Reviews of the book translated into English .....
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"The brilliantly written thriller guarantees breathless tension from the first through the last page."
Zevener Zeitung 09-20-2008
Germany
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"Brilliantly concocted Nazi broth ...
Exciting? Sure. Eventful? Yes, incredibly so - almost to the point of excess. Nevertheless, a new star has appeared today in the firmament of Swedish thriller-writing, all the same.
The star is Sten Nordland, a former businessman now living in Spain, and the book, The Rosenberg Collection - now going under the title of Hitler's Son and the Rosenberg Collection - published today is not only his debut novel, but the first in a series of thrillers. A series that, judging by this first act of
literary inventiveness, has every chance of going far.
For Nordland is a highly dextrous weaver of plot, easily good enough for a mastership in the noble art of thriller writing. The fact that his plots are tightly woven, entangled and cunning is very much part of the genre, as is a sensational theme.
In the midst of all this sensation is Michael Coe, first lieutenant in the American Special Forces, who gets quickly drawn in to a series of intrigues surrounding a collection of mysterious paintings, which had been rescued in the nick of time from the Nazi's last stand during the last days of the war and which popped up again in 1965 in an exhibition in Paris.
The paintings carry the coded key to a Swiss bank account containing the Nazi plunder. It becomes evident, with all the necessary candidness, that many people are out to get their hands on the gold - but who is who, and who is the former Auschwitz doctor, the cunning museum director or Hitler's secret son, is not revealed until the end.
All credit to Nordland, who has endowed Sweden's literature with an ingenious thriller that is outstanding in its genre. And I have to confess that I secretly wonder when Michael Coe will be back in his next book, as he is left in a very peculiar situation ..."
Örebro-Kuriren
Sweden
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"A book on a serious theme
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This book has a historic message, and can almost be seen as a historical document. The author has chosen Herman Göring's collection of paintings, largely comprising spoils and plunder appropriated during the anti-Jewish pogrom, as the pivotal subject. There is not a great deal of art history, mainly avarice and greed. The paintings carry a secret code, the key to the Swiss banks in which the Nazis had placed their vast assets.
On top of this is a depiction of Hitler's last hours alive and the impact his death had on the end of the war. Much of the cruelty of the war continued during the free-for-all that sprung from the dashed dreams of the Third Reich.
It's difficult to read the sections that give very graphic accounts of torture, but the story is exciting and engaging enough to carry you through. The main characters are authentic and most of them are well known to the general public. The book is the author's first novel, number one in a series of thriller, and is a spectacular debut in its genre."
Christina Johansson
Bärgslagsbladet
Sweden
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"Nordland's thriller has a fascinating point of departure. The proposition that the first woman that Hitler loved, Geli Raubal (his half-sister's daughter), became pregnant and had a baby, a boy, whom she was forced to give away (Hitler thought that a child would ruin his love affair with the German people's women), and then later shot herself (with Hitler's pistol) in grief and loss is so historically and psychologically credible that it verges on truth.
Hitler's Son is also written with gusto and pace. Nordland's capacity for fascinating plot-work is tremendous. And the scene changes are such that the book could easily be drafted into a film script."
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