MY REVIEW:
“The Cairo Code” is a HUGE book that weighs in at nearly double the pages of most books I review. Although publicized as a thriller, I was approximately halfway through it before the action seemed to pick up. The author spent much of the first half laying down background information on not only the primary three characters but others who played prominent roles as well. I freely admit that there were several times I was tempted to put it away but persevered because I had committed to review it.
Overall the story is an intriguing one. To me, its chief interest was the bond between Jack Halder, Harry Weaver, and Rachel Stern and how that affected the outcome as they were pitted against each other on opposite sides of the war and their roles in the attempt to assassinate President Roosevelt and Winston Churchill. The story itself was well written and once it finally got moving, it progressed at a steady pace. Although we know from history that the plot was not successful, there were a few surprises in store before the end.
I feel that I should issue a word or two of warning. I accepted “The Cairo Code” for review because other books I’ve received from Howard Books have been Christian fiction. There was no mention of the Lord or Jesus in the narrative. More than one character engaged in intimate relationships outside of marriage. Scenes were not explicit but were nevertheless not really necessary to the plot. In addition, those who do not like violence might want to steer away from this book also. Again, the violence was not particularly gory and would be expected in a novel about war. The third warning is that apparently this novel was originally published as “The Sands of Sakkara”. Readers who had already read this book might be disappointed to buy the same book with a different title.
A copy of this book was provided for review by Howard Books, a division of Simon & Schuster, Inc.
ABOUT THE BOOK:
The international bestseller takes you on a fast-paced, nail-biting thrill ride from the Great Pyramids in Cairo, to behind the Nazi lines in Berlin, to the very seat of democracy as our hero tries to unravel a plot that could kill FDR and Winston Churchill.
To save the Western Allies, he must kill the woman he loves…
November 1943: Adolf Hitler sanctioned his most audacious mission ever—to kill US President Franklin D. Roosevelt and Prime Minister Winston Churchill while they visit Cairo for a secret conference to plan the Allied invasion of Europe, an invasion which threatens imminent defeat for Germany.
Only one man is capable of leading the defiant Nazi mission—Major Johann Halder, one of the Abwehr’s most brilliant and daring agents. He is a man with a tortured soul and a talent for the impossible. Accompanied by an expert undercover team and Rachael Stern, the young and beautiful Egyptologist, Halder must race against time across a hostile desert to reach Cairo and successfully complete the assignment, or else forfeit his life and the life of his son.
When US military intelligence hears about the plan, they assign Lieutenant-Colonel Harry Weaver, one of their best officers, to hunt down and eliminate Halder and his team. But for Weaver, as well as for Halder and Stern, there’s more than the balance of war and the lives of the Allied leaders at stake—a pact of love and friendship will be tested in the frantic, high-stakes chase to the death.
Based on a real attempt to kill the President, The Cairo Code is a breathless, suspenseful thriller—a heart-wrenching tale of friendship, love, and treachery set against the exotic and intriguing backdrop of wartime Egypt.
Glenn Meade was born in 1957 in Finglas, Dublin. Several of his novels have been international bestsellers, translated into more than twenty languages, and have enjoyed both critical and commercial success.
