This fast-moving historical thriller written by Kirsanow is the latest in Griffin's Men at War series. In 1940, before the U.S. joins the war in Europe, the Soviets murder thousands of Polish prisoners in the Katyn Forest. But they spare Dr. Sebastian Kapsky because secret police chief Lavrentiy Beria senses his value. Then Kapsky escapes with critical mathematical equations that may help whomever possesses them to create a weapon of unspeakable power as well as a rocket to deliver it. But American and German intelligence learn about him too, and an exciting three-way chase is on. The American Office of Special Services sends in a small team led by Dick Canidy to find Kapsky in enemy territory and guide him across the Baltic to safety. "What we're asking of you is the closest thing to a death sentence the War Department can issue," Canidy hears from his boss. With the chance of success or even survival at near zero, of course he and his small team are all in. Unfortunately, Obersturmführer Konrad Maurer and Soviet "assassin without peer" Maj. Taras Gromov are also hot on Kapsky's tail. Whoever wins the race may determine the future of the war--even the future of the world. There is plenty of throat slitting, trachea crushing, and bloodletting, and readers will fret about who dies next. Kapsky finds help from the Polish resistance, in one case expertly guided by a girl named Lara who is "not even as old as the shoes he was wearing." The tension never lets up, with twists and turns right up to the end. Maurer and Gromov are rat-bastard villains who perfectly personify America's foes: utterly cold and heartless killers. The heroes, of course, are principled men in service of their country, perfectly capable of killing, but only bad guys. The adrenaline-filled action never stops in this satisfying war tale. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Kirsanow (the Mike Garin series) does a credible job with his first contribution to bestseller Griffin's Men at War franchise, the eighth installment (after The Spymasters). In 1940, Col. William "Wild Bill" Donovan of the OSS taps U.S. Army Air Force major Dick Canidy to rescue Sebastian Kapsky, a mathematician trapped between the Russians and the Germans in Poland who has knowledge that could lead to the development of an atomic bomb. Donovan chooses Canidy not only for his physical and mental attributes but also because he's "an unconventional, reckless SOB." Canidy joins forces with Army lieutenant Eric Fulmar and British sergeant Conor McDermott for what all assume will be a suicide mission. Working with Polish Home Army guerrilla fighters, the team hit what they believe to be a dead end, but which turns out to be just the beginning. Soon the Russians and the Germans are also looking for Kapsky, and it's a deadly race to see who will win the superweapon prize. Kirsanow ticks off all the boxes, including beautiful women and interesting historical figures, most importantly Lt. Cmdr. Ian Fleming. An open ending and a teaser point to a continuation of the story to come. Griffin fans will be satisfied. Agent: Scott Miller, Trident Media Group. (Dec.)

With the advent of World War II, Poland has been divided between Germany and the Soviet Union, and both countries are seeking scientist Sebastian Kapsky, who initially worked with leading aerospace engineers Walter Riedel and Werner von Braun but then rejected the Nazi perversion of science. He's vanished in the Soviet occupation zone, and OSS head Col. "Wild Bill" Donovan sends in top agent Dick Canidy to rescue him. Thriller author Kirsanow (Target Omega), a lawyer and presidential appointee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, picks up Griffin's New York Times best-selling series.