When retired environmental activist Fred Hope receives word that his colorful, anti-fascist Uncle Ernie has died, he is drawn into a maelstrom of revenge, deception, and lust for power involving Nazis, the IRA, and a beautiful widow.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
In this aptly titled thriller, Llewellyn (Clawhammer) proves that you can flirt with several genres at once and still deliver a gritty, intelligent and original read. Narrator Fred Hope is a British former environmental activist who once went to jail for trying to stop a whale hunt; during that same exploit, his patrician wife, Helen, was paralyzed for life. Now Fred's Uncle Ernie, an unrepentant Communist, has been framed for arms smuggling, and his partner and stepbrother-in-law, Hugo, has hired out Fred's charter cruise boat for, of all things, a whaling expedition. This ruins Fred's reputation-but it gets worse: Hugo's client turns out to be the godson of Herman Goring and the leader of a neo-Nazi group called "Midgard," while one of the client's associates happens to have information proving that Hugo is a direct descendant of Czar Nicholas II. Gradually, Fred discovers evidence of a conspiracy stretching back to the youth of Uncle Ernie, whose story is told in a series of flashbacks. Though the novel begins slowly, it soon picks up as Llewellyn combines a number of story types-sea saga, mystery, family drama, social history, thriller, character study-into an amalgam not easily categorized. The resolution of the complicated plot is wildly unexpected, a punchy ending for a strong, well-written novel that's something far different, and far better, than the average thriller.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Booklist
The ironically named Fred Hope is a disillusioned ex-environmental activist who served a prison sentence for his part in an antiwhaling action that left his wife, Helen, a quadriplegic. Fred now runs a small seaside hotel in England and operates a charter ship with his ne'er-do-well brother-in-law, Hugo. Fred's beloved Uncle Ernie is arrested for gunrunning, mysteriously escapes from custody, and then, just as mysteriously, turns up dead. Ernie has long been a pacifist, and Fred refuses to accept the official story of his arrest. Fred's pursuit of the truth sucks him into a vortex of Norwegian Nazis, ex-KGB agents, the IRA, smuggling, forgery, and illicit whaling. Along the way, he is beaten, shot at, tossed in the sea, and has his eyes threatened on a spike fence. Author Llewellyn's prose rarely rises above the pedestrian, he spends far too long telling Ernie's life story, and the pat ending is much too abrupt. Still, the characters are engaging, and the scenes of high-seas action are wonderfully crafted. Marginally recommended, especially where earlier Llewellyn thrillers have been popular. George Needham
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