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BY Joseph Kanon
Atria
Nov 5, 2019/ ISBN 9781501121425
Mystery /Thriller
Reviewed
by Elise
Cooper
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The
Accomplice
by Joseph Kanon shows why he is one of today’s best espionage
writers. Not only is the story thrilling but it also explores
some very moral questions.
The plot opens in 1962, seventeen years after the defeat of
the Nazis. As Nazi hunter Max Weill is in a café with
his nephew Aaron, he spots the notorious concentration camp
doctor Otto Schramm, who worked with Mengele, “The Angel
of Death.” Max spots Schramm walking down the street,
but many question his observation since Schramm is supposedly
dead. It was reported and confirmed he died in a car accident
two years ago. Knowing he is about to die Max convinces Aaron
to pursue Schramm and seek justice for his war crimes. The search
leads Aaron to Buenos Aires where many Nazis were protected
by the Juan Perón regime. Even though Peron had been
overthrown, the current regime does nothing to out the Nazis
living in their country. Wanting to keep a promise to his dying
uncle, Aaron pursues Schramm back to Argentina and the chase
begins.
“Ever since I wrote The Good German I thought
how is justice rendered for an unthinkable crime? Who becomes
the judges? The Eichmann trial ushered in a new wave of how
people searched for the Nazis. It would not be so easy for them
to get away. I wondered how the other Nazis felt when he was
caught. I think many of them changed their lives and became
running scared. In this story the Nazi, Schramm, fakes his death
to be out from the running fear caused by Eichmann’s capture.
Before the capture, many of the Nazis did not even change their
names because they felt so secure.”
In the vastness of Argentina, Aaron knows he can only find Schramm
if he pursues his daughter Hanna. This is where the moral questions
begin. Should she be blamed for the sins of her father? How
could she have any affection for such a monster; yet, he was
her loving and doting father. Should she confide in Aaron with
information? After meeting Hanna, the two have a love affair
so how can Aaron reconcile wanting to capture her father and
bring him to justice? Eliciting the help of the Mossad, Aaron
is confronted by their desire to kill Schramm instead of going
through a trial. Should Schramm be killed or put on trial? The
Mossad argues by killing him, other Nazis will always look behind
their backs with the fear they might be next.
“I wanted to show Hanna as troubled, damaged, haunted,
and wounded. Being the daughter of such a father gave her extraordinary
emotional conflict. He was her father, someone she loved, but
he was also morally bankrupt. Someone who actually participated
in the atrocities. I hope the reader likes and sympathizes with
her. While Aaron is someone who feels a moral sense of duty
and obligation, and is a stand-up guy. He was devoted to his
uncle and wanted to get justice for him. He was determined to
put Schramm on trial to get justice rendered. He never lost
sight of what Schramm really did and wanted him to have to take
responsibility”
This story will grab readers’ attention from the very
first page and never let up. It reminds people how complicit
the world can be and why it is so important to keep the memory
of the Holocaust alive.
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