Paradise Gold: The Mafia and Nazis battle for the biggest prize of World War II (Ben Peters Thriller series Book 2) (29 page)

F
ollowing
the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, the United States entered the Second World War.

Early in 1942 Germany launched a U-boat blitz on the United States’ East coast resulting in the loss of 348 ships. U-boats torpedoed several in sight of Boston and New York.

America’s first intelligence agency, the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) was established on June 13, 1942, and evolved into the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).

In February 1943 a team of Norwegian commandos, trained by the Special Operations Executive, sabotaged the Vemork power station in Telemark, Norway, destroying the Germans’ work on heavy water that would have been used to produce nuclear weapons.

A coup, led by Commander Henri Tourtet, took control of Fort Desaix on June 27, 1943, and announced their support for the Free French. Admiral Georges Robert’s troops surrendered without a fight. The Free French took control of France’s gold, which was repatriated by the FS Montcalm in March 1946.

On July 15, 1943, Admiral Robert left Martinique leaving the island in control of the Free French.

Under the codename Teardrop, the US Navy drew up contingency plans to respond to anticipated missile attacks by German U-boats and in March 1945 destroyed four of six enemy craft sailing for the American coast.

In 1946 ‘Lucky’ Luciano was released after serving ten years of a thirty to fifty-year stretch when Governor Thomas E Dewey commuted his sentence. He was deported to Sicily.

Admiral Robert was tried for collaboration and sentenced to hard labour and national degradation for life on March 15, 1947. He was released after six months and pardoned in 1957.

P
ublished
by Principium Press

Copyright ©Vic Robbie 2015

V
ic Robbie has asserted
his right in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988, to be identified as the author of this work.

All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. No part of this publication may be copied, reproduced, transferred, distributed, leased, licensed or publicly performed or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the written permission of Vic Robbie. Any unauthorized distribution or use of this text may be a direct infringement of the author’s and publisher’s rights and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly.

This novel is a work of fiction and, except in the case of historical fact, names, characters, places and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, localities or persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.

Cover design by Books Covered (
www.BooksCovered.co.uk
)

Cover photograph: © Shutterstock

Find out more at
www.VicRobbie.com

V
IC ROBBIE was born
in Scotland, lives in England and spends time in California. An author of fiction and non-fiction, he is an international journalist whose work has been published worldwide. He has worked for newspapers and magazines in the UK, Australia and the US as a writer, columnist and editor.

His first book in the Ben Peters Thriller series
,
In Pursuit Of Platinum: The Shocking Secret of World War II
, reached #2 on Amazon’s best-selling lists for War stories and #3 for Spy stories.

He is also the founder and editor of the award-winning magazine
Golf & Travel
and published the
PGA Official Yearbook
. In addition to playing golf with a passion, but little skill, he has run several marathons including New York and London.

Find out more at

• @VicRobbie
  
• VicRobbieAuthor
  

A
BOOK requires much information
, knowledge and support from many sources. On the island of Martinique, I am indebted to journalist and author Rodolf Etienne, of the island’s newspaper,
France-Antilles
, for explaining the history and politics of Martinique, and helping me find my way around Fort-de-France’s amazing library, La Bibliothèque Schœlcher. Thanks also to Marc Martial for his tour of the island and giving me an insight into the life of Martinicans. Once again, John Peacock’s encouragement and enthusiasm for the written word was an important motivation. And, as always, nothing would have been achieved without the encouragement and inspiration of my team – Christine, Gaby, Kirstie, Nick, Maia, Jed, Archie, Isla, and Sandie. Last but certainly not least, my admiration for Stuart Bache’s stunning cover.

I
N PURSUIT
OF PLATINUM

Read the first book in the Ben Peters series

‘Brilliant. Exciting. Suspenseful.’

IT’S THE SECRET they don’t want you to find out – buried in government archives and not to be revealed until 2045. As the Germans are about to invade Paris in 1940 American Ben Peters attempts to smuggle a fortune in platinum out of the city in the legendary Bullion Bentley. But the Bentley is carrying an even more valuable human cargo, a mysterious Frenchwoman escaping with her young son and a secret that could change the course of the Second World War. Alena and Ben are the targets of Adolf Hitler’s ruthless investigator Ludwig Weber, whose family will be executed if he fails. His orders are to silence Alena before she can reveal her secret; capture her young son and take him back to Berlin; and recover the Banque de France’s platinum. As they flee their hunter, they experience the stark and tragic realities of war and the raw emotions of two brave people living on the edge of fear. And not everything is as it seems. Who is Alena and what is her secret that could destroy the Nazis?