Secret Honor (Honor Bound) [Hardcover]

W.E.B. Griffin (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 10, 2000 | Series: Honor Bound

A crackling new novel in the bestselling Honor Bound series, by the master of the military thriller.

As with his three enormously popular series--Brotherhood of War, The Corps, and Badge of Honor--Honor Bound and Blood and Honor, W. E. B. Griffin's novels of World War II espionage in Germany and Argentina, became immediate bestsellers. These are "immensely entertaining adventures" (Kirkus Reviews), "superior war stories" (Library Journal) "whose twists and turns keep readers guessing until the last page" (Publishers Weekly). Now, in Secret Honor, Griffin creates his most rousing novel yet.

In Wolf's Lair, a German general works toward the assassination of Adolf Hitler. In Buenos Aires, the general's son, codenamed Galahad, falls under suspicion by the SS after a Nazi operation suddenly goes bad. In the middle of it all is OSS agent Cletus Frade, who knows the identity of them both and what they will do nextif they can survive that long. For not only are SS and Abwehr officers hot on their trails in both countries, but the OSS has branded Frade a rogue agent and is determined to shake the truth from him, at whatever cost. If Frade can't figure out a way to hold them all off, then the futures of all three men may be very short indeed.

Written with all the special flair that Griffin's readers expect, filled with high drama and real heroes, Secret Honor is further proof, in Tom Clancy's words, that "Griffin is a storyteller in the grand tradition."

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Don't be deceived by the blockbuster size of W.E.B. Griffin's third installment in the Honor Bound series. Secret Honor is an intricate book that reveals a remarkable attentiveness to historical detail and characterization. It is also a top-notch thriller set in Griffin's quasi-fictional version of WWII.

The plot is woven with so many threads, all of them worthwhile, that it actually feels more like a chronicle than a novel, but the central story takes up the continuing adventures of OSS agent Cletus Frade. Frade, a U.S. Marine whose father was almost the president of Argentina, was raised in Texas and now uses his father's special status in Argentine society to penetrate Nazi plans for South America. This time, however, Frade is not so much fighting the Nazis as supporting them. While one group, Himmler among them, is secretly stashing funds in Argentina to prepare for an escape when the Reich finally crumbles, a second group, including a German general and his son, are actually plotting to assassinate Hitler. Meanwhile, the OSS is on the verge of ex-communicating Frade, given his unwillingness to reveal the identity of the son, code-named "Galahad."

The details are what make this book: Cletus Frade is imprinted on the mind, clad in grease-stained khaki trousers, spouting Spanish-Texan four-letter epithets, and sporting cowboy boots as he repairs his father's ravaged old Horch touring sedan at Estancia San Pedro y San Pablo. Particularly engaging is Griffin's account of Argentine upper-strata social "politics," as Father Welner steers Cletus into his inevitable marriage. Reading Secret Honor, one enters many vividly drawn places--from Nazi secret meetings to Argentine estates--that bring this pivotal era to life. Finishing the book leaves one feeling a rare combination of sadness in leaving close colleagues behind and exhilaration at having witnessed history being made. --Patrick O'Kelley

From Publishers Weekly

This third entry in the military/espionage Honor Bound series, focusing on the Argentine-German connection during WWII, will intrigue newcomers and have Griffin's long-time fans queuing up for the next installment. In 1943, the Nazi-ordered assassination of Jorge Frade, the anti-Axis president of Argentina, has left the country in a tense mood, which is exacerbated by the murder of two Nazi officers during a night beach landing, part of the top-secret Nazi Operation Phoenix. The aborted mission was crucial to a plan to free the Argentine-interned crew of the Nazi ship Graf Spee, but it turns out that the slain officers had also extorted ransom money from Jews in concentration camps and arranged for their passage to Argentina--without the Reich's knowledge. Cletus Frade, the 24-year-old American-reared son of the slain president, has returned to Argentina as heir to his father's vast estates and financial holdings. But Cletus is also an OSS (CIA precursor) agent, and a chance meeting with Major Hans-Peter von Wachstein, a Nazi pilot attached to the German embassy, results in their friendship. Peter feeds secrets to Cletus in exchange for help in moving Peter's family's funds to Argentina, where they hope to live after the war that he and his father (a close aide to the Fuhrer) believe is wrong and already lost. When Himmler launches an investigation to find the embassy spy who scuttled Operation Phoenix, Cletus struggles to protect Peter's identity and deal with the rising power of pro-Axis Juan Peron. Griffin adroitly shifts among German, American and Argentinian cultural milieux and fills the plot with believable romance, intrigue and diplomatic fencing, while capturing the horrors of war and the crucial role of intelligence agents. He nicely explains the Reich's need for Argentina as safe harbor to replenish its U-boats and to stash funds for postwar Nazi emigration. What will happen to the SS, Cletus and the surviving cast promises an equally exciting sequel. (Jan.)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 497 pages
• Publisher: Putnam Adult; 1ST edition (January 10, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0399145680
• ISBN-13: 978-0399145681
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.2 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.9 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 2.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (52 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #380,401 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

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Lacks Excitment, January 16, 2000

By 

Fred Buse (Albany, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Secret Honor (Honor Bound) (Hardcover)

Compared to all of W. E. B. Griffin's published novels, I found his most recent effort, disappointing. Too much of Secret Honor, is concerned with the events surrounding the wedding of Clete Frade and Dorotea Mallin and the inconclusive efforts of the German government to identify the traitor responsible for the assassination of two senior SS officers which was described in the previous book.

Secret Honor seems to be a transition between the author's last book set in Argentina, Blood and Honor, and his next intended volume in the Honor Bound series. We are introduced to a series of important historical figures including Count Claus von Stauffenberg, Evita Duarta and General Adolf Galland, each of whom one hopes will figure prominently in the author's intended sequel. We also are familiarized with one of Germany's most important secret weapons of World War II, the ME-262 jet fighter aircraft.

Except for target practice, only one shot is fired in this book by or at any of the main characters. But many important events occurred the period covered, April through June 1943, including: the fall of North Africa to the Americans and English, Allied preparations to invade Sicily, the first Warsaw Ghetto uprising, the siege of Leningrad, preparations leading to the Battle at Kursk (the largest tank conflict in history), the introduction of escort carriers and advanced radar in the battle against U-boats in the Atlantic, and MacArthur's attack up coast of New Guinea.

I hope that W.E.B. Griffin's next effort is more exciting.

25 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Favorite Author--Least Favorite Book, April 22, 2000

By 

Roger Metcalfe (Coleman, TX) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Secret Honor (Honor Bound) (Hardcover)

I have read every book W.E.B. Griffin has written and anxiously await each one's publication. I did so with this book also, but was disappointed that the storyline provided very little new excitement. It was tiresome to read. I particularly have trouble following the rank structure of the German military and seldom know what the character's position or function is within the story. The main character, Cletus Frade, seemed to do nothing in this book except be the "patron" of his deceased father's ranch and fly his airplane. In other words, he was a minor character when the focus of the book should be on him, activities of the OSS in Argentina during the war, and his relationship with the German officer he has developed as "Galahad". Recommendation----Finish this series or develop it to something more interesting. Another recommendation is that Griffin return to the stories of the Marines or the Philadelphia Police Department where the stories are still crisp and make you want to read them every free moment.

15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Too good to be so bad, September 2, 2000

By 

jim yeager (Chattanooga TN) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Secret Honor (Honor Bound) (Hardcover)

I love the storytelling ability of this author. His words are enjoyable to read and he knows all of the suspense hooks. I just wish that his ability to write included an ability to keep his stories straight.

Mr Griffin frequently forgets who has done what; who has said what and frequent readers are frequently annoyed at some of the plotline errors he makes.

All of the above does not cause me to shun his books: in truth, he and Clancy are about the only writers I buy in hardback, rather than wait for the paperback. Secret Honor certainly will continue his string of successful books.