The Alphabet House - Stylish and Modern Home Decor for Living Room, Bedroom & Office | Perfect for Gifts, Wall Art & Interior Design

I wasn't going to write a review since there are 92 reviews out there right now. But I thought, what the heck, I would add my 2 cents and become reviewer number 93. How do I start--I guess by saying that I would rate this book EXCELLENT PLUS! Bryan and James, lifelong friends and British pilots, on a mission to Germany during WWII are shot down, parachute out and land, without any major injuries, in hostile German territory. Their main objective is to stay alive and make it back in one piece to Allied territory. In order to do this they manage to evade German soldiers and dogs hot on their trail and jump onto a German train heading West. They eventually kill a porter and 2 German soldiers and take the place of the 2 soldiers in their beds, discovering that this is a medical train enroute from the front lines to a hospital. What they do not know early on is that this medical train is transporting mental patients. They assume the identities of the 2 high-ranking German soldiers and realize that they must now pretend to be mentally ill. James does speak a little German, but Bryan does not, and since they are supposedly mentally ill and unable to converse or respond they pretend not to know each other and they eventually make it to a hospital for the mentally disturbed. But now the game begins, as Bryan and James know they must not recognize each other in order to survive. They soon realize that if they are discovered to be faking a mental condition by the Germans, they will be promptly executed. There are others in the hospital who also are pretending to be mentally ill to avoid returning to the front lines and the suspense builds. Beware of Horst Lankau, Warner Fricke, Dieter Schmidt, Wilfried Kroner and maybe even beautiful Petra, a nurse, all within The Alphabet House. Bryan and James know that they must eventually escape the hell in this hospital, such as shock treatments, poor conditions, etc. Eventually one of the British pilots does manage to escape and returns to Germany in 1972 to find out thefate of his friend. In 1972 all of the above mentioned individuals still exist and they turn out to be pure evil, with the exception of one. This is an excellent book and read it to find out which pilot survived and which pilot remained in Germany. Is he still alive or dead? Who out of the cast of the above turns out to be a savior in disguise? Whether you are reading about Bryan and James in 1944 or 1972, this is a most pleasurable read. Go for it!