Brian Klein

Imagine if you will a wealthy German-American whose son runs as a populist candidate for the Republican nomination for president — but who harbours a dark secret. That secret is not his inclination towards fascism but the fact that he is — wait for this — the grandson of Adolf Hitler. Oh, and Hitler survived the war, settling in Patagonia.

I admit, this is not a brilliant premise for a book and rather bonkers, but somehow, Brian Klein manages to pull it off.

The book is a quick and enjoyable romp with all the tropes one might expect in a thriller — a bromance between two buddy cops, one Argentinian and one American, lots of brutal and completely unnecessary violence (pretty much the only woman to survive more than five minutes is Eva Braun, who we meet at the age of 100), incredible bungling by the bad guys leading to their inevitable defeat, and an ending that hints at the possibility of more to come.

I found the book oddly enjoyable, but please — don’t write a sequel.… (més)

The Counterfeit Candidate by Brian Klein

Action-packed thrill-ride from beginning to end. This story is one of conspiracy, intrigue, crime, and moves between continents and time periods with facility. Settle in for a great story that will leave you thinking…what if?

What I liked:
* The plot, writing and story told
* The way it made me think about the past and what could have happened if something like this story had truly happened
* The dark gritty reality of the story
* That it had me doing google searches and reading about various places and characters in the book
* Wondering about what would motivate the various characters
* The police procedural aspect of the story
* Being able to hate the bad guys entirely – saw no redeeming qualities in them
* Thinking about who I would cast in the roles of the characters if this were to be made into a movie
* Wondering about the true relationship between Braun and Hitler
* Stepping into the past without actually having to be there
* Reading a debut novel by a new author

What I didn’t like:
* Exactly what I was meant NOT to like

Did I enjoy this book? Yes
Would I read more by this author? Yes

Thank you to MidasPR for the ARC – this is my honest review.

5 Stars… (més)