Customer Reviews: Read 40 more reviews...
 The Key to Good Reading.....Follett June 2, 2008
ClassicRock (Birmingham, AL USA)
Having been consumed with the masterful writing in Follett's Pillars of the Earth and World Without End, I've started revisiting all his novels. Although written over 25 years ago about a war that took place over 65 years ago, Follett's insightful characterisations hold up remarkably well. The master storyteller pulls you in and weaves a web of intrigue that will keep you involved until the final pages. Great read.
 As always can not put the book down April 30, 2008
A. K. Meyer (New York)
Every Ken Follett novel I have read so far has been outstanding. The Key to Rebecca is no exception. This book centers around a spy in the 1940's in Cairo named Alex Wolff. Through most of the book, all of the characters are very likeable. But keep reading, and the story takes a drastic turn. The book is fast paced. It is full of mystery, suspense, and romance. The book keeps you guessing until the end. Personally, I think this book is even better than The Eye of the Needle.
The struggle to stop Rommel in the desert. April 30, 2008
Andrew W. Johns (Alexandria, VA USA)
Germany has managed to sneak a spy into Cairo during the desparate struggle between the British and Rommel's Afrika Corps. Alex Wolff, the spy, is ruthless and determined to help the Germans capture Egypt. Using contacts from his depraved life in Cairo, he sets out to steal secrets from an unwitting British officer, providing Rommel with all the tools he needs to defeat the British.
Standing in his way is Major Vandam, a British Intelligence Officer, widower and father, and Elena, a beautiful young Jew he recruits to try and capture the spy. The trap is set, but their plans are complicated by the conflicting alegiences of the Egyption officials, and Elena finds herself trapped by Wolff and his depraved partner, and must somehow both survive and help Vandam stop the spy and provide the key to stopping Rommel.
Set against the chaos of wartime Cairo, the suspense builds as Wolff and Vandam dance around each other, each trying to gain an advantage. The story moves at a brisk pace, and full of interesting twists. However, there is a fair bit of moderately graphic, mature content, so this book might not be appropriate for less mature readers (parental guidance is strongly suggested).
A Strategically Shaved Belly Dancer, Desert Thieves, Secret Agents, A Camel-Abusing Nazi, And A Living Dead Jewish Girl October 31, 2007
Ellie Reasoner (Ever On The East Side)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
My title was less about offending purists and more about catching the eye with a little joke: plus it's technically all true. The fact is The Key To Rebecca is one heckuva thrilling jaunt. Set in occupied Egypt during the early part of World War Two and telling the fictionalized background story of how Rommel's best spy infiltrated Cairo and got his hands on invaluable military information the British were trying desperately to conceal, Ken Follett's second published novel has something for everyone: including, may I add, fans of strategically shaved belly dancers. By using as his code book something as innocuous as Rebecca, Daphne du Maurier best-selling novel of Cornwall, a maverick German spy sends theoretically unbreakable messages back to his comrades on the front lines, giving the Afrika Korps a seemingly inexplicable advantage over its beleaguered foes. Opposing this ruthless spy is a British officer tormented by his own personal demons, someone far less interesting than the spy he hunts, but more sympathetically comprehensible in his fallibility. Unlike most novels of this genre The Key To Rebecca, while energetic and quick moving, offers few cliffhangers or plot twists and instead relies on being driven by some of the most memorably sketched characters in fiction who stalk one another in a time and place that holds the balance of the world itself.
Follett & WW2...It doesn't get much better October 28, 2007
WW2 Reviews (New York City)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I am an avid fan of Ken Follett and, with the exception of "Pillars of the Earth", he is at his best in the world of WW2 intrigue. "Key to Rebecca" drops us smack into the middle of the desert war with Rommel's Afrika Corps. Follett has created another fascinating undercover agent, a dynamic, intriguing woman and a host of other gritty characters lurking in the shadows of Cairo. Hang on for a lightning fast, twisting ride barreling along toward a dynamite ending.
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