Codename Mermaid

By: Michael James Emberger

Narrated by: Kristina Rothe

Length: 9 hrs and 27 mins

Publisher's summary

FBI Agent Ben Blanchard is angry at God for allowing his wife to die. He’s tasked with investigating a Nazi sabotage operation with a new partner, Vicky, a known German spy who looks strikingly like his late wife...and they’ll be posing as a married couple.

They arrive in the isolated town of Sugar Falls, Ontario, where they find a mysterious lumber mill, a distressed German soprano, and murderous disputes over maple tapping. With outside support cut off, Ben is forced to rely on a shaken faith and a woman he can’t trust in an attempt to stop the Nazis from spreading their poisonous plan.

Rife with grief, deception, swords, songs, and scars, Codename Mermaid is a historical thriller inspired by Beethoven’s ninth, The Ode to Joy.

©2021 Michael James Emberger (P)2022 Michael James Emberger

Action Packed Thriller and More

This story takes place in Sugar Falls, Ontario during the war but prior to America joining the war. Ben Blanchard, FBI Agent, is called back into service.  He and his partner are charged with finding the Nazi cohort and foiling their destructive and secretive efforts in Ontario and America.  Along the way, Ben finds himself looking at his new partner and remembering the wife he lost so short ago. Ben is being lied to and he knows it, but who is lying and why?

Michael James Emberger, the author, has woven a deep and passionate story.  Love, romance, war, spies, and God all folded into one story in a creative manner.  His characters are rich and fully developed making each betrayal painful until the ultimate plot twist at the end.  The plot and character twists are well developed and delivered.  The storyline moves at a steady pace; while it has moments of reflection, they are balanced with moments of action.

The narrator, Kristina Rothe delivers a wonderful performance.  Her delivery and move from English to German and back is well done and musical to the ears. She provides a unique voice for each character along with appropriate tones of passion, anger, narcissism, and more. Rothe speaks clearly and succinctly.

This is an awesome book in so many ways.  This book features strong women and an equally strong plot. The storyline flows smoothly, and the performance of the narrator pushes the book over the five-star ranking.  Therefore, this book will receive the Audiobook Reviewer’s Choice Award.  A prestigious award for those books that rate a higher than the standard five-star review.   Congratulations go to the author and Ms. Kristina Rothe.

There were no issues with the quality or production of this audiobook. The production was clear and well-done.

Disclaimer: This Audiobook was provided free of charge by the author, narrator, and/or publisher in exchange for a non-bias, honest review.

A very unique WW2 historical fiction spy thriller!

⭐️REVIEW⭐️:

A very unique WW2 historical fiction spy thriller. It’s inspired by Ode to Joy of Beethoven’s 9th Symphony and set primarily in the Canadian wilderness. Narrated by Kristina Rothe. Rothe changes her voice ever so slightly for each character so you know who is talking at the time. She is originally from Germany so the pronunciation of German words is flawless and she even sings a few bars of a song which was beautiful! Rothe also conveyed fear, sadness, joy, relief with astounding accuracy. She made you feel as if you were right beside the characters.

The detailed descriptions, deeply layered characters, and symbolism and faith make this a book you don’t want to stop listening to. Ben is a reluctant retired FBI agent now spy for the US and is paired with a beautiful woman who looks just like his late wife. Neither one can trust the other. Kirsten, the other character whose point of view we have is an extraordinary woman whose faith strengthens her and carries her through a tumultuous time with a German saboteur.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

A good Read!!!

Overall this was a very satisfying read! The writing was strong, the narration well done, and the story satisfying! I'd recommend a listen!!

A few key details you may want to know:
A) It does include Nazis but none are redeemed. This is not a Nazi romance.
B) This has well done but prominent Christain representation
C) Some depictions of violence but nothing graphic

Entertaining and different

I liked the book! It was interesting and kept me listening.The author developed the characters, and I cared about them. That’s important to me in writing. Fun to think about the plot and where it could’ve gone. I’m happy with the way it went.

well written story

The author wove a great story. It tracked nicely, the story made sense, it was beautifully narrated, including the narrator singing which was also well done. Personally I was a bit put off by the underlying christian themes but it was a distraction within the story.

Excellent!!

This was an excellent story and I loved the way it changed throughout it. just when you thought you knew what would happen...nope! I loved the ending as well!! This is the 2nd book I've listened to by this author and the stories do not disappoint!!!

Suspense and Adventure

This book is an adventurous, intriguing, suspense-filled, romantic, spy story, "page-turner." The characters are constantly changing their persona and the listener cannot be sure of who anyone really is, or what is going on, until the very end. The bit of romance is just the finishing touch to a wonderful, realistic tale of pre WWII.

The narration is wonderful. You can always tell which character you are listening to, which enhances the audio experience.

I requested this audio book from the author and am voluntarily leaving this honest review

Wonderfully done!

I am a huge historical fiction fan and this delivers. It is extremely well written as I enjoyed the story from start to finish and the narration is top notch. I definitely recommend.

Riveting story by Michael and outstanding performance by Kristina

Love how Kristina narrates the story. In audiobook, the narration is just as important as how good the story is. Five stars for both from me.

All around outstanding!

This story is beautifully written and Kristina voices it brilliantly! One to savor and enjoy!