Official Review: Escape! by Ivy Kenneth Blecher

[Adanna Inya]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Escape!" by Ivy Kenneth Blecher.]

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3 out of 4 stars

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Major Dieter, Captain Heinz, and Lieutenant Gustav are German Nazis who imprison and labor the Jews in concentration camps. The soldiers escape from these camps to evade capture and execution by the Russian army. The Russians don't care for fair trials. They execute! These three military men assume new identities, blend in with the Jews, and gain their entry into the camps for Displaced Persons (DP) located in the American zone. These camps serve as a conduit to the final destination, which is Palestine. In Palestine, they plan to fulfill Hitler's promise that he made to the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem. They will team up with the Arabs to annihilate the Jews. The Nazis and Arabs share a common hatred for Jews.

Enter Lee Haber, a young American soldier, who retires from active service. Due to his writing prowess, he gets a job offer to become a reporter for the International Herald Tribune. His job is to cover post-war situations in the DP camps spread across the American zone in Germany. Work is smooth until he notices a disturbing pattern. Someone is leaving a trail of dead bodies as they go. Who is doing this? Is there a story that connects these bodies? Who's the next to die? Read Escape! by Ivy Kenneth Blecher to find out.

This book is a description of the chaos that Europe and the Middle East represented in the 1940s. A beautifully narrated historical fiction ladened with facts. If you don't know your history very well, you may not be able to separate fact from fiction. Yet I'm not surprised, as the author is a historian, and she made a lot of research before writing this book. I give the author thumbs up for effortlessly creating a thorough blend of fact and fiction. The book has a depth that drew me in and kept me glued until the last page. It was with sadness that I waved goodbye to Lee Haber. I love this novel.

For the most part, the story was narrated through Lee Haber, the reporter. At other times, the story was narrated in the third person. The dialogues were clear and interesting, even though the author digressed a lot. I loved that the main players had backstories to help the readers know them better. The author lets us into the minds of the characters. We also get to see ahead and know who did what. The readers are now injected with some tension, as they follow the characters' journeys to discovery. I found myself having a profound respect for the villain. Anyone who can hide in plain sight isn't to be joked with. We get to see the roles that America and Britain played in the war between the Arabs, Nazis, and the Jews. The plot is akin to a chess game. It's played with wit, resilience, mental alertness, secrecy, and alliances. Top it with a sprinkle of romance, and we have Escape!

I rate Escape! by Ivy Kenneth Blecher three out of four stars. I took off one star because of the following reasons. Firstly, the author wasn't consistent with the characters' names and confused me in the process. Character familiarity begins with the name of the player. The author uses a character's first name somewhere and uses the character's last name elsewhere. I opine that after the author introduces the players, he should choose one name per player and stick with them throughout the book. Secondly, I came across a ton of non-English words that had no explanations. Also, there were grammatical problems. They include missing words, wrong spellings, punctuations, and homophones. This indicates that the book wasn't professionally edited.

I recommend this book to lovers of history, war, and politics. However, if you can't stand murder, bombings, and war in general, you may not want to read this book.

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Escape!
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[TADSAILS]

What an interesting piece. I love the covert nature used by the military men to try and help the jew. This is my kind of book. Thanks for an honest review

[Vic Chimezie]

I love the storyline of this book. Thank you for pointing out the consistency issue in names of characters. I enjoyed reading your review as it was very detailed. Thank you for your recommendation.

[Adanna Inya]

What an interesting piece. I love the covert nature used by the military men to try and help the jew. This is my kind of book. Thanks for an honest review

Yes! This is a very interesting book. You'll sure enjoy it

[Adanna Inya]

I love the storyline of this book. Thank you for pointing out the consistency issue in names of characters. I enjoyed reading your review as it was very detailed. Thank you for your recommendation.

Yes, the story line is an interesting one. Thank you for your kind words.

[jennydelacruz]

Once again, you've written a captivating, comprehensive and thorough, not to mention honest, review!
I like reading historical fiction, with the exception of anything within the Nazi era due to it's heavy, dark and morbid stories (I read the Diary of Anne Frank though). The book doesn't seem to cover much of the heavy side of that era, so I might give it a shot; I'm just adamant because of the critical points that you mentioned. Thank you, Adanna! I love your reviews!

[Olabode Joshua]

Some evil people will stop at nothing just to cause suffering. The Nazi guys despite losing the war still continued their plan to eliminate the Jews. Your review has me emotionally attached already ha!
You have written a great review.

[Adanna Inya]

Once again, you've written a captivating, comprehensive and thorough, not to mention honest, review!
I like reading historical fiction, with the exception of anything within the Nazi era due to it's heavy, dark and morbid stories (I read the Diary of Anne Frank though). The book doesn't seem to cover much of the heavy side of that era, so I might give it a shot; I'm just adamant because of the critical points that you mentioned. Thank you, Adanna! I love your reviews!

Oh, my Jenny! Thank you for always coming through. The book isn't heavy on pain and morbidity. It's actually light. I'm not a fan of all that heaviness either. You'll find this book very enjoyable. Thank you so much.

[Adanna Inya]

Some evil people will stop at nothing just to cause suffering. The Nazi guys despite losing the war still continued their plan to eliminate the Jews. Your review has me emotionally attached already ha!
You have written a great review.

Yes! I can't for the life of me understand such deep hatred. Even after losing the war, they didn't give up their plan. Thank you for your kind words. You'll enjoy reading the book.

[jennydelacruz]

Once again, you've written a captivating, comprehensive and thorough, not to mention honest, review!
I like reading historical fiction, with the exception of anything within the Nazi era due to it's heavy, dark and morbid stories (I read the Diary of Anne Frank though). The book doesn't seem to cover much of the heavy side of that era, so I might give it a shot; I'm just adamant because of the critical points that you mentioned. Thank you, Adanna! I love your reviews!

Oh, my Jenny! Thank you for always coming through. The book isn't heavy on pain and morbidity. It's actually light. I'm not a fan of all that heaviness either. You'll find this book very enjoyable. Thank you so much.

I was on the look out for your new review, actually

[Elvis Best]

The plot of this historical fiction sounds rather interesting. Thanks for your detailed review. Excellent work!

[Adanna Inya]

The plot of this historical fiction sounds rather interesting. Thanks for your detailed review. Excellent work!

You're welcome. Thanks for commenting.

[Topsey]

As a big fan of historical fiction and especially war related fiction, I'm sure I will enjoy this book. Thanks for an insightful review.

[Adanna Inya]

As a big fan of historical fiction and especially war related fiction, I'm sure I will enjoy this book. Thanks for an insightful review.

Yes. You will enjoy this.

[Nath_chuks]

The story line of this book Intrigues me, I wonder who is leaving the trail of dead bodies and the story that connects them. Great review