Raven (PDF)

Raven is a remarkable spy thriller that begins innocently enough. During a declassificaiton of World War II documents, an American investigator uncovers reference to something called Operation Raven—an attack by British commandos on a train deep inside Germany prior to the launching of Operation Sealion, Nazi Germany’s planned invasion of England in 1940. The tantalizing, incomplete, yet potentially explosive clues in the declassified documents causes the American investigator to search out the only surviving commando of the operation. What he discovers is an astonishing secret that could blow the lid off everything that everyone ever knew about World War II in Europe.

Operation Raven had one purpose, and one purpose alone: ambush Hitler’s private train, kill Hitler, and have actor Archie Smythes, whose only claim to fame was an uncanny ability to mimic Hitler, impersonate the Nazi dictator long enough to issue a single order: Stand down from Operation Sealion. But when the time came for Archie to escape from the successful ambush; Archie chose to remain behind. Thus begins the greatest impersonation imaginable, performed by an actor of modest talent and an extraordinary desire to do the right thing. At that point, the momentum of Raven truly takes off in a roller coaster ride of twists, turns, and suspense that does not stop until the shocking and surprising ending.