Test & Support Activity at Fort Rucker, Alabama. Mr. Griffin is a member of the Special Operations Association, the Veterans of Foreign Wars, the American Legion, the Army Aviation Association, and the Armor Association. He was the 1991 recipient of the Brigadier General Robert L. Dening Memorial Distinguished Service Award of the U.S. Marine Corps Combat Correspondents Association, and the August 1999 recipient of the Veterans of Foreign Wars News Media Award, presented at the 100th National Convention in Kansas City. He has been vested into the Order of St. George of the U.S. Armor Association, and the Order of St. Andrew of the U.S. Army Aviation Association, and been awarded Honorary Doctoral degrees by Norwich University, the nation's first and oldest private military college, and by Troy State University (Ala.). He was the graduation dinner speaker for the class of 1988 at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. He has been awarded honorary membership in the Special Forces Association; the Marine Corps Combat Correspondents Association; the Marine Raiders Association; and the U.S. Army Otter & Caribou Association. He is the co-founder, with historian Colonel Carlo D'Este, of the William E. Colby Seminar on Intelligence, Military, and Diplomatic Affairs. Mr. Griffin's novels, known for their historical accuracy, have been praised by The Philadelphia Inquirer for their "fierce, stop-for-nothing scenes." "Nothing honors me more than a serviceman, veteran, or cop telling me he enjoys reading my books," Mr. Griffin says. Mr. Griffin divides his time between the Gulf Coast and Buenos Aires.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

54 of 59 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Bonanza Bucko, December 31, 2009

By 

Bruce Overson "bonanza bucko" (San Diego, CA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Honor of Spies (Honor Bound) (Hardcover)

I bought this book last week and I'm almost finished reading it...a very, very good book. But THE MAIN REASON I'm writing this is my very low opinion of The Traffickers which I posted here two weeks ago. The Traffickers was obviously not written by Griffin himself...the only shadow of him in the book was the characters and the localities; it was way too wordy and disjointed....borderline boring. I thought Griffin had become a shill for his son, Butterworth, and that the good ole days were gone.

I WAS WRONG! This book is among the best Griffin books. If it was partially written by Mr. Butterworth he has been paying attention in his dad's school! This is a superb book in the good old W. E. B Griffin mold....pure entertainment but very well done. If this is Butterworth's work we are in good hands. If it isn't we need to send Griffin some big vitamin pills so he stays with us forever.

40 of 45 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars The Honor of Spies, January 17, 2010

By 

Lael Prock (Mercer Island, Washington) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Honor of Spies (Honor Bound) (Hardcover)

I found the two books written in collaboration with WEB IV in the Men at War series to be so bad that I had decided not to buy any more Griffin books that he was a part of. But since I had read the other books in the Honor Bound series and enjoyed them I thought I would give it a go but I wasn't too hopeful. My impression was that Daddy had been trying to hand off a money making franchise to WEB IV who clearly did not have the story telling or writing skills of the old man. Well I'm glad to say that this volume was up to the standards of previous efforts in this series. I did not get the same sense that I did with The Saboteurs & The Double Agents and my perception is that WEB was much more involved. At least I really enjoyed this book. It is only a three because it is pretty light reading. On my own personal pleasure scale it would be closer to a four if you are into WEB. There are a lot of story lines left to be followed up in this series if WEB can keep up the pace and WEB IV stays out of it. Any chance of seeing more of "Killer" McCoy?

21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent addition to the Honor Bound Series, December 31, 2009

By 

ROBIN MCCALL "LTC (Ret.) Robin McCall" (Chula Vista, California United States) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Honor of Spies (Honor Bound) (Hardcover)

This is an excellent addition to the Honor Bound series, written in the marvelous, action-packed Griffin style. Griffin packs in a wonderful combination of WWII, Argentine and American history. Cletus Frade continuous to support both the American and Argentinian causes, and the heroic saga continues, with Juan Peron continuing to emerge as a less than desirable leader of Argentina. The bad guys and good guys battle it out in Argentina, while Eva (Evita) Duarte starts to exercise her influence on Juan Peron. Another great Griffin story with heroes and villains on almost all sides.