Rift Zone
-
- $12.99
-
- $12.99
Publisher Description
In the turbulent years after the rise of the Berlin Wall, Germany stood dangerously divided between freedom and Communism. Dodging border patrols and guard posts, a silent few were able to cross the borders of the Iron Curtain to deliver needed supplies, always at the risk of their own lives.
This is the past Faith Whitney knew. The daughter of an active smuggler of religious paraphernalia, Faith was raised on the danger that such a life brought with it, a danger that can rip lives apart, even that of a mother and daughter. Now grown and living in 1989 Germany, Faith continues to smuggle goods across the border, narrowly slipping by the East German Stasi each time.
But her activities haven't gone unnoticed. The Stasi have recruited her to deliver a package to Moscow, a package that must be delivered within forty-eight hours . . . or Faith will be eliminated. Her payment: the long-desired location of her missing father.
The danger mounts as Faith is secretly contacted by the beautiful and seductive Colonel Bogdanov of the KGB, who also wants the package at any cost. Barely surviving harsh interrogations, and unsure of whom to trust, Faith turns to her ex-fiancée, Naval Officer Max Summer, the only man with the know-how to get her and her delivery to Moscow in one piece. On the run, the more they discover about the package, the more they realize that delivering it will likely cost them their lives. Little do they both know that the package is part of a larger plan, one that could affect the result of the Cold War in ways no one ever imagined.
Raelynn J. Hillhouse has constructed an engrossing novel of espionage, action, and heart-pounding danger. Told with knowledge and authenticity, Rift Zone takes you inside the workings of communist East Germany and the Soviet Union.
At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Hillhouse's gripping debut, a cold war thriller, has so many unexpected pleasures that its flaws barely register. It's 1989, and American professor Faith Whitney is staying in Germany with the faint (and dimming) hope of learning about her missing father; to make a living, she smuggles minor items (Stalin china, Nazi crystal, etc.) from East Berlin to West. After being captured by the East German Stasi, Faith is forced to smuggle for them or face imprisonment. KGB agent Zara Bogdanov is another antagonist, but a sympathetic one: ambitious and beautiful, she's also openly gay, a strike against her advancement. Capturing Faith and getting her to spy for the KGB would be a feather in Zara's cap, but her motives are unclear, even to herself. Their extended cat-and-mouse game, fueled by a flirty mutual attraction (though Faith is straight), gives an enticing pulse to the sometimes implausible plot. An extended section in which Faith transports hazardous material feels like a climax, but the story continues for another 50-odd pages. The book may be better for its two strong women and its incisive picture of a significant era in recent history than for its thriller elements, but Hillhouse is a welcome new voice. might make this a hit.