Hunting the Predator: The True Story of the Assassination of Reinhard Heydrich

by Jiří Šulc, Ray Furlong (Translator)

As 1941 draws to a close, it seems the Germans are winning the war. Western Europe is occupied; the Wehrmacht is closing in on Moscow. In these dark hours, a small group of exiled Czech patriots in London comes up with an audacious to assassinate Reinhard Heydrich, number three in the Nazi hierarchy, head of security for the Third Reich, and recently appointed Reichsprotektor of Bohemia and Moravia.
Two Czech soldiers are trained by the British SOE, and just before New Year’s Eve 1942 parachuted into their occupied homeland. Operation ‘ANTHROPOID ’ has begun. Under the very noses of the Germans, the team not only manages to survive in hiding for five long months, but is able to slowly gather the information needed to develop a plan of attack.
On a warm spring morning in May 1942, the ANTHROPOID team strikes. At first, it seems the attack is a the Reichsprotektor is only wounded. But within a week, the wound proves fatal. On 4 June, Heydrich dies.
The Germans stop at nothing to find the perpetrators. Dozens of people are arrested, the village of Lidice is destroyed and its inhabitants massacred. The ANTHROPOID team is on the run, sheltered by the Czech resistance. But this is an uneven struggle. The Nazis ratchet up the pressure on a terrified local population.
After three weeks, someone cracks. The parachutists are betrayed. The Gestapo leap into action. Time is running out...

HUNTING THE PREDATOR is more than just a thriller. It’s a faithful reconstruction of real events, based on meticulous research, which shows that history is more dramatic than fiction…
Originally published in the Czech Republic in 2007, it won the Book Club Literary Prize and became an instant best-seller. Now, for the first time, it is available in English.

Genres: World War II, History

444 pages, Kindle Edition

Published February 10, 2016

About the author

Jiří Šulc vystudoval právnickou fakultu v Praze. Patnáct let působil v bezpečnostních složkách České republiky, poté pracoval v Evropské komisi v Bruselu. Roku 2007 vydal debut Dva proti Říši, historický román o atentátu na Reinharda Heydricha. Za dílo obdržel Literární cenu Knižního klubu. O rok později vydal román Operace Bruneval, popisující polozapomenutou, ale klíčovou akci britských výsadkářů v obsazené Francii.

Reviews

[Reina · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an interesting read. The book is written more like a novel although everything that takes place is true and part of the terrifying, sad history of Czechoslovakia under the occupation of the Nazis during World War II. Chilling, inspiring, it gave me goosebumps. I could not put it down. Very well translated. Highly recommend!

[Allan Hopper · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great and accurate historical fiction about the Nazi occupation in Czechoslovakia and the local resistance groups. Totally worth reading!