5 STARS
THE NIBELUNGEN HOARD
by
Edwin M. Todd
OVERVIEW
(from Amazon)
Publication Date:
November 21, 2014
In the last days of World War II, SS lieutenant
Johann von Ritter is dispatched on a mission to deliver a strongbox to
the port of Stettin. But, feeling betrayed and disgusted by the Nazi
leadership, he disobeys orders and hides the loot instead. Knowing he
isn’t going to make it, he leaves clues to the strongbox’s location in
two letters—one to his sister and one entrusted to Lena Mueller, the
nurse who bears him a child he never knows.
Almost fifty years later, during the fall of the Berlin Wall, American Christoph Mueller inherits one of Ritter’s letters from his dying grandmother. The contents of the yellowed missive plunge Mueller into a dangerous world.
Aided by Kurt Webber, a longtime friend of his grandmother’s, Mueller finds himself on the run while Communist East Germany crumbles around him. He’s the last to know the secret he holds as he’s seduced by a Stasi informer and stalked by the murderous son of von Ritter’s sister.
Set against the background of twentieth-century Berlin’s most significant moments, The Nibelungen Hoard weaves historical facts and personages with riveting fiction, resulting in a dramatic tale of epic proportions.
Almost fifty years later, during the fall of the Berlin Wall, American Christoph Mueller inherits one of Ritter’s letters from his dying grandmother. The contents of the yellowed missive plunge Mueller into a dangerous world.
Aided by Kurt Webber, a longtime friend of his grandmother’s, Mueller finds himself on the run while Communist East Germany crumbles around him. He’s the last to know the secret he holds as he’s seduced by a Stasi informer and stalked by the murderous son of von Ritter’s sister.
Set against the background of twentieth-century Berlin’s most significant moments, The Nibelungen Hoard weaves historical facts and personages with riveting fiction, resulting in a dramatic tale of epic proportions.
From the Back Cover
A yellowed letter between the pages of his grandmother's Bible will change Christoph Mueller's life--or bring it to an abrupt end.The year is 1989, in the week before the fall of the Berlin Wall. As Communist East Germany collapses, the divided country prepares for its historic reunification.
Heinrich Himmler charges SS officer Johann von Ritter with the delivery of a strongbox to Stettin--part of Himmler's plan to flee the failing Third Reich. Disgusted with his superiors and their filthy war, von Ritter hides the box, leaving clues to its location in two letters. Mueller holds one. The other lies in the hands of his dangerously unstable cousin.
Loosely based on a Germanic legend, The Nibelungen Hoard is a fascinating epic tale that captures two historic moments in one heart-pounding historical thriller.
REVIEW
Set in Germany, THE NIBELUGEN HOARD is a suspense thriller. Known Nazi members are in this thriller. Christoph, is the main character, hunting for someone who has a connection with his German grandmother. This person needs to be found so the secret can be solved. The author, Mr. Todd weaves a web back and forth through the year from 1945 to 1989. He puts in past history that happened in Nazi Germany.
The important items in this story, the hoard and the letters were either never found or they were destroyed. The main character finds another clue that leaves the reader wanting much more.
I would recommend this book to anyone who likes stories of history from the Nazi Germany era. So many little bits of history that the author gives to the reader. I'm hoping there will be more from this author. Talent needs to be used and this author is extremely talented.
I was given a complimentary copy of THE NIBELUNGEN HOARD from the author, Mr. Edwin M. Todd for my view of the book.
I would give this book 5 STARS.
AUTHOR
Edwin "Ed" Todd, the son of WW2 veteran and world famous neurosurgeon,
Edwin M. Todd MD, JD, PhD, was born in Bryn Mawr, PA and welcomed into a
four-generation home in 1947, while his parents were still attending
Temple University. At the age of nine, after his father had completed
his residency at the Cleveland Clinic, the Todd family spent a year in
Edinburgh, and afterwards sent Ed back for the next eight years,
attending Blairmore Preparatory School and Fatties College, where he fell
in love with soccer and rugby, both sports he went on to play and
captain at the University of Southern California, while earning a degree
in International Relations. He then went on to obtain his law degree
from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law.The law was not to be, and after a couple years of practice, Ed took down his shingle and donned a carpenter's belt. For the next three decades he worked as a project manager and then owner of a commercial construction firm, while he and his wife of forty years, Berry, lived and raised two children in Walnut Creek, CA. In 2006 an opportunity came to take a position at USA Rugby, and they moved to Boulder, where they live today.
It was at an Easter gathering in 1995 that he got into a discussion about the number of what he considered poorly researched and written novels, and made the brash statement that anyone could do better. The gauntlet was thrown down, and a mere twenty years later, the "better novel" was published. During those years, Ed also edited and contributed to bi-monthly newsletter for rugby referees, The Pelican's Beak, wrote a comprehensive manual on coaching referees, and was a contributor in the creation of numerous other training courses.
An avid reader all his life, Ed has always loved the historical novel from James Fennimore Cooper to Alan Furst. But it was the British Commando comics of WW2 that drew him to that conflict, which became the setting for his first novel, The Nibelungen Hoard.
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