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Book Review By Chuck Nugent
Garden of Beasts by Jeffery Deaver

German-American Paul Schumann is one of those people who reside on the fringes of society. He is a World War I infantry veteran, occasional freelance sports writer and owner of a seedy boxing gym in New York City. But his main income comes from his occasional jobs as a button man (contract killer) for the local mob. While in the trenches of France he learned to become an excellent shot and to compartmentalize his conscience which enabled him to unemotionally kill an enemy without guilt while at the same time remaining a caring and otherwise law abiding human being. Schumann has a strict code and will only kill other murderers. He will accept an assignment from one mob boss to kill another boss or one of their enforcers but he will not accept any assignments to kill innocent people who have simply run afoul of the mob. Schumann is also a very careful and thorough man. When he accepts a job he studies the target and the target's habits carefully and then moves in for a quick, clean kill leaving no evidence behind.

Schumann's murder for hire activities bring him to the attention of others besides mob bosses. Tom Dewey, the ambitious prosecutor is one and Naval Intelligence is another.   Concerned about the rise of Hitler, a U.S. Senator, a wealthy businessman and James Gordon of Naval Intelligence hatch a plan to assassinate Reinhard Ernst, a retired Army colonel from World War I who is currently the man behind Germany's secret re-armament. The three plotters feel that by publically assassinating Ernst during the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin they can slow down Hitler's plan to re-arm Germany and postpone or avoid another war. In addition to Paul's expert marksman skills and professionalism as a button man, he is also fluent in German which makes him ideal for the assignment. Paul is given a choice, either be turned over to Tom Dewey and go to the electric chair for his crimes or accept this assignment. In addition having his record wiped clean, he will be provided with an escape from Germany and $10,000 (a fortune in the Depression Era) to start his new life. Paul accepts the assignment and is given the name of a contact, Reggie Morgan, who will assist him in Berlin and passage on the boat carrying the American Olympic team and their fans to Germany. His cover is that of a freelance sportswriter covering the Olympics.

Once in Berlin, Paul makes contact with, Reggie Morgan but another fellow appears on the scene and Morgan is forced to shoot him. Paul and Reggie flee and, after agreeing on a meeting place, separate. While fleeing, Paul comes upon a group of Hitler's Brown Shirts beating up an elderly bookseller and his wife. This is Paul's first glimpse of the horrors of the Third Reich and, without hesitating, he steps in to defend the bookseller. He dispatches the thugs but has to run for his life as reinforcements approach. In doing so, he runs into Otto Webber, man similar to himself who lives on the edges of the law, who leads him safely away from the pursuing Brown Shirts.

As Paul makes his preparations for the assassination of Ernst he begins to see the pervasive evil of the Nazi regime and his assignment becomes a cause rather than simply a means out of his unfortunate situation. However, treachery and the use of innocent people as pawns in a power game are not limited to Nazi Germany as Paul suddenly discovers that one of the three behind his mission has a different agenda which involves killing Paul in an attempt to win Hitler's friendship and thereby avoid war. Paul discovers that he has been set-up and that his handler is not Reggie Morgan but another American agent posing as Reggie and intent on betraying Paul.


Plot & Themes
Tone of story - suspenseful (sophisticated fear)
Time/era of story:
Spying/Terrorism Thriller Yes
Cloak & Dagger Plotlets:
Kid or adult book? - Adult or Young Adult Book
descript. of violence and chases - 20 %
Planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 40 %
Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 30 %
How society works & physical descript. (people, objects, places) - 10 %
Who's the terrorist enemy here?

Main Character
Gender - Male
Profession/status:
Age: - 20's-30's
Ethnicity/Race

Main Adversary
Identity: - an organization
Motive of antagonist - power
The antagonists are: - nazis

Setting
Europe Yes
European country: - Germany
City? Yes
City: - dangerous

Writing Style
Accounts of torture and death? - moderately detailed references to deaths
Explicit sex in book? Yes
What kind of sex: - vague references - descript of kissing
Amount of dialog - roughly even amounts of descript and dialog
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