There are not many authors or researchers out there who have a firm grasp of history as Brad Meltzer. In THE NAZI CONSPIRACY, he teams up once again with writer and documentary television producer Josh Mensch to recount an event from WWII that I guarantee most readers have heard nothing about.

In 1943, during the height of the Nazi Germany campaign to take over Europe, Russia and possibly the world, President Franklin D. Roosevelt makes a plea to meet face-to-face with the leaders of the Allied powers --- Joseph Stalin and Winston Churchill --- in a clandestine location. They decide on Tehran, Iran, mainly due to their support of Russia, but they are not alone. A small band of Nazi assassins are there incognito and using all of their espionage might to uncover where the meeting is being held and assassinate the three leaders. This essentially would hand Germany and the Axis powers of Italy and Japan a guaranteed win and a potential route to global domination.

"Meltzer and Mensch have been working together for a number of years, and it shows in the smooth blending of styles and in-depth research that makes THE NAZI CONSPIRACY an outstanding and memorable reading experience. It’s a true page-turner from beginning to end."

The book is written in non-linear fashion, jumping from the meeting in Tehran to significant moments in history that led to it. The opening passages are stunningly depicted and full of suspense --- especially considering that these are real events, the outcome of which is already known to readers. This, however, does not detract from the reading experience. Picturing FDR huddled in the backseat of an alternate vehicle to try and fool the would-be assassins as he is rushed to the meeting is an image that immediately becomes indelible in your mind’s eye.

We are then taken back to the fateful day of December 7, 1941, when Japan forces FDR’s hand by attacking the naval base and fleet in Pearl Harbor, thus entering the United States into WWII. However, we also are reminded that FDR is unable to request a declaration of war against more than one opponent, and the US initially will still stay out of the battle in Europe against Nazi Germany. This is all much to the chagrin of Churchill, who fears that without the assistance of the US in the European campaign, all will be lost to Hitler and his cronies.

Many events eventually lead to the US taking their place alongside both the UK and Russia in their fight with Nazi Germany, including FDR’s fear over the internal rise of Nazi sympathy and anti-Semitic feelings within the US itself via the emergence of racist hate groups such as the Bund. That, coupled with the atrocities that have been revealed surrounding the attempted extermination of the Jewish race at the hands of the Nazis, fully forces FDR’s hand to step up and fight this evil.

We also are regaled with the previously uncovered story of Nazi master spy Franz Mayr, who is leading the plot to assassinate the Big Three. Aiding Mayr in this effort is Karl Korel, a senior member of the Nazi Party. They put together a formidable group of enemy infiltrators committed to succeeding at all costs. On top of this, Nazi foreign intelligence leader Walter Schellenberg tasks SS Officer Otto Skorzeny with leading an expanded Special Operations team also set to stop the Allied forces.

Some of the more tense moments here emanate from the fact that the Big Three almost never got together at all. Stalin and Churchill rarely saw eye to eye, and even FDR himself met secretly with the Russian leader without Churchill’s knowledge, which made for some sore feelings and nearly hamstrung this allegiance before it could ever get rolling. The code word for the eventual meeting became “Eureka”; of course, they were able to successfully meet and collectively turn the tide of WWII.

In the 1960s, there was a movement in literature that adopted the phrase “New Fiction.” It represented coverage of actual events but was composed in a style that resembled and read like fiction. I was reminded of New Fiction while reading this book as it rivals the best thrillers from some of my favorite authors, including Brad Thor and David Baldacci. Meltzer and Mensch have been working together for a number of years, and it shows in the smooth blending of styles and in-depth research that makes THE NAZI CONSPIRACY an outstanding and memorable reading experience. It’s a true page-turner from beginning to end.