In this fair historical novel, Wurtenbaugh reimagines Hitler’s rise to power, supplemented with letters and excerpts from fictional historical texts and memoirs. The father and stepmother of Karl von Haydenreich begin the story, with German officer Heinrich marrying a Jew, Rosamund, his deceased wife’s best friend. Karl picks up the narrative with his own letters and journal entries, adding layers to his personality as he grows up in 1920s Germany, joins the National Socialist party as a teenager, and eventually becomes a member of the Reichswehr, or German Army, as an officer assigned to be an “observer” of official activities. The perspectives of colleagues and acquaintances, including Dwight Eisenhower, follow the career of the man whose actions change the path of the Third Reich, because Karl “saw what was happening in Germany, and he didn’t like it.” The flow of smart, competent prose is disrupted with headings for the invented texts and letters, and the disordered mix of fact and fiction is distracting. Still, the longer sections of narration are engaging enough to hold readers’ attention, making this an intriguing historical novel. (BookLife)