The Traitor's Emblem

May 23, 2011
A star-crossed lovers plot line straight out of a second-rate romance novel hobbles this thriller set mostly in interwar Germany from Spanish author Gómez-Jurado (The Moses Expedition). In 1919 Munich, Alys Tannenbaum, the pretty 15-year-old daughter of a wealthy Jewish businessman who keeps her on a tight leash, meets impoverished 15-year-old Paul Reiner at a birthday party for Paul's obnoxious aristocratic cousin, Jürgen von Schroeder. When Jürgen forces Alys to dance with him and won't let go, Paul, who's working as a waiter at the party, infuriates Jürgen by coming to Alys's rescue. Later, Jürgen loses an eye when he and six thugs attack Paul, who escapes with minor injuries. Meanwhile, Paul is obsessed with learning the truth about his naval captain father's death, which may be connected with the von Schroeder family. Once Jürgen joins the Nazis, the remaining plot arc and points of conflict between him and Paul become all too predictable. Contrivances advance the story more than once.