Five Past Midnight

by James Stewart Thayer

Book Overview

Escaping from a castle where he is being held as a prisoner of war, an American commando with orders to assassinate Adolph Hitler fights his way to Berlin in 1945, trailed by a German homicide detective.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 068480025X
• ISBN13: 9780684800257
• Release Date: August 1997
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster
• Length: 352 Pages
• Weight: 1.30 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 6.5" x 9.6"

Customer Reviews

As good as THE KEY TO REBECCA

This book never got slow or lost my interest. It reminded me of Ken Follet's THE KEY TO REBECCA. I finished this book late on night and even had a dream about the characters - they were so real! You must read this book if you enjoyed books such as THE EAGLE HAS LANDED, etc.

Exciting, Gripping WWII Thriller

This book is exciting, gripping, suspenseful - and fun. I've read it over and over, and shared it with my friends. It's a thriller in every sense. Thayer really knows his material, and is one of those rare authors who is truly gifted at his work. This will always be one of my favorites.

Excellent WWII Thriller

Five Past Midnight is an extremely suspenseful and dramatic fictional story about the Nazi powerhouse in World War II. The author, James Thayer, draws a captivating picture of what might have happened had Adolf Hitler's assassination attempt been successful. The American assassin, Jack Cray, escapes a POW camp and takes the reader on a journey of clever sniper tactics and cold- blooded killing, and he will not stop until he completes his mission. Cray gets aid from a few important characters along the way. Katrina von Tornitz is a young and widowed spy for the allies, adding a perfect dose of romantic spin to the tale. Otto Dietrich is brought back into the world after being imprisoned by the Gestapo to track down the well-known and feared American killer, adding suspense to the story. Thayer makes the characters very real. I could almost hear their voices while reading. The way he described Hitler through the characters emotions and thoughts was remarkable. The bunker scene, where Hitler was residing toward the end of the book, was particularly amazing. I recommend the book to any one with a taste for suspense, and those who enjoy history or war related topics.

Electrifying!

A great read, my first Thayer suspense novel, but not my last. I was impressed with Thayer's ability to develop so many tightly written characters capable of drawing the reader into their lives and into the action. Not a wasted word in this crisp WWII Nazi thriller. The dialogue was tight, the characters well developed and the "hero", Jack Cray while relentless and ruthless is also honorable and noble--not an easy task to wrap into one character and still make him believable. Thayer did an excellent job! Put this on your "to read" list.

A Five At Anytime

An excellent, thrilling and believable story set toward the end of WWII in Berlin. Commando Jack Cray is assigned by Pres. Roosevelt to bring an end to the war with Germany by assassinating Adolf Hitler. The SS and Gestapo learn of the plot and free Otto Dietrich, an inventive police detective to find Cray and kill him before he can complete his mission. Cray is a likeable hero with an extremely high pain threshold. He befriends Katrina von Tornitz, a spy working for the allies, who helps him. The dialogue between them is realistic and entertaining.This story held my interest throughout. The realism is unforgetable, especially war-torn Berlin, the memorable characters Cray meets, and the dogged pursuit of Dietrich, who finds himself in a life altering position in the end.This story is very well done! The best advertisement for an author's books is the quality of the one you've just completed. In James Thayer's case Pursuit and White Star are on my "to read" list.