The Winterhaven Solution

The Winterhaven Solution is the perfect solution for readers who are concerned about neo-Nazis and who like high culture in a serial-killer novel. Viennese concert pianist Rebecca Benjamin confronts murder, conspiracy and hidden problems from her past when she flies from Austria to Los Angeles for the wedding of her "ausgewanderte" sister, Miriam. Ecstasy reins: Her expatriate sister is set to marry the son of a billionaire developer. But shortly after Rebecca's arrival, Miriam goes missing. When her body is found, the circumstances suggest her murder was an anti-Semitic hate crime. In too short a time, police and FBI interest in the crime fade and Rebecca's future in-laws abandon her. But Rebecca does not give up on her sister's murder. Brought up by concert-pianist Grossmutter, Lilli, and by her Germanic housekeeper, Herta, Rebecca holds herself to high standards. She presses on, receiving only occasional help from the developer's architect. Around the middle of the book, the story takes an amazing turn and the race against the serial killer(s) begins. Rebecca Benjamin is a new kind of heroine - more beautiful than a Beverly Hills Barbie, but she doesn't make use of it, a classical musician with perfect technique and recall, yet fetchingly feminine, and a multi-linguist with the right skills to uncover neo- and old-time Nazi monsters at work.

The Winterhaven Solution is a marvelous piece of modern-day fiction. Part of what makes it so is the heightened reality of its situations. This reader was always there with the cast of characters, sharing in all the action. The people we meet are all so very real. Even though our heroine, Rebecca, is a world-class concert pianist, she's very accessible and easy to fall in love with. Likewise with Horne, her ultimate hero - larger than life and there to identify with. The background of hate groups, so prevalent in today's world, produces the filthiest bunch of neo-Nazis you're ever likely to meet. Early on they commit a serious error by murdering Rebecca's sister on the eve of her wedding (part of a master plan to kill Jewish brides.) Rebecca schemes to get Horne, the ex-lion hunter to join her in tracking down the killers and we move forward from there. The unpredictable plot twists and turns are ever fascinating right up to the rip-roaring finale. This was one great read!

A true page-turner. I got it for a cross-country flight, and boy was it an inspired selection. The hours passed at light-speed and I was sorry when we landed, because I'd have to wait to find out what happened next. In addition to a gift for narrative twists and turns, the author has a talent describing location. Los Angeles and its environs are depicted with sharp observation and specificity. Being so grounded in a recognizable landscape makes the action (and the villains) seem all the more real and frightening. Another praise-worthy aspect of this book is its depiction of the heroine, Rebecca. In her, the author has created a female character who is smart and independent, yet also artistic, vulnerable, and loving. No wise-cracking cliches here. All in all, a riveting and rewarding read.

The Winterhaven Solution - Beth Asher Move over Dan Brown, WEB Griffin and JD Robb, there's a new novelist in town! Beth Asher's The Winterhaven Solution is non stop action, with all the excitement, twists and turns of Grisham, the romance of Steel and the breathtaking conclusion of a Dan Brown tome. Asher creates characters so real, so appealing they surely will belong on the big screen in short order. She recreates a new Third Reich threat centered at "Winterhaven" a San Simeon like castle on the Central California Coast. The action moves from coast to coast with spell binding intrigue to its hair- raising conclusion. This is one great read and will not disappoint the most severe critic.

Evil with a passion, to be specific, Magnus Von Winter, a diabolical genius and master craftsman at all things malevolent, has "set up shop" at his elaborate compound, Winterhaven. The point of it all? He and his son, Brutus will continue what Hitler began in Europe, i.e. the final elimination of the Jews-this time, however, in America. Rebecca Benjamin seems to have everything going for her. She is a beautiful young Jewish woman and world-renowned pianist. Rebecca has traveled from Vienna, where she resides, to Los Angeles, California to be with her sister, Miriam, who is marrying into a prominent Jewish family. However, Magnus, in keeping with his ugly plot, murders the young sister and it is then that we begin to learn far more about Rebecca and well-kept family secrets. Rebecca finds herself on a one-woman quest to find out why her sister was so suddenly taken from her. Along the way, we realize that this is a woman whose passion to learn the reason for her sister's murder is matched only by Magnus' passion to have committed it. So the "contest" between good and evil begins, not in a philosophical sense, but in a down-to-earth "root for the good guy" adventure. And while we must give Magnus and Brutus credit for having carried out their plan successfully so far (you should note that Miriam is not his first victim), they have not met an adversary like Rebecca before. Her tenacity, alone, keeps us cheering her on. But she is also smart and she has met a new friend who, we hope, has a propensity for heroism and, of course, love. The unexpected events, unfurled throughout the story, surprise both Rebecca and the reader. Sometimes we know more than she knows. However, it is during those times that this exciting book draws the reader more than ever to be a teammate hopeful that she does not lose her nerve or her obsession to find the truth. Simply put, this book both well written and electrifying, is first-rate.