Garden of Beasts

Evil must be stopped. Whatever the cost.Paul Schumann made his name as a mobster hitman during Prohibition, known equally for his brilliant tactics and for taking only 'righteous' jobs.But in 1936, his luck runs out. The men who catch him offer a stark choice. He can travel to Berlin as part of America's Olympics team and kill the man behind Hitler's rearmament scheme. Or he can go to the electric chair. It's his chance to be a hero. At least, that's what they want him to believe... Packed with fascinating period detail, GARDEN OF BEASTS delivers breathtaking action, a wrenching look at 1930s Germany and a stunning series of surprises.

The best psychological thriller writer around, A cracking good tale that kept me glued to the page, 'Deaver fans expect the unexpected from this prodigiously talented thriller writer, and the creator of the Lincoln Rhyme series and other memorable yarns (The Blue Nowhere, etc.) doesn't disappoint with his 19th novel, this time offering a deliciously twisty tale set in Nazi Berlin. The book's hero is a mob "button man," or hit man, Paul Schumann, who's nabbed in the act in New York City but given an alternative to the electric chair: to go to Berlin undercover as a journalist writing about the upcoming Olympics in order to assassinate Col. Reinhard Ernst, the cheif architect of Hitler's militarization, seen as a threat to American interests. a German spy onboard Paul's transatlantic liner grows suspicious and sends a warning to Germany before Paul discovers and kills him. Then in Berlin, Paul, en route to meet his contact, kills a second suspicious man who may be a storm trooper, setting Insp. Willi Kohl of the Berlin police, or Kripo, on his trail. Deaver weaves the three manhunts -- Paul after his target, Kohl after Paul and the Nazi hierarchy after Paul -- with a deft hand, bringing to frightening life the Berlin of 1936, a city on the brink of madness. Top Nazis, including Hitler, Himmler and Goring, make colorful cameos, but it's the smart, shaded-gray characterizations of the principals that anchor the exciting plot. An affecting love affair between Paul and his German landlady goes in surprising directions, as do the main plot lines, which move outside Berlin as heroes become villains and vice versa. This is prime Deaver, which means prime entertainment.' Publisher's Weekly, The most creative, skilled and intriguing thriller writer in the world, A master of suspense

Jeffery Deaver is an international number-one bestselling author. His novels have appeared on bestseller lists around the world. His books are sold in 150 countries and translated into twenty-five languages. He has served two terms as president of Mystery Writers of America, and was recently named a Grand Master of MWA, whose ranks include Agatha Christie, Ellery Queen, Mary Higgins Clark and Walter Mosely.The author of more than forty novels, three collections of short stories and a nonfiction law book, and a lyricist of a country-western album, he's received or been shortlisted for dozens of awards.His The Bodies Left Behind was named Novel of the Year by the International Thriller Writers association, and his Lincoln Rhyme thriller The Broken Window and a stand-alone, Edge, were also nominated for that prize. The Garden of Beasts won the Steel Dagger from the Crime Writers Association in England. He's also been nominated for eight Edgar Awards by the MWA.Deaver has been honoured with the Lifetime Achievement Award by the Bouchercon World Mystery Convention, the Strand Magazine's Lifetime Achievement Award and the Raymond Chandler Lifetime Achievement Award in Italy.His book A Maiden's Grave was made into an HBO movie starring James Garner and Marlee Matlin, and his novel The Bone Collector was a feature release from Universal Pictures, starring Denzel Washington and Angelina Jolie. Lifetime aired an adaptation of his The Devil's Teardrop. NBC television recently aired the nine-episode prime-time series, Lincoln Rhyme: Hunt for the Bone Collector. Visit his website, www.jefferydeaver.com, Facebook page, www.facebook.com/JefferyDeaver, and follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/JefferyDeaver.