Joe is relieved his mother is safe after her heart pumping rescue through a storm, but now he is under some suspicion by none other than the architect of the Holocaust – Himmler himself. But Joe is a professional spy. Although fear fills his very pores, he keeps calm and his thoughts clear so he can continue to play the part of Jurgen, the Hitler youth whose identity he has worn like a second skin.

After all, Hitler himself has chosen Jurgen to be his successor. This in itself causes problems as some of Hitler’s inner circle with their own agendas, offer him advice and a willing ear if he needs any help. One warning is about Herman Goring. He is Hitler’s official successor and he won’t be happy about Jurgen. If anything happens to Hitler, Jurgen will be an instant target.

Jurgen (Joe) is soon given his new mission. While travelling on Hitler’s armoured train – the Fuhrersonderzug; he is to pour a vial of poison into the dining car water supply. The only problem is that the only way to do it is from the outside of the train – while it’s moving.

This mission is just the first of many dangerous attempts to rid the world of this monster, all the while being at his side and acting like a loyal pupil.

Three other Hitler youth teens are with Jurgen on Hitler’s train. Sophie, who also pretends to be a loyal German but hates the Nazis more and more, and the couple Thomas and Heike, who are the stars of Hitler’s propaganda movies. They are all to travel to Hitler’s new mission control – the Wolf’s Lair near the Russian Border. This is where Hitler aims to run his invasion of Russia from.

Even more in the belly of the enemy, Jurgen (Joe) must keep his wits, avoid any suspicion and complete a new mission. He struggles more and more at the sights and news of the atrocities caused by the men around him. To seek some deliverance from his guilt, he endeavours to help some workers within the Wolf’s Lair who come in from the local concentration camp every day. He is shocked to realise one is from his own past.

Just as dangerous and thrilling as the first two books in this series, Wolf’s Lair is not a trilogy like I first thought. Which means there is more to come!

When Joe first meets Hitler in Spycraft (Book 2 in the series), chills ran down my back. In this episode, I held my breath again and again, wondering how Joe was going to get out of the life or death situation he was in.

Whether under Hitler’s icy gaze as he is questioned, standing up to guards twice his size, or being shot at by machine guns on motor bikes, Joe must not buckle under the intense strain. This tension and characterisation is so authentic and gripping, I couldn’t put Wolf’s Lair down, finishing it in a day.

There are photos in the rear of the book showing the key characters and subjects eg. Hitler’s train, planes used on both sides, and men in Hitler’s inner circle. As I read, I looked up more photos of these men who helped orchestrate one of the most terrible times in history.

Wolf’s Lair may be fiction but the impeccable research that it must have taken to write such a novel must have been extensive – in fact there is also a glossary and Bibliography at the rear of the book.

I’ve always been a fan of Brian Falkner’s novels, but this series is his best work yet, each new episode as strong as, if not stronger than the last.

Author – Brian Falkner

Age – 14+

See others in this Gripping Historical series (Click on a Cover)

(2022, Scholastic NZ, Dog, Pet, Hitler, WWII, World War II, Train, Inner Circle, Holocaust, Mass Slaughter, Mission, Guilt, Shame, Bravery, Action, Animals, Betrayal, Courage, Family, Growing up, Historical, Horror, Murder, Secret, Series, War)