Praise for The Nazi Hunter
"The Nazi Hunter is a very enjoyable book that kept me engrossed from beginning to end. Elsner provides a good blend of character development, historical research, romance, insights into orthodox Judaism, Washington politics and, of course, suspense that will have you turning the pages at a rapid pace."
"Elsner, a former foreign correspondent, brings the work of the Office of Special Investigations to readers. They will learn some history while enjoying an action-packed story."
-- Jewish Book World, the quarterly publication of the Jewish Book Council
"A tightly plotted story ... fast-paced, well-informed ..."
"Alan Elsner’s The Nazi Hunters is just a pure fun suspense story"
-- Dr. Danny Brassell, The Lazy Readers' Book Club
"The Nazi Hunter is a nice pacey thriller ... The main raison d’etre of the book is well done and the hunt to prove a leading tenor is a former SS death camp operative is both fascinating and moving. Cain’s Jewishness and his work also add an interesting element as he reconciles both with having a personal life. I would recommend this book from the veteran Reuters journo Elsner. I am looking forward to whatever his imagination musters next."
-- Marty Dodge, BlogCritics.org
"The Nazi Hunter grips the reader from the start. I seriously hope that this is not the last readers will hear of Marek "Mark" Cain and his job as Deputy Director for the Office of Special Investigations. "
-- Tracy Farnsworth, RoundTableReviews.com
"An experienced journalist with two nonfiction books behind him, Elsner now makes his thriller debut, focusing his intense beam on a young lawyer who hunts Nazis for the feds in Washington, DC ... engagingly written and attentive to the work of authentic Nazi hunters, Eisner’s novel chimes with the bells and whistles of a thriller while tracing the honest emotions of its appealingly sincere characters."
-- Barbara Conaty, LibraryJournal.com
"The Nazi Hunter is a brilliant novel that mixes imagination ... and gut-wrenching facts ... the plot is tautly woven with unexpected masterful twists, the pacing impeccable, although it gives readers little time to breathe. Historical accuracy (by way of eyewitness accounts to actual atrocities) provides poignancy that will bring tears to your eyes and anger to your heart. The Nazi Hunter is a must read."
-- Karri Watson, CurledUp.com
"Elsner possesses a command of Holocaust history, and the plot twists accelerate nicely. He plays, too, with the ways that religious obligation might hamper a protagonist — it's hard to imagine Rambo, for instance, sequestering himself in mid-crisis because it's Shabbat and he can't drive or turn on a light. An intriguing protagonist, terrifying historical lessons and a well-orchestrated, [and] pulse-pounding conclusion ..."
-- Kirkus Reviews
At the start of this gripping debut thriller set in 1994, a German-accented woman named Sophie Reiner appears at the desk of Marek Cain, a Nazi hunter in the U.S. Justice Department's Office of Special Investigations, and tells Marek that she can deliver smoking gun documents concerning Belzec, an extermination camp in Poland where half a million Jews were murdered in 1942. Marek is extremely interested, both professionally and personally: his own grandparents perished at Belzec. The next day, Sophie turns up dead in her hotel room, where the police find a CD of Argentinean baritone Roberto Delatrucha singing Schubert lieder. The possible Argentinean connection sets off alarms for the veteran investigator, and soon he's hot on the trail of the famous singer. Subplots involving neo-Nazis out to blow up Washington, and the newly elected Republican congress threatening to cut off OSI funding add suspense, but it's Marek's quest to expose Delatrucha's past that drives this compelling tale. Elsner is also the author of Gates of Injustice: The Crisis in America's Prisons and Guarded by Angels, a Holocaust family chronicle.
"The Nazi Hunter is more than a novel - its a lesson in history and morality. Elsner's story burns with a passion for justice. But he also knows how to dish out the thrills. He grabs you on the first page and doesn't let you go until the last."
-- David Cesarani, author of
Becoming Eichmann.
"Alan Elsner is a world class reporter who understands the craft of writing and selling a story. He brings a deep reservoir of experience and ability to his debut novel. I look forward to reading The Nazi Hunter."
-- Senator Chuck Hagel
The Nazi Hunter has been nominated for the Sophie Brody Medal of the American Library Association. The Reference and User Services Association and Arthur Brody and the Brodart Foundation have established the Sophie Brody Medal, an award for the U.S. author of the most distinguished contribution to Jewish literature for adults. The award, which consists of a medal for the winner and citations for honor books, is funded by Arthur Brody and the Brodart Foundation, and is given to encourage, recognize and commend outstanding achievement in Jewish literature.