Curtain of Death

October 31, 2016
Bestseller Griffin and son Butterworth’s odd decision to name a major character Claudette Colbert makes suspending disbelief even more of a challenge in their third Clandestine Operations novel (after 2014’s The Assassination Option). Their Claudette Colbert is a WAC technical sergeant stationed in Munich in 1946. When four men, believed to be Polish DPs, attempt to abduct her and a fellow WAC tech sergeant in a stolen ambulance, Claudette pulls a revolver out of her bra and shoots three of her assailants dead and mortally wounds the fourth. That improbable scene paves the way for a formulaic spy story that explores the repercussions of the attempted kidnapping as well as the implications of America’s denazification of German scientists after WWII. Authors such as James Michener and Joseph Kanon have explored with more depth the moral ambiguity of the U.S. government’s decision to turn a blind eye to war crimes in order to counter the Soviet threat. Agent: Robert Youdelman, Rember & Curtis.

July 1, 2016

In this third novel in the authors' "Clandestine Operations" series, set during the Cold War, two WACs are kidnapped in 1946 Munich by four Soviet NKGB agents. Three of the agents soon end up dead, with the fourth badly bloodied; one of their victims, the charmingly named Claudette Colbert, works for the Directorate of Central Intelligence and knows her stuff when it comes to defense. Now, however, there are far-reaching consequences for the newly formed directorate.

Copyright 2016 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

December 15, 2016
Griffin and Butterworth's third novel in the Clandestine Operations series (following Top Secret, 2014, and The Assassination Option, 2014) again showcases the scary time period just after WWII and the beginnings of the CIA and the Cold War. Soviet NKGB agents attempt to kidnap two women in Munich, one of whom works secretly for the newly established Directorate of Central Intelligence. She is able to kill her captors and rescue the other woman, but her actions and the skill with which she executed them could reveal the existence of the new organization to enemies of the U.S., especially the Russians, who seem eager to find an excuse for war. While the narrative is compelling, there is too much reliance on dialogue and too little effort made to establish the international situation in 1946. This is a transitional book in what is looking like a lengthy series. Fans of Griffin and Butterworth, both genre vets, should backtrack to the earlier volumes (if they haven't already) and settle in for the long haul.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)