Customer Reviews

A Night of Long Knives (Hannah Vogel Novels)

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Journalist Hannah Vogel, traveling as Frau Zinsli, and her adopted nine year old son Anton fly on the Graf Zeppelin to Switzerland. Hannah is concerned that she is so close to Nazi Germany as three years ago she kidnapped the alleged son of the chief of staff of the storm troopers Ernst Rohm. Her fears become affirmed when the airship lands in Germany with she and the lad dumped by the Swiss, who continue their journey. Worse she is separated from the lad as she is taken to Rohm.

However, she has her first break since being captured on German soil when Hitler and a contingency arrive at Rohm's hotel room to arrest him. Hitler's inadvertent intrusion enables Hannah to escape. However, she refuses to leave without her Anton so the intrepid reporter searches for her son at great risk to her life.

A Night of Long Knives is a fascinating Depression Era tale that centers on the Nazi's strengthening their power over all aspects of German society. The story line is action-packed with a courageous heroine who has way too many Houdini-like escapes that eventually detracts from the sense of what is happening to Germany circa 1934. Still historical readers will enjoy Rebecca Cantrell's exciting thriller rooting for Hannah the heroine.

Harriet Klausner

I'm not one for historical novels, but I developed affection for Hannah Vogel in "A Trace of Smoke," which I read on recommendation from a friend. I really enjoyed that book, but this one is even better. I'm hooked. Every time something would come up (like dinner or taking the dog for a walk) I just hated to put the book down. I recommend it as a rip roaring airport read. The continuous action and palpable sense of danger keeps one on edge.

In this book, Hannah is driven to find her missing adopted son under almost impossible circumstances. Her ferocious moma-bear instincts keep her going, facing enormous odds, injuries, betrayal, and spies everywhere, in her quest to find Anton. I feel Cantrell has grown as a writer in this second book. I can't wait to read more of her stuff.

I actually just stumbled upon the first of the Hannah Vogel mysteries thanks to an Amazon Suggestion. I love books that come in a series and was excited to see that there was another in the series coming right on the heels of my purchase of the first. I breezed through the first volume (enjoyed it greatly) and the next day "A Night Of Long Knives" arrived. I must say, I really couldn't put it down. I read the book in three days, having just finished it yesterday afternoon.

I would highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys this type of story and style of writing. Frankly, I think the review posted on this page from Publisher's Weekly does the book a great disservice and would suggest that you pay it little notice. It was probably written by someone who really doesn't know what a good read is. I for one feel that Ms. Cantrell does a wonderful job of recreating pre-war Nazi Germany and what it was like.The tension just starts building from the first page and doesn't stop till the last.

Ms. Cantrell, if you read these reviews, the only thing I would please ask for volume 3 is to get rid of Boris. His wishy-washy back and forth "I'm Mad and I don't trust you"/"I love you, I'll do whatever you want to help" routine in both volumes just is annoying. Feed him to the Nazis (or better yet, maybe a murder/suicide with Frau Inge) and get Hannah a real man; one who instinctively understands what she's doing and isn't so irritating in the process.

I will anxiously await your next installment in the series!

The story of Hannah Vogel continues! She and Anton are Traveling to Switzerland on assignment via Zepplin. Her flight gets diverted and they are back in the thick of it in Germany! Fantastic historical fiction! A continuation of the story started in the book A Trace of Smoke...Terrific!

After buying Cantrell's first book, A TRACE OF SMOKE, I hounded her to finish the next one. It's been a long wait! Hannah Vogel has many faults, but determination and guts aren't two of them. When the Zeppelin she and little Anton (her adopted son) are riding is forced to land in Germany, Hannah quickly finds herself back in the hornet's nest. Her departure from Germany in A TRACE OF SMOKE wasn't on the best of terms. I won't ruin the story, but Hannah and Anton are taken into custody by a very dangerous and powerful general inside the growing Nazi movement. Hannah manages to escape, but Anton isn't so lucky.

Hannah must use all skills to evade being captured while trying to track down her son. A NIGHT OF LONG KNIVES is rollercoaster ride through one of the most dangerous and frightening eras of the 20th century!

Cheers for Rebecca Cantrell!

I tore through this sequel to the excellent A TRACE OF SMOKE in one sitting. I loved the first book in the series, and A NIGHT OF LONG KNIVES does not disappoint as its follow-up. The action takes off from the first pages as Hannah's zeppelin is diverted from Switzerland into Germany - and into the clutches of Ernst Rohm. When Hannah is separated from her beloved son Anton, she races across the city to find him before it's too late. As the Nazi Party convulses in the wake of Hitler's deadly purge, Berlin is in turmoil and the fear and terror of that time is alive on the page. I admire Cantrell's vivid depiction of this time and place. With its unrelenting tension and action, the book reads like a top-notch thriller, but it's Cantrell's ability to recreate the sense of a city collapsing onto itself that truly sets this series apart.

Where "A Trace of Smoke" was like a walk through the looking glass into the underworld of 1930s Berlin, "A Night of Long Knives" is like walking along the edge of a tightrope. Over bayonets.

Hannah Vogel has spent three years on the run, and has graduated from savvy reporter to skilled fugitive. Her son, Anton, is growing up like his mother, brave, tough and resourceful. Cantrell introduces us to some delightful new faces, and surprises us with some old friends and enemies. Germany now lives in the shadow of Nazism. It becomes an unspoken character in the story -- wearing a black Gestapo trench coat -- and Cantrell seeds her world with a just enough paranoia and fear so that, even in everyday places, danger never feels far away.

I won't spoil the plot, except to say that you never know who to trust. "A Night of Long Knives" is a fast-moving, suspenseful read that takes off running from the footsteps of its predecessor. Enjoy!

Though a lot has been written on this subject, I want to add that this suspenseful version has a wonderful twist on the subject with a brilliant German newspaper woman, who gets caught up in this horrible time before Hitler makes a grand stab at devouring all of Europe. I especially appreciated the author's use of the German zeppelin as it floated above the landscape of Germany giving the reader a detached view of a people who, in chilling foreshadowing, step back into the shadows and away from prying eyes of the zeppelin. Anna has taken a chance to return to Europe after a three year self-imposed exile in South America. Along with fake passports for her and her six year old adopted son she plans a trip to Switzerland for a journalist job. But when the zeppelin takes an unexpected stop in Germany, Anna has every right to fear for her son and herself. She has come too close to Germany and the reminder of the one man who will destroy her and take her son, Hitler's Ernst Rohm.

Ms. Cantrell does an excellent job of weaving historical characters in with realistic fictional characters. This is a must read for suspense as well historical fiction fans.

RP Dahlke, author of $2.99 humorous mysteries, A DEAD RED CADILLAC & A DEAD RED HEART

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This is the sequel to the author's debut novel, "A Trace of Smoke." The action centers around the Night of Long Knives when Adolf Hitler turned against his former friend Ernst Rohm and the Brown Shirts who had swept him into power. People seeking personal power eat their own kind. Rohm had been tracking journalist Hannah Vogel after she left Germany. She has foolishly taken an assignment to fly to Switzerland on a German zeppelin, and it is diverted to an airfield in Germany where she and Anton are kidnapped. She escapes in the turmoil surrounding the Brown Shirt purge, but is separated from Anton and struggles to find him.

This is a novel of intrigue where many people have their own agendas and it is difficult to know whom to trust. Many factions in society such as criminals and the police continue almost as normal no matter whom is in power. Sometimes it is just a matter of changing uniforms. Lower level thugs will always find a market for their skills. Along the way, some of Hannah's old acquaintances are discovered to not always be whom they seemed to be.

After reading the first Hannah Vogel novel, I thought I would give this a chance . . . a disappointment to say the least. Hannah is an intrepid detective and continues to hone her investigatory skills (acquired as reporter, Peter Weil), but the situations prove so ridiculous that it borders on farce. For example, Hannah hides in the bathroom as Hitler rants and has Rohm arrested; I should have stopped right there and demanded my money back. She swoons over beau Boris as if he were a Ken doll and she was playing Cinderella. Boris' cleaning-lady serves as Hannah's domestic foil and surrogate evil step-mother. As an on-going joke, Hannah drags a 19th century wedding dress around through the entire novel even as she's shot at and stabbed. She's victorious in every dangerous situation as she stares down evil Nazis, convinces a waiter to undress so she can "borrow" his clothes, and even resorts to wearing Nazi drag once again to outwit her enemies. After a while, it all just becomes stupid and a waste of time. Read all of Alan Furst if you want the atmosphere of pre-World War II Europe, and if you must read this book check it out from the library.