Category: Historical Fiction

Book Description

November 1943. Stalin is pressing the Allies to open a second front in Europe in order to ease the pressure on the bloody grinding war in the East. Roosevelt and Churchill agree to meet the Soviet premier in Tehran. 

Wild Bill Donovan, the charismatic leader of the OSS, has intelligence that someone is planning to assassinate either or both of the Western leaders at the conference. He sends his best agent, Dick Canidy, to thwart the plan, but how can he do that when he doesn’t even know if the killer is a Nazi or an Ally?

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Elise’s Thoughts

W.E.B Griffin Zero Option by Peter Kirsnow bring to life the characters within an exciting thriller. This story has Major Dick Canidy of the US Army racing to stop an assassin from disrupting a vital conference that will shape the course of World War II.Stalin is pressing the Allies to open a second front in Europe to ease the pressure on the bloody grinding war in the East. Roosevelt and Churchill agree to meet the Soviet premier in Tehran. Wild Bill Donovan, the charismatic leader of the OSS, has intelligence that someone is planning to assassinate either or both of the Western leaders at the conference. He sends his best agent, Dick Canidy, to thwart the plan.  Unfortunately, there are others also trying to thwart the success of the conference.  There is also the danger that an important weapon is being developed and it must be kept out of both the German and Russian hands. Readers will not want to put the book down.

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Author Interview

Elise Cooper: Idea for the story?

Peter Kirsanow: I wrote two so far. The first one came out last year.  I always have been into WWII history.  I have read history books about the historical characters of this period.  The characters are larger than life with events the most cataclysmicin history. There is a lot of material. In writing about WWII there is an abundance of information even for fiction.

EC:  Were there any parameters you had to follow?

PK:  I was able to write my own stuff and not necessarily in the style of Griffin. But I had to have the characters consistent with the ones he created.  I tried to keep the personalities the way he had created, including speaking in the same manner.

EC: Was it true Russia tried to do an assassination hoax to kill the western leaders?

PK: Historically people think that might be true. If Stalin thought it could prompt the western powers to move up the day for D-DAY.  He needed a Western flank to open to relieve pressure on the Eastern front.

EC: How would you describe some of the antagonists?

PK: There are a couple of antagonists, all of whom I made formidable. Major Taras Gromev is one of them. He is a despicable character who can do just about anything. He is strong, determined, and guile. He is pure evil and ambitious. He had no second thoughts of killing friend or foe to achieve his objections.  The character I thought is the most fascinating is a historical one, Otto Skorzeny, a German commando.  He is like a James Bond on steroids. He was an Olympic athlete, James Bond. In fact, after the war he worked for Mossad.  He is hyper-smart, a roguish character. I even wrote in the book how he rescued Mussolini from a prison that was on top of a mountain, heavily guarded by allied troops. He is very efficient, resourceful, and disciplined.

EC:  The way Skorzeny rescued Mussolini reminded me of what Hamas did on October 7^th?

PK:  Both are evil bad guys, the Germans and Hamas used gliders. I wrote this before October 7^th. 

EC:  How would you describe the protagonists?

PK: They are talented, innovative, aggressive, diligent, daring, and resourceful. Major Richard Canidy and Lt. Eric Fulmer were quid essential Americans, all-Americans.  They were not evil or cunning.  They would win by being on the up and up.

EC:  What was the role of Dr. Sebastian Kapsky?

PK:  He was a carryover from the previous novel. In the first book, The Devil’s Weapons, Canidy and Fulmer rescued him.  He had encrypted the notebook so anyone who had it would need him to decipher it. I wanted the reader to think there was something in the notebook that could change the direction of the war and possibly giving the advantage to whoever possessed that information.

EC:  Next books?

PK:  It will not be a W.E.B. Griffin but one of my own, titled The Black Russian.  It is about a defector from Russia, Putin-like most reliable assassin. He comes to the US and offers his services to the CIA.  The President wants to use him but no one trusts him.  A former Navy SEAL is assigned to be his watchdog. The plot is based on if the protagonists do not prevail the world will come to an end. They are trying to prevent a nuclear Armageddon. The next Griffin book is a question mark if I will write it.

THANK YOU!!

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