Maestro
by John Gardner
Kruger guards the life of a famous conductor with a shocking secret past
The Soviet Union barely outlasts Herbie Kruger. By the time the Berlin Wall comes crashing down—and the KGB security apparatus along with it—London’s shabbiest spy is living in happy retirement. Not even the prospect of wreaking havoc in a fractured Eastern Europe could lure Big Herbie back to the Secret Intelligence Service. But he’s willing to accept one more assignment—not for Her Majesty, not for his country, but for his love of classical music. The finest conductor the world has ever seen, Louis Passau is a ninety-year-old German Jew who, rumor has it, spent World War II working for the Nazis. Kruger has just begun investigating this wild accusation when an assassin targets the maestro. To keep Passau alive while he searches for the truth, Kruger takes him into hiding—and ultimately learns that, though he may conduct like an angel, Passau has got the devil inside.
The Soviet Union barely outlasts Herbie Kruger. By the time the Berlin Wall comes crashing down—and the KGB security apparatus along with it—London’s shabbiest spy is living in happy retirement. Not even the prospect of wreaking havoc in a fractured Eastern Europe could lure Big Herbie back to the Secret Intelligence Service. But he’s willing to accept one more assignment—not for Her Majesty, not for his country, but for his love of classical music. The finest conductor the world has ever seen, Louis Passau is a ninety-year-old German Jew who, rumor has it, spent World War II working for the Nazis. Kruger has just begun investigating this wild accusation when an assassin targets the maestro. To keep Passau alive while he searches for the truth, Kruger takes him into hiding—and ultimately learns that, though he may conduct like an angel, Passau has got the devil inside.