Day 4

Day Four – Deal With the Devil Part 1 by J. Gunnar Grey

Wehrmacht Major Faust has a dangerous secret: he likes England. But it’s May 1940 and his Panzers are blasting the British Army off Dunkirk’s beach, so he keeps his mouth shut even though it hurts. When the Waffen SS try to murder their English prisoners of war, Faust helps the POWs escape. Now it’s treason, with his neck on the line.

Then a friend gets him drunk, straps him into a parachute, and throws him out over Oxford during a bombing run. He’s quickly caught. Because he helped type the battle plan for the invasion of England, Faust cannot allow himself to be broken in interrogation. Two German armies depend on it. But every time he escapes, someone rapes and murders a woman and the English are looking for someone to hang. He’s risking disaster if he stays, someone else’s life if he runs, and execution by the Gestapo if he makes it home.

Major Stoner, professor turned British intelligence officer, sees three possibilities. Faust perhaps was joyriding in that bomber, as he claims. Or he’s on a reconnaissance mission for the German invasion. Or he’s a spy. Stoner must break Faust to learn the truth, no matter how it strains his old heart. He must save England, and his granddaughter.

Their battlefield is confined to a desktop. Only one of them can win. Someone must break. Someone must make a Deal with the Devil.

Word Count: 85,706

Genre: Mystery, War Story, Historical

Today, February 4th, you can get Deal With the Devil Part One for FREE. Go HERE and enter ZH93P during checkout to get your free book! If you like this book, check out the next installment of the book, in Part Two, now available at www.astraeapress.com, Amazon.com and BN.com.

Here’s what people are saying on Amazon:

Deal With the Devil by J. Gunnar Grey was a remarkable surprise. After hearing so many wonderful things about it, I was indeed looking forward to reading it. I was also expecting a certain amount of difficulty as it is nowhere near my usual read.

Major Faust is intoxicated when he is thrown from a plane and is parachuted to an area that is familiar to him, England, where he had attended the university some number of years prior. Now Faust is captured and interrogated because of his status with the German Army.

As I went deeper into this novel, I found myself captivated with Major Faust. He endures much through his time as a captive. He risks his very life to help the English prisoners of war escape when they were being murdered by the Waffen SS and faces many other decisions of the like throughout the novel.

Faust does manage escape for himself, but every time he does, someone rapes and murders another woman. He is left with the heart wrenching choice to work with the enemy to catch the killer, which is treason, or save himself.

I must admit that I lack a high level of knowledge when it comes to the details of World War II, but author, J. Gunnar Grey, knows plenty and walked me through a beautifully written novel where I felt that I understood the characters and the time perfectly.

I would recommend this book to fans of historical fiction as well as readers who would like the pleasure of expanding their horizons in a very pleasurable and meaningful way.

****

Wow!!! It's scary how much I am enjoying this book. Amazing Author and an amazing read; thank you Mrs. Grey for the wonderful book. You have won a life-long fan.

****

I love history.

What's not to like about a premise like this, when a German soldier is captured in England during World War II? The details in this book are spot on, the characters fascinating--major (heh heh, forgive the pun) and minor--with plenty of emotion and tension between the protagonist, German prisoner Major Faust, and a retired but brought back to serve Englishman, Major Stoner. The suspense is well crafted also, and I didn't want to stop reading. The romance is "on hold" for now, given the heroine, Jennifer, is grieving the murder of her sister. When a second murder occurs, and both killings occur when Faust is "on the loose" -- well, I've got my list of suspects. I hope for a few more twists before the end!

The best part of Grey's writing are the wonderful, evocative setting descriptions - not overdone, just right, giving the reader the sense of being there. Next is her deft handling of Point of View, where characters take part in the search for the escaped Faust, and stumble upon the murder scenes. Great name for the hero, by the way. I highly recommend this book.

Can't wait to read Part 2!