- Paperback: 516 pages
- Publisher: Pan Books; New edition edition (April 9 1998)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0330347756
- ISBN-13: 978-0330347754
- Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Amazon
It's remarkable that practicing lawyers such as Seattle's James Thayer find the time, not to mention the psychic energy, to write smashing, fact-packed thrillers like this top-drawer tale, in which a lone assassin is sent into Germany at the end of World War II by President Franklin D. Roosevelt to knock off Hitler. Unlike other "what if?" books such as The Day of the Jackal, where readers know from the start that the plot to kill de Gaulle didn't succeed, Five Past Midnight winds up in the ruins of Hitler's bunker, where the Nazi leader indeed met his end. Whether or not it was at the hands of American commando Jack Cray is up to readers to decide--and Thayer does his best to sway the jury in favor of his client. His last gripping thriller, White Star, is out in paperback.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Booklist
Worn out though it be, the action hero bestriding a cartoonish world is a versatile stock character with regular appeal--provided the antagonist is suitably bad. Thayer picks the baddest of the bad--Adolf Hitler in Berlin, 1945. On the flimsy rumor that Hitler will continue the war from the Alps, special forces assassin Jack Cray is dispatched to stop him. Any cement head can kill, but to do so with Cray's disguises and efficiency--with knives! guns! bare hands!--shows he's a pro that no Gestapo thugs could possibly stop. Their efforts are short hurdles that Cray overcomes in ever more spectacular fashion. Locked up in a POW prison? Escape by faking death. Approaching a roadblock? Hide in a beef carcass. Need a German uniform? A sniper rifle? Fake documents? Cray steals, with the occasional help of a spy, everything he needs in a series of scrapes and escapes as he closes on Hitler's bunker, where Cray's SS ally awaits. A silly beach-time diversion with the noisy explosiveness that more people ask for by name--Thayer. Gilbert Taylor
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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First Sentence
Otto Dietrich was curled on the metal cot under a tattered blanket that smelled of urine and old blood. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
Otto Dietrich was curled on the metal cot under a tattered blanket that smelled of urine and old blood. Read the first page
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Customer Reviews
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Most helpful customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
As good as THE KEY TO REBECCA,
By
This review is from: Five Past Midnight (Mass Market Paperback)
This book never got slow or lost my interest. It reminded me of Ken Follet's THE KEY TO REBECCA. I finished this book late on night and even had a dream about the characters - they were so real! You must read this book if you enjoyed books such as THE EAGLE HAS LANDED, etc.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Another Great WWII Novel, with several heroes,
By ROBIN MCCALL "LTC (Ret.) Robin McCall" (Chula Vista, California United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)
This review is from: Five Past Midnight (Mass Market Paperback)
Why did it take me so long to find this author? Five Past Midnight is another great World War II novel, that zooms in at a fast pace, on a central hero in the American Rangers. He receives support for his mission from several other unexpected and atypical heroes. As a student of history, particularly military history, I enjoyed this book thoroughly. I learned more about Nazi Germany, at the same time that I raced along with the main hero on his mission. I felt like I was there with him all the way, and glad that I was not the one doing the mission. James Bond has nothing on CPT Jack Cray, but unlike Bond, Cray has the personal problems that go with his type of work. In my mind, this makes Cray more like the real heroes we see in the American military all the time. Being an Army Reservist, I admit to a prejudice in favor of people who serve their country, even if I did start as a draftee.This was the first Thayer book that I read, in paperback, and I enjoyed it so much that I went out and bought in hardback, so I can reread it for years to come. I now have 11 more Thayer books to look forward to reading. Find his books fast, before everyone else discovers how good Thayer is, because his older books will start to disappear when they do.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Exciting, Gripping WWII Thriller,
By
This review is from: Five Past Midnight (Mass Market Paperback)
This book is exciting, gripping, suspenseful - and fun. I've read it over and over, and shared it with my friends. It's a thriller in every sense. Thayer really knows his material, and is one of those rare authors who is truly gifted at his work. This will always be one of my favorites.
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