One enemy spy knows the secret to the Allies' greatest deception, a brilliant aristocrat and ruthless assassin--code name: "The Needle"--who holds the key to ultimate Nazi victory. Only one person stands in his way: a lonely Englishwoman on an isolated island, who is beginning to love the killer who has mysteriously entered her life.

All will come to a terrifying conclusion in Ken Follett's unsurpassed and unforgettable masterwork of suspense, intrigue, and the dangerous machinations of the human heart.

Customer Rating:
Summary: Follett Set the Standard for the WW2 Thriller Genre with "Die Nadel"
Comment: Ken Follet wrote this book and came out of the gates as the leader contender in the World War II Thriller category. Eventually, it was made into a pretty good movie with Donald Sutherland. Why did I think it was such a good book?

(1) He established that Hitler is weighing the need for information on the Allies intentions on the Western front. If Hitler can predict - and foil - the Allies invasion so the theory goes, then he can throw his Western divisions against the Communist onslaught in the East.

(2) Intimate Plotting - the plot revolves around the German spy (codename: "Needle" or Die Nadel), a woman and the investigator. By bringing into a real, intimate forum, the character jump off the page . He uses a neat triangulation of destiny to finally fulfill the suspense and premise of the book.

(3) The "What If" - Suspense at its best, particularly when the stakes are the greatest invasion in HIstory.

(4) Excellent complication - Die Nadel is a particularly adept spy. He doesn't even trust his fellow German spies for fear that they have been compromised (which was true in England's case of subverting all the German spies during this period).

The book is an essential read for the thriller and World War II genre.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: This was a good one
Comment: I won't go into the plot of the book because it seems every other reviewer does.

I found it entertaining to read. It develops and brings together characters nicely.. he paints a nice picture of what is going on in your "minds eye".

Luckily I had never seen the movie to provide me with any input other than my own little brain :-)

I will be reading more of his work.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: What a thriller!!
Comment: One word came to mind after finishing this book. WOW! I believe this is the best spy thriller I have ever read. He was cunning and so devious, he kept outsmarting all those who were trying to find him. But in the end he was no match for the adversary Ken Follett put him up against.
I have read Mr. Follett before and he has never disappointed me. I look forward to reading more of his works.
If you like a book that keeps you on the edge of your seat and you don't want to put it down, you MUST read this one.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: This book became a movie
Comment: I read this good fiction book, here in Brazil.This book uses real facts , during World War II, as its source.The operation wanted to decieve nazi Germany, during the months before and some months after D Day landings, in 1944.This book really is a good fiction, but today , I don't like to read fiction.When I read this book, more than twenty years ago, I liked it.Because of the fact that I enjoyed this book, I must give four stars for it.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Not Free SF Reader
Comment: Mama bear v spy.


In this case, not a story I bought into, as a mother and child get in the way of an enemy agent's plans, and must fight to survive.

There's also a movie, which in this case I actually thought was better, something that is pretty rare.

This is passable enough, but that is about it.


3 out of 5

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