Customer Reviews

Rhineland Inheritance (Rendezvous with Destiny)

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I liked it actually. It had an interesting plot, and I loved the character development. Captain Jake Burnes, a bitter, battle-weary American captain, is issued to war-ravaged Germany right after the end of WWII. He makes friends with a French officer and a beautiful diplomat...and with Germany's war orphans. A rumor of Nazi treasure spreads around the military base, and certain people thought to be allies turn out to be dangerous enemies. Jake, struck by the desperation of the widows and orphans the war has left, tries to help them, and it ends up being a life-changing experience for him. Rhineland Inheritance wasn't the most exciting or best written book I've ever read...some parts were flat and dull. But then other parts were exciting and suspenseful...so I'm looking forward to reading the next book in the series anyway.

Jake Burnes, a soldier's soldier, battle weary and mad at life. Okay, noted...now what. Unfortunately, not much. Throughout this book and the series to come you get little more development than Jakey boy coming to terms with the enemy. The major tension points are no big spoilers..."wah, you killed my brother" and "wah, you're trying to kill me." Pierre sees more development over the series but basically all we learn about him as a character is that he's a scary driver.
There are select passages where the descriptions are pulled off wonderfully, but for the most part, the writing is stilted and slow.

As an adult, I found the writing style
somewhat stilted and forced. I was reading
the book before placing it in a private school
library. The target audience of 11-14 year
old students will probably enjoy the story;
girls more than boys. The story focuses on a
young Army captain stationed in Germany at the
end of WWII. He is touched by the desperate,
displaced people trying to survive without
proper shelter or food. He also is involved
in a search for hidden Nazi treasure. This is
a good mystery story with enough romance to
keep the target audience reading. Be aware
that there are strong religious undertones
throughout the story. While that is more than
appropriate for my Christian school, others
might not care for that aspect of the story.