The Second Objective Mark Frost Hyperion ISBN - 1-4013-0222-x $24.95 May 2007

Adventure fiction and thrillers have lately been something of the 'rage'. Mark Frost's contribution The Second Objective manages to combine a police procedural manhunt with a thriller set against a WWII background. Bernie Oster and Erich Von Leinsdorf, disguised as American G.I's, have been selected by the German High Command to capture a key bridge and disrupt allied communication prior to the launch of what the American's have come to call The Battle of the Bulge. But they also have a second objective. It's that second objective which drives the story.

Earl Grannit is a CID officer for the US Army. While returning to his unit he and his partner come upon the bodies of several unidentified G.I's. Grannit's NYC detective eye catches a lot of clues that suggest this is more than just a combat skirmish. Grannit is among the first to deduce the German intent. In fact, the offensive is launched as he's investigating. Grannit and his partner get a survivor back to an army hospital, then events beyond Oster and Leinsdorfs control put them in the same hospital. They're discovered and the chase is on. Grannit comes close but the German tanks are pressing him and he's forced to give up the chase. The novel jumps back and forth using Bernie Oster as a bridge between Grannit, relentless in pursuit and Von Leinsdorf, equally determined to carry out his mission. Mr. Frost moves his story along at a brisk pace. The second objective Oster and Leinsdorf are trying to achieve is a documented historical fact. The faults of the story are minimal and subjective (to me, some of the dialog and the police procedure ring a little too modern.). Nevertheless, readers of historical mysteries, thriller readers and fans of procedurals are all in for an informative and enjoyable read.