A Betrayal of Heroes
In October 1939, reporter Jack Telford arrives at the British consulate in Rabat to gain passage to Great Britain. He’s been on the run after being swept out to sea, dashed against rocks that seriously damaged one eye, and imprisoned as an enemy of Spanish dictator Francisco Franco before escaping to Madrid, Oran, and now Rabat. As he begins to explore the city, he soon finds he’s being tailed. He wends his way past vegetable and pottery stalls in the medina, dashes into the Hassan Tower, slips and rolls down a treacherous incline, finds himself dangling precariously, then pulled to safety by his pursuer—Isaac Gabizon, an envoy from the Sultan’s palace who has sought out Jack to let the world know about the beginnings of World War II and Morocco’s push for independence from France and Spain.
A Betrayal of Heroes is author Ebsworth’s third in the Jack Telford series, which focuses on the rise of fascism in Europe. The story is based on the exploits of La Nueve, Spanish Republicans who fought for the Free French during World War II in Morocco, as well as wartime historical figures, including Philippe Leclerc, who led the French Far East Expeditionary Force; Col. Bill Eddy, US Minister to Saudi Arabia; and French entertainer Josephine Baker.
A thriller, the book is sweeping in scope, taking Jack to Casablanca, Vichy France, Lisbon, Normandy, and Paris throughout the war years 1939 to 1945. Woven with intrigue, the storyline includes foreboding characters such as the Black Scorpion, who leaves his namesake as a calling card in Jack’s hotel bed, and shadowy operatives like Gabizon. Like Tom Clancy’s analyst Jack Ryan, reporter Jack Telford rushes from one action sequence to another, providing a breathless ride.
