The Seventh Secret

Though the prose is flat and the dialogue often tedious, Wallace (The Chapman Report, The Man) transforms a bizarre and incredible situation into the linchpins for a convoluted ""spi-fi'' thriller. Eminent Oxford don Sir Harrison Ashcroft, on the verge of proving that Hitler did not die in the bunker, is murdered in Berlin. His daughter, Emily, continues this quest. Her life is endangered but she has new and unexpected protectors: Rex Foster, researching the vainglory of Nazi architecture; Nicholas Kirvov, curator of a Soviet art museum; and Tovah Levine, Mossad agent. The four prove a tough match for a coterie of neo-Nazis conspiring to perpetuate Hitler's image and obscure the details of his death. The true story of Hitler's last hours is revealed in counterpoint by Eva Braun, who has indeed survived. Now known as Evelyn Hoffmann, she has another secret: she and der Fuhrer had a child. Having created this situation, however, Wallace fails to exploit its explosive consequences, and the narrative sputters out without making much of an impact. January 13