SPIES

by Richard Ben Sapir ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 24, 1984

Was there a ring of German spies in WW II Newport, R.I., stealing US Navy plans and sneaking the data out to Nazi U-boats? That's the premise of this strong, tender thriller by the author of The Far Arena and The Body--which follows the 1980s investigation into that old WW II espionage, with Sapir's steady, sympathetic focus on the long-ago spy ringleader. . . who's now a solid citizen. His name is Charlie Drobney; he's 67, in poor health; he's co-owner--with dear old chum Bob Goldstein--of Newport's main hardware store; he's the widowered father of lovely Sondra, the adoring grandfather of Sondra's illegitimate son Brandon. But before Charlie arrived in 1938 Newport he was Gottherd Hauff, US-born son of German immigrants who returned (because of US unemployment) to 1930s Germany. And, desperate to get back to America, young Gottherd agreed to become a spy in Newport--along with two other English-speaking German agents, both of whom parlayed their phony American identities into social success: Charlie's old love Gusti is now Mrs. Elizabeth Wheaten, an elegant widow in a Newport mansion; and Charlie's old nemesis/underling is now Newport billionaire Hiram Lederle; the three of them have had no contact for 40 years. Then, however, the underwater discovery of an old spy-package leads to a new FBI investigation--demanded by the Navy, which has always blamed the FBI for failing to catch WW II spies. Charlies, desperate to keep his espionage secret from daughter, grandson, and (especially) Jewish pal Bob, wisely stays cool. But the other two ex-spies panic; Lederle, afraid that Gusti/Elizabeth will spill the beans, has her killed--leading, of course, to even more investigation. And, while the psychopathic Lederle threatens Charlie with murder too, the real, painful threat comes from closer to home: it just so happens that daughter Sondra is failing very much in love with Todd Oliver--the FBI's young, unhappily married investigator, who eventually even moves into Charlie's house! The outline here, then, is not particularly original--with a predictable windup (Charlie's sacrificial suicide) after lots of Hitchcockian cat-and-mouse play. And, stretched out to 360 pages, the pacing is uneven. But Sapir does a solid, honest job with all the sentimental potential in Charlie's trapped/guilt-ridden situation--making this an unusually character-rich suspense novel: a shrewd mix of compassion, irony, and net-closing-in action.

Pub Date: Aug. 24, 1984

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Doubleday

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 1984

Categories: FICTION