Honor Bound

From Publishers WeeklyBest known for his series Brotherhood of War and The Corps, Griffin's new WW II novel uses the relatively unexplored theater of South America as the backdrop for his fast-paced story of a father and son, conflicting loyalties and war. In late 1942, marine fighter ace Clete Frade, Army demolitions engineer Anthony Pelosi and electronics wizard David Ettinger are sent by the OSS on a top-secret mission to neutral Argentina: destroy a merchant ship that has been supplying Nazi submarines and raiders. But the projected raid is only the tip of the novel's iceberg. The U.S. is hoping that Clete will be able to influence his estranged father, an eminence grise in Argentine politics by the name of "El Coronel" Jorge Guillermo Frade, to throw his influence behind the Allies. Meanwhile, Luftwaffe ace Peter von Wachtstein heads to Buenos Aires to consolidate the Nazi position. The Frades are convincing central characters, whose developing father-son relationship anchors much of the novel's plot. Griffin's reconstruction of upper-class Argentine society in the 1940s provides an exotic and credible setting for a tautly written story whose twists and turns will keep readers guessing until the last page. Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. From Library JournalThe author of the "Brotherhood of War" novels attacks a relatively obscure theater of World War II. Lieut Clete Frade, a Marine fighter pilot, is pulled off Guadalcanal. He and a small team have been selected by the OSS (Office of Strategic Services, the allied intelligence group) to stop the Germans from using neutral Argentina to resupply. Clete's father, who for complicated reasons he has never met, is a major figure in Argentina. Clete swiftly discerns that half his mission is to influence his estranged father in favor of the Allied cause; but working for the OSS, there are plots within plots. Griffin's feel for the details of life in the military 50 years ago and the humanity of his characters on all sides of the covert war make this a superior war story in an interesting milieu. Recommended for fiction collections. Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 9/15/93.- Edwin B. Burgess, U.S. Army TRALINET Ctr., Fort Monroe, Va.Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.