The Swiss Courier

August 17, 2009
Bestselling authors Goyer (Night Song
) and Yorkey (Every Man's Battle series) collaborate for the first time in this WWII novel that centers around real historical events. Goyer and Yorkey open their text with a brief primer on the unsuccessful 1944 attempt on Adolf Hitler's life (dramatized in the movie Valkyrie
). This story takes off immediately following that event; Hitler, bent on revenge, goes after anyone remotely capable of injuring him and sets up countless spies in key positions to take out persons with even the slightest Jewish heritage. Gabi Mueller, a Swiss-American woman who works for the American Office of Strategic Services, finds herself enlisted in safecracking, a job for which she is highly skilled. As Gabi seeks to make a difference in the face of evil, she is asked to help rescue a German physicist who is working on the atomic bomb. While her loyalties are not in question, Gabi struggles over whom to trust as the stakes become life and death. Goyer and Yorkey do a fine job presenting realistic characters and wartime scenarios; some readers, however, might find the sheer number of plot locations difficult to follow.

October 15, 2009
Its July 1944. The plot to assassinate Hitler has failed miserably, and all those involved have been executed. Immediately, Hitler steps up his mission to find and eradicate his enemies, both real and imagined. A simple pastors daughter, Gabi Mueller, now secretary for the OSS (early version of the CIA), passes an unusual test: her sensitive hearing makes her an excellent safecracker. Gabis newfound talents and girl-next-door looks make her a perfect candidate to spy for the Allies. An enthusiastic member of the Gestapo is looking to rise in the organization by finding a yet undiscovered enemy of the Third Reich. But the person hes honed in on is a distinguished scientist who happens to be working on the atom bomb, and the person assigned to courier the scientist to safety is none other than Gabi. Fast-moving action, dangerous politics, and ordinary people as reluctant heroes and heroines make this faith-based novel of the final months of World War II one that will keep readers riveted.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2009, American Library Association.)