Cara Black is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of 18 books in the Private Investigator Aimée Leduc series, which is set in Paris.Black applied the Page 69 Test to her new standalone spy thriller, Three Hours in Paris, and reported the following:
From page 69:Visit Cara Black's website and follow her on Twitter.
Idiots. Gunter motioned for his driver, took the camera out of his attaché case and handed it to Niels to photograph the scene. “I want every angle documented.”I think this section of page 69 is a good slice showing the hidden and not so hidden animosity between the two German characters. While on the same ‘side’ the Gestapo they have different agendas and this meeting sets it up nicely. In this meeting Gunter, in whom POW we are, meets the strong arm sadist who ventures on his being his nemesis in the story. Gunter’s job on the Führer’s orders is to find the assassin, while Roschman the ‘Vet’ is in the dark on the big picture but ambitious for his own advancement. All we’ll later discover to the ire of Gunter’s investigation. It’s a place for the character set up and climate of back stabbing Nazi officialdom.
“Caught the Bayern tail wind, eh? You’re such alarmists at RSD.” A man approached, wiping his bare arms with a towel. Gunter recognized Roschman from SD, Sicherheitsdienst, the intelligence service of the SS. Roschman was the man they called the Vet. Why hadn’t someone put a muzzle on him?
“We needed him alive,” said Gunter. “From now on we need every one of them alive. Do you understand?”
Roschman nodded. “The Anglander talked. They all do when they spend time with me.”
Gunter heard rhythmic strokes of a shovel outside, then a metallic ting as it hit stone. “Shisse,” someone swore in German.
“Give me a full report,” said Gunter. “Schnell. Too much time has been lost already.”
Roschman recounted his interrogation as Gunter examined the English radio set and its case.
“But where’s his cipher code?” All radio operators carried a code transmission template. A manual, or sometimes just a paper.
“What you see is what we found.” Roschman was pulling on his shirt.
Gunter chose his words carefully so as not to reveal the assassination attempt on the Fuhrer. “The report suggested this radio man might have been connected with a gunman. What do you know about that?”
“Gunman? No idea. We picked him up near his parachute drop.”
The Page 69 Test: Murder at the Lanterne Rouge.
The Page 69 Test: Murder below Montparnasse.
The Page 69 Test: Murder in Pigalle.
--Marshal Zeringue
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