Description of book
Franz Schmidt arrives in Berlin in January 1939 to take up the position of Chief Auditor at the Reichsbank, the financial heart of the Third Reich. He has been positioned there by the enigmatic von Streck, a high-ranking member of the Nazi party but one who has a different agenda to that of the Fuehrer. Schmidt realises he must tread very carefully to avoid the zealous and passionate Fraulein Brandt, who is determined to destroy anyone unfaithful to the Party. After the murder of a co-worker, Schmidt is driven, despite von Streck's orders to keep a low profile, to help the dead man's assistant, who is now in grave danger herself.
As the Gestapo's reach extends throughout the freezing city, Schmidt's brief becomes clear. He must steal a copy of the Reich's financing blueprint in an attempt to prevent the country's march to war. Iron Heart is the second novel featuring Franz Schmidt and confirms Marshall Browne's reputation as one of Australia's foremost crime writers.
Reviews
Praise of Eye of the Abyss”
Praise for The Eye of the Abyss:
'As chilling a thriller as you'll read this year, set in Hitler's jack-booted Germany, 1938. Utterly convincing evocation of a dread place and time, through characters that engage mind and heart. Brilliant storytelling.' Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
'A superlatively chilling historical thriller . . . Browne wrings exquisite tension from each subtly realized glance, thought, and hesitation, and his plot twists captivate without straining for effect, resulting in an elegant and thoroughly credible atmostpheric thriller with more impact and psychological depth than the cinimaticism of genre leader Alan Furst.' Booklist (starred review)
'Browne quickly evokes a dark and convincing Kafkaesque landscape, filled with people whose strengths and weaknesses radiate credibility . . . Schmidt himself has out complete attention from the beginning as he - and we - look for some possible light in the gathering of Nazi oppression.' Publishers Weekly (starred review)
'A superb page-turner with a terrific sense of the era.' Detroit Free Press
'This is a remarkable study of life in Nazi Germany in the late 1930s that brings the mundane daily horros of the Third Reich alive in a story of ordinary people trying to survive in extraordinary times . . . brings alive the Nazi Regime and its evil as well as any book I have ever read . . . takes twists and turns that are completely unpredictable.' Newt Gingrich
'A perfect example of how a book can be both good for you and incredibly entertaining. The Eye of the Abyss is literate, redemptive and historically insightful - not merely accurate. It is also as suspenseful as anything you'll read this year . . . Adding to the suspense is the certain knowledge that not all the characters we have come to know and care about are going to survive this clash with evil . . . Let's hope Browne will give us more of Franz Schimdt and his unique perspective of history . . .' The Flint Journal, Michigan
'The tremors of paranoia racing beneath the surface of Marshall Browne's contemporary European mysteries break right through the skin of his first historical thriller . . . Like the shifting reality of Schmidt's life, the changes in his character are as subtle as they are harrowing, a triumph to Browne's clean, exacting style.' New York Times Book Review
'A gripping historical thriller . . . Browne gives us the undercurrent-of-mysteriousness thriller genre new impetus. His luminous prose melodiously suggesting the recognizable agony of human values.' Weekend Australian (Books of the Year)
'Browne's latest novel occupies familiar historical territory . . . but give it an interesting new spin in this cool thriller of difficult moral choices, conspiracies and personal bravery. The characterizations are convincing and the historical research thorough.' Australian Bookseller and Publisher
'The Eye of the Abyss is a gripping novel that effectively captures the sense of a decent man caught up in horrible events . . . easily one of the best thrillers I have read this year.' The Canberra Times
'Marshall Browne is an adroit storyteller . . . He is also a literate historian, which adds colour and authority to his intrigues . . . enthusiasts of the crime genre . . . will not be disappointed in this novel of Nazi and monetary machinations, layered with Wagnerian sex scenes and an accurate portrayal of the rise of the Third Reich.' Herald Sun
'I don't know if Australian writer Marshall Browne has lost any body parts, but her certainly knows how to write intensely about people who have . . . Now he starts what, with any luck, will be a new series about a rather stiff and conventional German banker who, almost by accident . . . loses an eye when he tries to help a bystander being beaten . . . Browne quickly creates a perfect period landscape, filled with wounded people, as he searches for any light in the gathering storm of Nazi oppression.' Chicago Tribune