Theft of the Master

By Edwin Alexander

Theft of the Master aims to appeal to the reader seeking more from a novel than a good read. This is an intricate web of a story speckled with an assortment of finely described characters spanning... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0970755856
• ISBN13: 9780970755858
• Release Date: January 2007
• Publisher: Garev Pub Intl
• Length: 288 Pages
• Weight: 1.47 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.0" x 1.0" x 6.3"

Customer Reviews

Review

Karl Heinz Fiedler is part of a secretive organization called The New Templars. The group is a privately funded organization dedicated to the preservation of the German cultural heritage. Karl goes to see a man named Herr Brandt, who at one point held a senior position in the SS Administration. The only problem is that there never was a Herr Brandt in the SS Administration. So the question is.... Who is Herr Brandt? Well he must be someone important as Brandt passes on to Fiedler an inventory list that consists of photographs of valuable artifacts and a will that ensures that Brandt's whole collection goes to The New Templars. In the pile of stuff handed to Karl Fiedler is a typescript dated March 1944 and titled My Life by SS Gruppenfuhrer Richard J. Gluecks. Wrriten in the typescript is Mr. Gruppenfuhrer's account of how he helped dispose of Oswald Pohl's collection of artifacts. When Al Hershey, private investigator was hired by Geoff Hughes to dig into the death of Megan Gilchrist his niece, he did not know what he was signing up for. As Hershey investigates the death of Megan he finds that she did not drown but was instead murdered. Megan was a sweet girl who did not hurt anyone so who and why was she murdered? These are the questions that Al Hershey has to answer. He will do so by travelling through three continents. Theft of the Master was based on chronicled accounts of Hitler's orders to take and transport valuable pieces of art work to Germany. Theft of the Master takes the reader on a roller-coaster ride of intrigue, adventure and secrecy. I thought Theft of the Master was like Indiana Jones meets James Bond..... Explosive! From the moment you pick up this book you will find yourself not wanting to put this book down till the end. I really enjoyed the little tid bits of information that author, Edwin Alexander gave throughout the book. He would insert interesting information at the bottom of the pages when it applied. This was a great addition as this helped bring you into the plot line more. It made Theft of the Master like a history lesson but the kind you actually want to attend. This is my first Edwin Alexander novel but you can be sure that it won't be my last! So do yourself a favor and pick up a copy today.

Intriguing

The beginning of Edwin Alexander's Theft of the Master is a bit odd. The author starts off with several 'background' sections that, for a while, lead me to believe that one or another person was a main character in the book, only to have them disappear entirely shortly thereafter. I found this a little jarring and unsettling. However, once the book settles into the investigation, following PI Al Hershey and his employers, everything hums along beautifully. This is a tale of modern men, greed, theft, love, family, strategy, and manipulation. Edwin Alexander deftly brings Europe and her inhabitants and rituals alive, populating his pages with fascinating characters. Even those who only appear for a few pages leave an indelible impression on the reader's mind. Of particular note is Al's wife, Mrs. Hershey, who never actually appears on stage and yet manages to feel like a constant and whole presence through Al's fond thoughts of her. The mystery itself is a carefully laid-out chess game, and even though it's quite easy to figure out the identity of a certain mystery man, following the mystery's puzzle pieces as they fit together is quite fascinating. The fact that the scene-setting is done so skillfully is the icing on the cake. This is an absolutely fascinating novel, and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it.

Good writing, but the plot could be a bit tighter...

Just finished a book by a first-time author that could end up being a decent series... Theft of the Master. While I liked the writing and characters, the plot seemed to need a little work. Al Hershey is a private investigator who has been called upon to look into the death of a young woman. She was ruled to have accidentally drowned during a midnight walk on the beach, but those close to her felt it was actually murder. As Hershey digs into the case, he turns up strange relationships between those who were involved with the woman both pre- and post-death. These relationships take Hershey all over the world, finally uncovering a connection between her death and the theft of a wooden sculpture that was stolen by the Nazis during World War 2. As mentioned at the start, I enjoyed the Hershey character. The flyleaf says that Alexander is writing the next installment of Hershey's adventures, so there's a good chance that this character will continue to evolve and grow. The writing and dialog was well done, and there weren't many places where dialog was stilted or scenes overly described. The plot is where I had a bit of a problem. The cover and synopsis leads you to believe this will be a Da Vinci Code type story, with linkages between Nazis, Templars, and other murky organizations. The first chapter even starts out that way. But then we step away to get wrapped up in the young woman's murder, and it seemingly takes forever to tie back solidly to the original premise. And even then, I felt the woman's murder was the main plot instead of the search for the lost sculpture. Writing a good novel isn't easy, and doing it the first time has to be a real labor. I think Alexander has the chops to get a good foothold in the mystery genre. I wouldn't hesitate to give his second installment a read. I only hope the plot is a bit more focused.

International intrigure, mystery adventure thriller

Reviewed by Richard R. Blake for Reader Views (7/07) From the first paragraph of the first chapter the reader is drawn into this fast-paced drama, "Theft of the Master." Edwin Alexander has created an intricate story with a complex plot. Veit Stoss, one of Europe's greatest sculptors was commissioned by Henry Schenk to sculpt a wood carving of Christ, seated preaching the Sermon on the Mount. The carving was completed in 1493 and presented as a national icon at Estonia's Tallinn Church of the Holy Ghost. The story is based on historical events involving Hitler's transporting valuable cultural artifacts to Germany during World War II. "Theft of the Master" is a fictional account of Estonia's wood carving of "The Christ." In a complex transaction involving a purchase an inventory of artifacts by the Templars, a secret society, this work of art was stolen and becomes the central plot of the story. The book is filled with unexpected surprises and plot twists involving smuggling, murder, and intrigue. Private Investigator, Al Hersey, is hired by Peter Gilchrist to find the murderer of his daughter, Meg, who was found, drowned in the waters off Half Moon Bay, near San Francisco. The assignment takes Al on a dangerous quest for answers from San Francisco, to Estonia, Paraguay, Sweden, and New York. Alexander is an incredibly gifted author. He puts into his characters, a depth of feeling, a glimpse into their obsessions, and those identifiable physical characteristics which make them genuine and believable. His detailed descriptions include, "a rumbling voice, a voice that rattled the walls," and "Tiny's tall, thin face was overdue a retread but the eyes were sharp and inquisitorial, sharpened by half a lifetime of scrutinizing doubtful people, potentially libelous stories and over-enthusiastic expense claims." I became so intrigued by Alexander's vivid descriptions that I found myself visiting the picturesque websites of Half Moon Bay's shoreline, the Holiday Inn's lobby in San Francisco's China town, the dinning room of Neptune's Palace at the Wharf, the archaic St. Olaf's Church in Tallinn, Estonia, and the Mennonite Colony in Chaco, Paraguay. Much of the plot is carried by the dialog making "Theft of the Master" a natural for movie and television adaptation. Edwin Alexander has masterfully crafted a tale of international intrigue, murder, suspense, drama, and deduction. I foresee Private Investigator, Al Hersey, destined to become the central figure of a fresh new series of adventure mystery novels.

Thrilling new author

Thrilling, enthralling, excellent debut! Theft of the Master is a fast paced mystery spanning time and continents, detailing the quest for a stolen work of art and the solution to a murder. The reader is riveted ,learning of the Nazi's accumulation of stolen art, and its effect on one family today. Private investigator Al Hershey is charged with unraveling the mysteries and the reader is taken on a thrill ride as Al follows the clues wherever they lead. A satisfying conclusion leaves one anticipating the next Al Hershey caper!