Spinnaker

Spinnaker: a thrilling romance novel of adoring love, weaving fiction and fact in an intriguing mystery adding drama and suspense while intertwining espionage within the characters’ lives. Chapter after chapter you will join in on incredible and bizarre turn of events and follow a passionate love affair, along with grim details of murder and revenge.

As the story unfolds in war-torn Germany, 1943, Karl is a twenty-one-year old American pilot on a reconnaissance mission into Germany. Karl’s plane encounters a catastrophic incident in the sky that plummets him to the German countryside where he is found severely injured by a young twenty-two-year old German woman compelled to help him. Their love story and journey begin to unfold. As you continue to read, you will be utterly surprised.

The novel begins…

Karl is piloting a scout aircraft ahead of the initial wave of bombers, to keep a lookout for German aerial counterattacks. The night is clear as Karl heads over the border into Germany.

“Bogey; Spinnaker checking in. I see heavy bombing from coalition forces on the horizon. Crossing the German border now.” “Roger that Spinnaker.”

There is slight turbulence. The plane rocks to the left. Karl sees the enemy’s artillery fire focused to the westerly skies toward the incoming Allied aircraft. “Bogey, they have reconnaissance, the German’s know we are approaching.”

Suddenly a severe flash of bright light encompasses the sky. “Bogey, an unusually bright light has just enveloped around me. I lost track of the earth for a moment. A type of flash I have never experienced before.” “Spinnaker, we have no reports of any abnormalities in your area.” “Bogey, I feel vertigo. I have dizziness. It feels as the sky is spinning. I’m having a problem focusing. My balance is off. I feel nauseas. Something from the flash of light.” Karl passes out for a moment. “Spinnaker; collect yourself.” The radio is silent. “Spinnaker, do you read me? Come in Spinnaker.” “Bogey, yes, I read you. I must have passed out briefly. Bogey, I am experiencing electrical problems. Bogey, electronics failing, engines failing. I’m aborting the aircraft.”

Karl ejects. As he descends, the waning moon gives enough light for Karl to see the ground approaching. Suddenly, his parachute fails. He plummets helplessly to the ground.

Karl awakes, cold and shivering. It’s becoming daybreak. The remains of his parachute are tangled in the trees and brush. Unclear of his injuries and location, he has the wherewithal to gather his chute so not to be seen by German forces. Karl is in severe pain. As day breaks, he can barely see a farmhouse over the ridge, and a village in the distance.

Karl assesses his injuries. His right leg and left forearm are broken. His abdomen is punctured, from a tree branch. His adrenalin and survival training kick in. Karl uses his parachute for bandages. He gathers would be splints from branches and wraps them on his forearm and leg. The pain is excruciating, he passes out.

At daybreak he is awakened by the sound of a vehicle, a Nazi patrol car and a convoy. The motorcade stops a few hundred meters from him. Karl, barely awake, dizzy, cold, and in pain from his injuries watches in horror. He sees the troops exit the vehicles. Karl crawls toward a more secure and covered area near the woods. The pain is unbearable. He struggles into a hollow log.

The soldiers, dispersed into groups of four, begin searching the woods and approaching his location. In German, they say, “The American must be here, we will find him.” Karl hears the cold leaves crackling under their feet. One sits down on the log. “We will come back tomorrow with the dogs and we will find him.”

Escaping a close call, Karl settles in for long night, his pain is getting worse. Karl awakes to the crackling of footsteps. The Germans come back with dogs and begin the search on the opposite ridge. Karl hears the barking dogs. The search ends at dusk. Snow begins as he falls asleep.

January 31, Karl is suddenly startled and awakened to a wet cloth on his forehead. “Shh, do not say anything,” a young lady says. Karl can barely make her out but sees an image of a young woman. His vision is blurred from his head injuries. “Here, drink some water. I have been with you for a few hours. You have grave injuries. Let me help you. Rest for now, I will come back at nightfall with my mother and a wagon. We have a farm, I will take you to our barn, you will be safe there.” “Who are you?” asks Karl. “What is your name?” “Not to worry about that right now.”

Katarina is the daughter of a German officer who stands against Hitler and the Third Reich. She cares for Karl and nurtures him back to health. Their kind-heartedness and friendship turn to love. As they endure falling in love in occupied Germany, Karl is entangled in a bitter sibling rivalry with Katarina’s toxic brother, a Nazi SS officer. They fall in love and their journey together unfolds.

The author’s imagination reveals suspense and espionage. The surprising turn of events will keep you fully engaged to see where the story ends. The author braids multiple plots into one compelling story. Page after page, chapter after chapter, the suspense continues, the reader finds themselves unable to put this novel down.

Eerie events occur changing the path of young Karl and Katarina’s lives forever. The novel often takes the reader back to normalcy, then jumps out and seizes you with more unexpected occurrences. Spinnaker is a love story of Karl and Katarina, a passionate and endearing love affair. The novel will take you through their journey of the young couple’s lives. The ending will leave you with a question, astonishment, and disbelief. You will be literally taken back. A novel unlike any other, one you will not soon forget.