Decoy

With a mass of revealing period detail, much action and irreverent humor, Pope here goes above and beyond most World War II thrillers. In the dark winter of 19411942, Lieut. Commander Ned Yorke is ordered, by Churchill no less, to obtain a new Enigma machine and its Hydra cipher from the Germans. The British have the older, Mark II, Enigma, but only a Mark III will enable them to monitor German U-boat wireless messages, a crucial element in the Battle of the Atlantic. Yorke assembles a couple of chums and 20 hands for a daring escapade: as apparent shipwreck survivors they're picked up in the North Atlantic by a U-boat, then overpower its crew and take it over, along with its new Enigma. Their initial success is marred, however, by lack of radio transmission and the real danger, and many adventures, are encountered on their voyage back to Britain. Pope is best known for his swashbuckling Ramage novels but he certainly knows his way around World War II. December 16