The Zodiac Deception
Princeton psychology professor David Walker is an imposter, and “Wild Bill” Donovan, head of the OSS, knows it. It’s 1942, and with the war not going well for the Allies, Donovan convinces Walker to engineer the assassination of Adolf Hitler by manipulating SS leader Heinrich Himmler’s passion for astrology in such a way as to make Himmler think it’s in the stars to knock off the Führer. Kriss packs his tale with action, exotic locales (Paris, Cairo, Istanbul), and what might be called idiosyncratic research, e.g., the curious fact that Himmler used the Jesuits as an organizational template for the SS. Walker’s many talents, some of which aren’t even known to Donovan—or the reader—only come to light when he needs them to escape some new grim death. Fans of James Bondish derring-do will like this bizarre thriller more than the Alan Furst and Philip Kerr crowd will. --Thomas Gaughan