Black Cross by Greg Iles

Black Cross by Greg Iles

                I usually can’t get enough of Greg Iles. He is an author that I have been familiar with for quite some time. When I realized that he had written a historical fiction account of a secret mission during World War Two in Germany, I knew eventually I would have to read it. This novel is the story of Mark McConnell, a doctor who was working at Oxford University during WW2. He was working to find a way to protect the Allies from possible chemical warfare when he finds himself part of a mission to capture a sample of Soman from a concentration camp. The concentration camp is Totenhausen outside the city of Dornow in Germany. It is being used as a test facility for Soman and Sarin gas. Jonas Stern, a Jewish fighter originally from Dornow, has also been recruited for the mission. The two men must learn not only to trust each other but to also trust Brigadier Duff Smith whose been orchestrating the entire event. Both McConnell and Stern know that Brigadier Smith has not been completely honest to either of them but with the plan in place and them in Germany they have to work together if they want to get out alive.

                Black Cross is a pretty good novel with a lot of strong elements. The characters are really well developed and complex. It’s a time of war and sacrifices must be made. Seeing how the two characters weighed the pros and cons throughout each situation said a lot about their characters. The fear was palpable and every decision was a life or death choice. The story felt real. The descriptions of a war torn Germany were vivid and horrifying. A lot of research went into creating this story and it shows throughout the pages. The idea of a covert mission that could determine the outcome of the war was fascinating. Sarin and Soman gases are extremely toxic gases and if used on Allied soldiers could have ended the war or life as we know it. Reading about how our characters had to adapt to the changes that came their way was very interesting.

                The major flaw of this novel wasn’t the character development or world development or the writing. It was the plot. Black Cross started off very slow. You start off knowing the Mark McConnell survives because you are at his funeral decades after WW2 happens. That killed some of the suspense. It took very long for there to be any action. I was shocked by this because Iles can usually set the pace of a novel pretty well. I’ve never had an issue getting through any of his novels. I found myself wandering a little with this novel. I would read a little, put it down, pick it up, read some more and a hundred pages had passed with not much happening. I was expecting more suspense. I wanted more action. It ended nicely with all the loose ends tied up in a neat little bun. The world was saved. The Allies eventually won. I gave this book 3.5 out of 5 stars. Could have been better but still pretty good.