In November 1939, 17-year-old German Jewish refugee Herschel Grynszpan walked into the German embassy in Paris and shot the first official he could find -- the diplomat Ernst vom Rath. Vom Rath died of his wounds a few days later, and the Nazis used his murder as the pretext to launch Kristalnacht, the infamous pogrom of the German Jews which made nationwide news and caused everyone to realize at last that the Germans were serious about this "we will destroy the Jews" thing. As for Herschel, after some twenty months in the custody of French authorities, he was taken to Berlin as a political prisoner of the Nazis and never heard from again. The time and manner of his death -- if he is indeed dead -- have never been established.

I must say I think this book is highly speculative and I'm not entirely convinced by the author's arguments. I think he takes too many liberties with his information -- such as stating as a fact exactly what Herschel was thinking/feeling at a given time when, of course, he couldn't know. I think things certainly COULD have happened the way Marino believes they did, but many other scenarios are equally possible.

That said, this is well-researched and definitely a page-turner -- almost a thriller -- about an obscure but very influential figure of the mid-twentieth century. Recommended. ( )