Reviews for The double agents [sound recording (CD)]

Kirkus
Copyright © Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Griffin (The Hunters, 2007, etc.), with Butterworth, continues his Men at War World War II spy series, sending proto-CIA agent Major Richard Canidy to check on Nazi supplies of nerve gas secreted in Sicily. As we know now, there was no limit to Nazi perfidy, but Canidy and his O.S.S. bosses are shocked to discover evidence of chemical and biological weapons on the weakening Axis stronghold of Sicily. Good-guy saboteurs did their best to blow up a ship full of nerve gas and a palazzo loaded with germs, but Canidy needs to go back to the island to double check on the job. If the gas went off in the explosion, there will be corpses clogging the streets, making it necessary for President Roosevelt to react. Before Canidy can return to Sicily, he has to involve himself in the O.S.S. training effort in Algeria, selecting a team from Italian-American student agents whose loyalty, given the possibility of Mafia ties, cannot be guaranteed. Real-life film stars Peter Ustinov and David Niven, with author Ian Fleming, turn up in a secondary plot taking quite as much time as the nerve gas business. The stellar trio expend much energy on the creation of a backstory for a corpse the Brits have frozen and plan to use in an elaborate ruse to make the Axis powers believe that the Allies will invade the Balkans instead of Sicily. The boys toss off Griffin's idea of bons mots, thrilling Philadelphia debutante Charity Hoche, a mid-level character who starts to hog the stage, and who at one point has a confusing run-in with the metric system a generation before it was adopted in the U.K. Heavy-handed writing manages to make David Niven sound like a bore in this undistinguished addition to the series. Copyright ŠKirkus Reviews, used with permission.


Publishers Weekly
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

Actors David Niven and Peter Ustinov, along with James Bond creator Ian Fleming, all of whom actually served Britain in WWII, help the heroes of Griffin's Men at War series deceive the Germans in this solid sixth installment (after 2006's The Saboteurs) from the bestselling author and his son, Butterworth. In 1943, the OSS's William J. "Wild Bill" Donovan spearheads a disinformation effort to trick the Nazis into believing that the western Allies won't invade the European continent through Sicily. One of Donovan's most accomplished operatives, USAAF Maj. Richard Canidy, devises a clever scheme (albeit one familiar to readers of Ewen Montagu's The Man Who Never Was) to plant phony plans on a corpse, along with love letters drafted by the requisite attractive female spy. Some fans may find the prominent role of the real-life celebrities a distraction, but all will enjoy the suspenseful ride. (June) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved


Book list
From Booklist, Copyright © American Library Association. Used with permission.

"The Men at War series continues with this typically exciting adventure. The plucky, resourceful agents of the Office of Strategic Services face what could be their toughest assignment: to convince Adolf Hitler that the Allied invasion of Europe will not take place at Normandy. This is the second novel Griffin has cowritten with his son, but it retains all of the veteran author's trademarks: well-researched plot; realistic characters, real and fictional; and snappy dialogue. How Griffin manages to turn out so many novels without resorting to by-the-numbers plotting and cutout characters is a mystery, but as long as he keeps delivering the goods, his legions of fans will be content."--"Pitt, David" Copyright 2007 Booklist


Library Journal
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

In a disappointing follow-up to The Saboteurs, the father-and-son duet of Griffith and Butterworth return to the early days of World War II in the Mediterranean theater. Canidy and his OSS colleagues have returned, and they have but one simple task-to convince the Germans that the next Allied attack from North Africa will not fall on Sicily. They manage this task while tidying up lingering plot threads from The Saboteurs, i.e., the German threat to use chemical and biological warfare against the Americans. There are lies, deceptions, and treacheries galore as the OSS crew struggles to succeed. However, the plot drags, the characters are shallow, and there are so many characters that it's confusing. Worse, nothing exciting seems to happen. Also, the use of "celebrities" (e.g., David Niven, Ian Fleming, and Peter Ustinov) is distracting and cutesy. Griffin's many fans may like it, but others will wonder why. Recommended for larger collections. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 2/1/07.]-Robert Conroy, Warren, MI (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.


Library Journal
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Griffin and son add to the "Men at War" series with this account of OSS struggles to fool Hitler into thinking that the Allies won't be coming through France when they invade Europe. With a national tour. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.


Library Journal
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

This father-and-son writing team continue their well-received World War II Office of Strategic Services "Men at War" series where The Saboteurs left off. Double has two focuses: first, the laying of the groundwork for the Allied invasion of Sicily and the destruction of Nazi chemical and biological weapons in Sicily, which deals with the risks of going behind the lines on a key mission; second, the well-known diversionary spy story better known as the "man that never was." What makes both of these tales interesting are the colorful real characters: President Franklin D. Roosevelt, actors David Niven and Peter Ustinov, and Gen. Wild Bill Donovan. Narrated by Paul Hecht, this work is highly recommended.-Scott R. DiMarco, Mansfield Univ. of Pennsylvania (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

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