The Darkest Mission

Book excerpt: Combine WWII flyers, a sadistic Nazi colonel, East Germany's feared secret police, the CIA and a prominent U.S. Senator with years of Cold War knowledge and a you get a historical thriller of biblical proportions from newcomer Rick Burton. This hard-hitting, fast-paced story moves from war-torn Berlin in 1944 to modern-day Boston, Budapest and Moscow. Combining historically accurate military and espionage details, Burton's thriller spans two generations of complicated intrigue and dark double-crosses. The Darkest Mission is a harrowing ride that follows the crew of a doomed 100th Bomb Group B-17 bomber, through a 50-year odyssey targeting one of America's most honored public figures. With its whirlwind plot, delving deep into bitterness and dark depravity, it falls to a South Boston detective, turning to an NFL-linebacker-turned-priest, to explain one clue (a Bible verse that doesn't exist). It leads to a series of gritty homicides and a puzzle-filled plot that ends with a blazing conclusion.