Crosswind (The WWII Adventures of MI6 Agent Katrin Nissen)
The invitation to present at a botanical conference is in direct opposition to Dr. Katrin Nissen’s research, but it provides the MI6 agent with the perfect cover for visiting Germany in June 1940. Another American agent has gone missing; Katrin must determine why, find him, and recover missing microfilm. His half-sister may be helpful, but she is a staff photographer for Heinrich Himmler. Or there is the mole within the University of Berlin’s Physics Department if Katrin can determine who he is. Soon after her arrival, small items go missing, her room is searched, and she happens upon the body of a murdered professor. The deceased is neither the first nor the last victim, and most are in direct opposition to current Nazi thinking. The mystery intrigues her, and there are many suspects, but solving it is not her primary objective.
Crosswind is an entry in a well-researched World War II series, but it is not a spy thriller. There are occasional passages filled with information readers may find themselves skipping over, and the author occasionally repeats explanations about cultural differences within the narrative and the afterword. The story unfolds from three perspectives – Katrin’s is in first person, while the missing agent and his half-sister are in third person – which is the only justification for using similar names for Katrin and the half-sister (Kristine). Although reminiscent of Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None, Crosswind lacks as much tension as readers may expect. The most compelling scene unfolds during a side trip in which the Gestapo arrest Katrin, yet her extrication from the situation seems contrived. For readers seeking an interesting tale without full immersion or who want to see the seemingly innocuous ways in which the Nazis manipulated research to reinforce their goals, Crosswind is worth the read.
