Shadowboxing

Written by Anne Barwell
Review by Jackie Drohan

This World War II novel appears to be the first in what will be a series of books based upon the struggle of brilliant scientist Kristopher Lehrer to stay alive, and, with the help of a closely knit group of Resistance members, reach Allied forces.  A chance meeting with a former lover, David Reuben, inadvertently discloses that his scientific research is intended to be used by the Nazis as a weapon for mass destruction.  Kristopher, ethical and moral, is torn between the beliefs of his Nazi father and the need to protect human life, represented in his sister, a physician.

Kristopher inadvertently kills his mentor, Dr. Kluge, during a confrontation about the research.  His only choice is to reach Allied forces before he is captured by the Nazis and forced to provide the final pieces preventing completion of the weapon.

Various relationships are highlighted between the members of the resistance, including the burgeoning love between Kristopher and the man in charge of keeping him alive. The characters lack empathetic dimension, and the book ends a bit abruptly. Overall, not a bad read for lovers of historical LGBT fiction.