In “LZ-99” by C.L. Mohn, a zeppelin commander’s bold plan to end WWI puts an American spy’s heart to the ultimate test, intertwining love, espionage, and a desperate race against time in this gripping historical thriller.
In the summer of 1918, Germany is searching desperately for some way to break the stalemate and win the war. A plan is submitted by Captain Otto von Buch, commander of one of the zeppelins flown by the Imperial Navy’s airship division, the world’s first strategic bombers that would certainly snatch victory from the jaws of defeat for the Germans. Although the German High Command gives the plan, called Operation Volant, the go ahead there are reservations based on moral reasons.
The Allies become aware of the operation but have no details. They depend on their espionage network which includes, Sydney Black, an expatriate black man who plays piano in a Berlin bordello, Lance Reynolds, an American officer planted in the Zeppelin Company before the war and who has assumed the identity of a Swiss citizen, Adlegard Klopsic, a German noble woman who is a spy for fun, and the Darhower brothers, two communists who run the blacksmiths shop in Elmsdorf, the home base of Buch’s zeppelin.
Adelgard Klopsic, called Gary, travels to Elmsdorf to instruct Reynolds in the fine art of espionage. She charms Buch and his daughter, Sherry. She tells Reynolds his best way to get close to Buch is by getting close to his daughter. This he does too well. He falls in love with Sherry and she with him. When Gary leaves Elmsdorf she warns him to use his head and not his heart.
Even with the efforts of dedicated intelligence operatives in Germany, the Allies still have no details on the targets, or the scope and time of the operation. It is up to Lance Reynolds, to escape from Germany and stop Buch from killing millions.
A fast paced thriller about a little known piece of history.
real books. real reviews. real talk. 