Like other Frederic Forsyth novels, "The Odessa File" is a mixture of fact and fiction that can be confusing at times.
The story begins in 1963 West Germany when 29 year old reporter Peter Miller is given the personal diary of a holocaust survivor who has just committed suicide. The diary chronicles the World War Two atrocities of the commander of the Riga Ghetto in Latvia: Eduard Roschmann. (Eduard Roschman was an actual Nazi war criminal but Forsyth uses him in a fictional scenario for his novel which is part of the confusion that I referred to earlier.)
For his own reasons, Peter Miller decides to track Roschmann down. The hunt takes Miller to the UK, Austria, and all across West Germany.
Eventually, Miller comes into contact with a group of holocaust victims that hunt and kill Nazi criminals and attempt to use him to infiltrate a shadowy group known as "Odessa". (Odessa was an actual organization created by wanted Nazis to aid their escape from the allies after World War Two.) At the same time, the reporter is being pursued by an asassin hired by Odessa to silence him. There is also a timely sub-plot involving Isreal's attempt to stop Odessa from helping Egypt aquire long-range ballistic missles.
I enjoyed reading The Odessa File. The writing is fast-paced and there are plenty of surprises.
The story begins in 1963 West Germany when 29 year old reporter Peter Miller is given the personal diary of a holocaust survivor who has just committed suicide. The diary chronicles the World War Two atrocities of the commander of the Riga Ghetto in Latvia: Eduard Roschmann. (Eduard Roschman was an actual Nazi war criminal but Forsyth uses him in a fictional scenario for his novel which is part of the confusion that I referred to earlier.)
For his own reasons, Peter Miller decides to track Roschmann down. The hunt takes Miller to the UK, Austria, and all across West Germany.
Eventually, Miller comes into contact with a group of holocaust victims that hunt and kill Nazi criminals and attempt to use him to infiltrate a shadowy group known as "Odessa". (Odessa was an actual organization created by wanted Nazis to aid their escape from the allies after World War Two.) At the same time, the reporter is being pursued by an asassin hired by Odessa to silence him. There is also a timely sub-plot involving Isreal's attempt to stop Odessa from helping Egypt aquire long-range ballistic missles.
I enjoyed reading The Odessa File. The writing is fast-paced and there are plenty of surprises.
