V2: A novel of World War II
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

From the bestselling author of Fatherland and Munich comes a WWII thriller about a German rocket engineer, a former actress turned British spy, and the Nazi rocket program.


The first rocket will take five minutes to hit London. You have six minutes to stop the second.

Rudi Graf is an engineer who always dreamed of sending rockets to the moon. But instead, he finds himself working alongside Wernher von Braun, launching V2 rockets at London for the Nazis from a bleak seaside town in occupied Holland. As the SS increases its scrutiny on the project, Graf, an engineer more than a soldier, has to muster all of his willpower to toe the party line. And when rumors of a defector circulate through the German ranks, Graf becomes a prime suspect. 

Meanwhile, Kay Caton-Walsh, a young English intelligence officer, is living through the turmoil of war. After she and her lover, an RAF officer, are caught in a V2 attack, she volunteers to ship out for newly liberated Belgium. Armed with little more than a slide rule and a few equations, Kay and her colleagues hope to locate and destroy the launch sites. But at this stage in the war it's hard to know who, if anyone, she can trust.

As the death toll soars, these twin stories play out against the background of the German missile campaign during the Second World War. And what the reader comes to understand is that Kay's and Graf's destinies are on a collision course.
"1137456760"
V2: A novel of World War II
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

From the bestselling author of Fatherland and Munich comes a WWII thriller about a German rocket engineer, a former actress turned British spy, and the Nazi rocket program.


The first rocket will take five minutes to hit London. You have six minutes to stop the second.

Rudi Graf is an engineer who always dreamed of sending rockets to the moon. But instead, he finds himself working alongside Wernher von Braun, launching V2 rockets at London for the Nazis from a bleak seaside town in occupied Holland. As the SS increases its scrutiny on the project, Graf, an engineer more than a soldier, has to muster all of his willpower to toe the party line. And when rumors of a defector circulate through the German ranks, Graf becomes a prime suspect. 

Meanwhile, Kay Caton-Walsh, a young English intelligence officer, is living through the turmoil of war. After she and her lover, an RAF officer, are caught in a V2 attack, she volunteers to ship out for newly liberated Belgium. Armed with little more than a slide rule and a few equations, Kay and her colleagues hope to locate and destroy the launch sites. But at this stage in the war it's hard to know who, if anyone, she can trust.

As the death toll soars, these twin stories play out against the background of the German missile campaign during the Second World War. And what the reader comes to understand is that Kay's and Graf's destinies are on a collision course.
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V2: A novel of World War II

V2: A novel of World War II

by Robert Harris

Narrated by David Rintoul

Unabridged — 8 hours, 41 minutes

V2: A novel of World War II

V2: A novel of World War II

by Robert Harris

Narrated by David Rintoul

Unabridged — 8 hours, 41 minutes

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Overview

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

From the bestselling author of Fatherland and Munich comes a WWII thriller about a German rocket engineer, a former actress turned British spy, and the Nazi rocket program.


The first rocket will take five minutes to hit London. You have six minutes to stop the second.

Rudi Graf is an engineer who always dreamed of sending rockets to the moon. But instead, he finds himself working alongside Wernher von Braun, launching V2 rockets at London for the Nazis from a bleak seaside town in occupied Holland. As the SS increases its scrutiny on the project, Graf, an engineer more than a soldier, has to muster all of his willpower to toe the party line. And when rumors of a defector circulate through the German ranks, Graf becomes a prime suspect. 

Meanwhile, Kay Caton-Walsh, a young English intelligence officer, is living through the turmoil of war. After she and her lover, an RAF officer, are caught in a V2 attack, she volunteers to ship out for newly liberated Belgium. Armed with little more than a slide rule and a few equations, Kay and her colleagues hope to locate and destroy the launch sites. But at this stage in the war it's hard to know who, if anyone, she can trust.

As the death toll soars, these twin stories play out against the background of the German missile campaign during the Second World War. And what the reader comes to understand is that Kay's and Graf's destinies are on a collision course.

Editorial Reviews

NOVEMBER 2020 - AudioFile

Fact and fiction are interwoven in this historical novel about Wernher von Braun and his team of rocket scientists, who in this thriller are on the verge of defection to the U.S. David Rintoul, who narrates with a plummy English accent and a detached air, presents characters on both sides of WWII with equanimity. The story traces the impact of Hitler’s decision to unleash powerful V2 rockets on London and Antwerp. It is told from the perspectives of Dr. Rudi Graf, a colleague of von Braun, and Kay Caton-Walsh, a WAAF officer. Graf is the reluctant scientist who must obey his commanders’ orders, and Kay is tasked with tracking the rockets’ arcs. Though Kay and Graf play key roles, the sinister power of the V2 is front and center. L.W.S. © AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine

From the Publisher

"Spies and informers lurk. Period details are piquant. . . . Above all there’s suspense. As Graf and Kay plot and counterplot, questions rise and fall like rockets. . . . V2 will keep you pinned on a compelling trajectory."
The Sunday Times

"Weav[es] a personal thriller on to a major historical tapestry. . . . The joy is in the history as much as the story." 
The Financial Times

"Engrossing. . . . Harris brings the past to life through vivid characterizations and clever plotting. Fans of superior historical fiction will be rewarded."
Publishers Weekly

"A veteran historical novelist homes in on one of Hitler’s last desperate hopes. . . . [An] enjoyable thriller with plenty of well-researched historical nuggets." 
Kirkus Reviews

"[An] historical-fiction master. . . . Crosscutting between those launching the rockets and those on the receiving end proves to be a superb narrative device. . . . [This] novel combines fascinating technical detail with a wartime drama that finds human ambiguity on both sides of the battlefield." 
Booklist

NOVEMBER 2020 - AudioFile

Fact and fiction are interwoven in this historical novel about Wernher von Braun and his team of rocket scientists, who in this thriller are on the verge of defection to the U.S. David Rintoul, who narrates with a plummy English accent and a detached air, presents characters on both sides of WWII with equanimity. The story traces the impact of Hitler’s decision to unleash powerful V2 rockets on London and Antwerp. It is told from the perspectives of Dr. Rudi Graf, a colleague of von Braun, and Kay Caton-Walsh, a WAAF officer. Graf is the reluctant scientist who must obey his commanders’ orders, and Kay is tasked with tracking the rockets’ arcs. Though Kay and Graf play key roles, the sinister power of the V2 is front and center. L.W.S. © AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine

Kirkus Reviews

2020-08-19
A veteran historical novelist homes in on one of Hitler’s last desperate hopes.

In 1944, the Nazis know they're losing the war. They’d developed the V1, a pilotless drone bomb its targets could hear coming, and now its successor, which strikes without warning. The Nazis call it Vergeltungswaffen Zwei, Vengeance Weapon Two. The V2 rockets are notoriously unreliable, though. Although they're aimed at Charing Cross Station in the heart of London, any strike within five miles is considered a success. Many hit English neighborhoods, killing dozens of civilians, while others explode at launch or veer off into the sea. Chapters of the novel alternate between the two sides, specifically between German engineers and British intelligence. Twenty-four-year-old intelligence analyst Kay Caton-Walsh is in a married man’s bed and survives a direct hit as floors of the building collapse around her. A half dozen people are killed and almost 300 injured. Meanwhile, German engineers work furiously to prepare missiles for launch from Belgium. Despite severe technical problems, they are under great pressure to produce the weapons in the thousands and rush them into service. The story has plenty of interesting details—for example, the bulk of Germany’s potato crop that year had been requisitioned to be distilled into alcohol for use as rocket fuel. British radar can spot the V2s in flight, but “where exactly were they coming from? That was the mystery.” If only the Brits could look at a rocket’s parabola and calculate its point of origin....Caton-Walsh volunteers to help find out: “I’m good at maths. I know how to use a slide rule.” She joins a team of women working on the problem. Readers may recognize Germany’s main rocket engineer, Wernher von Braun. Though he shows necessary fealty to the Nazi cause, his secret dream is to send a rocket to the moon. And if he has to do that from America, that’s another story.

A short, enjoyable thriller with plenty of well-researched historical nuggets.

Product Details

BN ID: 2940177610580
Publisher: Penguin Random House
Publication date: 11/17/2020
Edition description: Unabridged
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