Customer Reviews

XPD

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I am a big fan of deighton, and since the collaspe of the cold war this will now read as historical fiction, but still well worth the read.XPD: "EXPEDIENT DEMISE". A stunning and memorable "What if" story, based on many documented occurrences during the time of the Second World War. all deighton fans should pick up a copy.

Deighton has surpassed even his normally high quality work with this post-World War II thriller. Weaving a compelling tale of finance, intrigue and history, he draws the reader into the story with subtle proficiency. This departure from his established run of 'spy' novels was an inspired decision. It's a shame this book isn't on the active inventory here.

The story recalls the recovery of hidden Nazi gold, art and documents by American soldiers at the end of World War II in Europe. Some of the soldiers seize the opportunity to filch some of the treasure, setting up a Swiss bank. The real prize, however, resides in the documents - they possess a secret from the early days of the war. The pivotal point of the story, the secret is sought by many, each with their own focus. It's a compelling idea, given impetus by the 'discovery' of a set of 'Hitler's Journals' a few years ago. The bogus Journals don't detract from Deighton's quite credible suggestion hidden in the documents' pages.

Without taking anything away from the plot, it is Deighton's characters that remain his strong point. In this book he conveys unalloyed identity to a diverse cast of participants from the US, Germany, the UK and Russia. None of them fails to convince the reader of their authenticity. You come to know them intimately, even the unpleasant ones. Strangely, the weakest character is the British Intelligence agent, Boyd Stuart. Remoulding Bernard Samson into Stuart would have been transparent, leaving Stuart slightly inconsistent. The real star of Deighton's cast in this book is Charlie Stein. Deighton displays his finest talent in painting this American war veteran in perfect colours. Tom Clancy couldn't have bettered Deighton's depiction of this sergeant running an Army Company with absolute confidence. Officers are merely decorative and built into the organization by default. The sergeants are the real managers, and Stein typically carries the ability through to today. Not having had a brain transplant from an American, Deighton's descriptive presentation of all of the Americans is more than just impressive.

Deighton's prodigious research underlying this book is clearly brought into view through his adept writing skills. You will learn much from this book, while enjoying the story he weaves. Surprises abound, but nothing is out of place. A fine addition to any collection of Deighton, historical speculation, or just plain captivating reading. Why wasn't this story put on film?

I didn't know what I was getting into when I first picked up Len Deighton's "XPD" to read. But if you've ever entered the pages of a book for the first time and had certain words leap out at you as if printed with fire, you will understand what I mean when I say that "Kaiseroda", "Merkers", and "Thuringia" burned themselves into my mind and have never faded. Almost from the story's very beginning, the evil shadow of the Nazi Eagle looms over sunny California, involving the present generation with secrets so powerful as to be certain death to those who know too much. Whether they be aging self-made men such as Charles Stein, or his charming, all-American son -- or even certain German nationals now living in or operating out of the United States -- the fact is that there is no one who even possibly posseses certain deadly knowledge that is safe from the dread directive, XPD: "EXPEDIENT DEMISE". A stunning and memorable "What if" story, based on many documented occurrences during the time of the Second World War.

No doubt this book has lost some of its interest for readers since the end of the Cold War. I found it a tad slow. The writing doesn't always manage to maintain the suspense.

Nazi gold, British, Russian, American spy's and various crooks are the ingredients of this 1981 novel.

It's all pretty run of the mill stuff from Mr. Deighton who can be bit "hot and cold" with his spy stories.

Set in the 1970's we have several organizations looking for the "Hitler Minutes", documents that could be very embarrassing for Britain especially and tarnish the reputation of Winston Churchill forever.

There are the usual double crosses and machinations from the intelligence services that make the task of our hero, Stuart Boyd, next to impossible in solving the job put before him.

Unfortunately the story ends very limply. It is as if even the author got a bit bored and wanted to move onto something else.

So, not one of Deighton's best, but he has written some wonderful stories as well so don't ever be put off his work.

Winston Churchill the trator?

The events of the times that this story is created certainly leaves you wondering did he?...

Only our childern will find out when they are in their 70s, as the documents that have been seized from the so called German mines and caves are finally opened.

This story is based on the idea that American GIs accidently stumbled across the famous Hitler Minutes that reveiled the idea of an early peace offer that would have seen Germany become a superpower that would take on Russia with total confidence.

MI6 is left with the job of making sure that secerts remain secrets. So when an unknown Hollywood movie producer announces that a movie based on those uncertain days is to be made, MI6 takes notice and takes notice even more when the true nature of the storyline shows a more sinister plot. To discredit Winston Churchill.

Full of intrigue, murder and skulduggery, it is a popular read with a chilling ending.

Len Deighton has used this interesting topic for a great, if sometimes distracting, story.
One day all will be revealed.

The usual Deighton staples are here - intriguing and involved plot and deep, well developed characters. The plot centers on the so called 'Hitler Minutes'. Documents uncovered in California after the war which tell of a secret meeting between Hitler and Churchill in 1940. What was discussed, what was promised and what became of the meeting are the subject of the novel. British Intelligence, the Russians and the CIA are all involved and the intricacies of the plot are sufficient to keep us guessing up to the conclusion. The only problem with the book is the dialogue between the characters. It's a big problem though as it's simplicity and banality is distracting. 'Winter', a Deighton novel I recently re-read suffers a little from the same shallow conversations; so similar in fact that I looked to see if they were written at the same time. They're seven years apart. Even good mystery writers can have recurring dry spells I guess.

OK, for the sake of this story, let's say Churchill had his back against the wall early in world war II and considered surrender. So what? History shows that he never surrendered! Despite this silliness, is still it's a pretty competant spy story and keeps the reader's attention. A gallant try!