The Eye of the Abyss

Franz Schmidt #1

by Marshall Browne

It is Germany, 1938, and Franz Schmidt is the chief auditor in a commercial bank in a provincial city. But as Schmidt will soon learn, the bank's prestigious new client, the Nazi party, is at once its least desirable. Schmidt will oversee their account, and soon, he is embroiled in the duplicity, violence and horror that is Nazi Germany. Schmidt can't help but be involved, and the first victim of the harsh realities of the Germans' politics is a Jewish secretary whom Franz tries to help, much to his wife's distress.

As Schmidt finds himself caught up in dangerous political machinations, he also finds himself, as the result of an act of compassion, under deadly suspicion. The Schmidts struggle to protect their marriage and their family without compromising their sense of decency, but eventually, Franz's world explodes. As events spin out of control, Franz must act, and he seeks revenge on those responsible by attempting a massive fraud on the Party itself.

In Eye of the Abyss , Marshall Browne crafts an intelligent historical thriller reminiscent of Philip Kerr, Christopher Reich and Alan Furst with a riveting pace and spellbinding plot all his own.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Thriller, Germany, Crime, World War II, Espionage

304 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2002

About the author

Browne was an international banker - he racked up 37 years with NAB - and one of his forebears was a founder of Australia's first bank. But the former paratrooper who once hankered for a spell in the French foreign legion loved writing and had three books published in Britain in the early '80s when writing was still ''an occasional Sunday activity''. Then came a couple of historical novels about Melbourne in the late 19th century, The Gilded Cage and The Burnt City. It was with The Wooden Leg of Inspector Anders, published in 1999 and featuring his one-legged policeman investigating the murder of a magistrate who was himself investigating the killing of an anti-Mafia judge, that he really struck a chord with readers. It won the Ned Kelly award for a first crime novel and was shortlisted in the 2002 Los Angeles Times book awards. Browne then turned his attention to Nazi Germany, writing three novels starring Franz Schmidt, an auditor, as their hero. Schmidt has only one eye, and Browne told Bookmarks he was interested in damaged heroes. He included Hideo Aoki, the hero of his 2006 novel, Rendezvous at Kamakura Inn, a disgraced Japanese policeman intact physically but not psychologically. Browne wrote three novels about Anders, and Australian Scholarly Press, which published The Gilded Cage in 1996, will bring out the fourth later this year. The book was at the editing stage when Browne died. But only 10 days earlier he had a bookshop signing for The Sabre and the Shawl, the novella published by ASP last month that The Age review described as ''a romantic evocation of the historical time and place, with great characterisation and an exploration of the creative process''. Publisher Nick Walker said Browne was delighted by the queue of people who bought books but exhausted by the time he got home. When people assembled for a celebratory drink he told them in his characteristic self-deprecating way, with a smile on his face, that they were looking at the ghost of Marshall Browne.



Series:
* Inspector Anders
* The Melbourne Trilogy
* Frank Scmidt

Reviews

[Tuck · Rating 4 out of 5]

a cool premise: an everyman german banker/accountant gets a big client in late 1930's, adolph and his nazi party want to make a deposit. as things spin out of control of this banker's ethics, and he tries to protect his workers and himself and his culture and country, he comes up with a 'good' idea for revenge to get back at those pyscho-dirty-dogs.

[Jerry · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book took a while to get into and the action was never fast-paced, but the suspense and intrigue eventually drew me in. There's something about Nazi's that rachets everything up a couple of notches in the suspense department.

[Pauline Moncrieff · Rating 5 out of 5]

A bank auditor in Nazi Germany, faced with some ethical dilemmas. Some very clever twists and good character analysis.

[Warren Olson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love Franz Schmidt, Browne's hero ; Amazing reality feel to the early days and times of Nazi Germany. Trust the series continues !

[M Kathy Sidaway]

Very enjoyable book that keeps you guessing.
Germany is in the hands of the Nazis pre WWII. People of strong conscience have to decide whether to submit or take a stand in any "small" way they can.
Subterfuge, intrigue, and more.
Read the author's note in the back of the book mid-read for a little hint of whats to come.

[Monster Goddess of Books · Rating 1 out of 5]

Going through my shelves and this is a book up for a LFL. It sounds like it is an amazing book but I personally don’t like historical fiction so if you get this and are big into historical fiction then give it a shot!

[Rònàn · Rating 1 out of 5]

Never again. Never. Again. I will never open this book. Ever.

[Lorraine Cobcroft]

Franz Schmidt is the auditor in an old-fashioned bank in Germany in the 1930s. When the bank is given the business of the Nazi Party, its staff find themselves plunged into the harsh realities of German politics. Franz tries to help the first victim: a Jewish secretary. At the same time, he resists orders to support a Nazi officer in small acts of embezzlement.

His opposition to the Nazi regime terrifies his wife and challenges their marriage, but conscience and a sense of loyalty and justice win out for Franz, and he finds himself taking greater and greater risks. The Schmidts struggle to protect their family without compromising their sense of decency, but eventually their world explodes and Franz conspires in an attempt to commit a massive fraud against the Nazi Party.

A good read. I marked some passages where the author had woven word magic. I love it when writers do that.

The story provided fascinating insight into the workings of the Nazi Party and the impact of the Nazi regime on those German people who opposed the party's policies.

I loved the way Marshall Browne portrayed his characters. They were real and easy to relate to.

[Ann Tonks · Rating 3 out of 5]

While not nearly as authentic or powerful as "Alone in Berlin", this is still a well imagined story for Nazi Germany.