The Wolf In the Woods
Imagine yourself as a piece of flotsam out on the ocean in the midst of a terrible storm. Helpless, lashed about at the whim of the winds and the mighty water. The Kotkas family is flotsam as war overwhelms their native land of Estonia. Father Hendrik is a commander in the Estonian navy caught between Stalin’s invading Red Army and the Nazis. His wife, Leena, is frail but determined to do what she can for her two children, daughter Maret and son Juhan.
Proud of his Estonian heritage, Hendrik must choose a dangerous path, the goal: to survive and reunite with his family and return them intact to their devastated and overrun homeland. Working as an intelligence officer under Admiral Canaris, approached by British intelligence to work secretly for the Allies, hunted by Fischer, a relentless SS killer, Hendrik plays a cat and mouse game, his life and that of his family and associates at risk.
The Wolf in the Woods reads like a NY Times bestselling spy novel incorporating the bad guys, good guys, and everyone in between just trying to survive another day in impossible conditions. How do the people of a tiny nation maintain the courage and will to be independent when crushed between two much greater self-interested powers who would just as soon see all of your people dead? Author Martin Allison Booth maintains the gripping narrative throughout and has obviously researched his subject as if he lived the times himself. Besides the Kotkas family, he has populated the novel with other brave characters and nefarious villains. Occasionally, the dialogue seems forced, but overall, the characters are well-drawn and the pace consistent, measuring up to any bestselling war or spy thriller.
