Herald Square: A novel of the Cold War

Jefferson Flanders

Jul 2012 · Munroe Hill Press

About this ebook

New York, September 1949.  When Dennis Collins arrives at Madison Square Garden for the Friday night fights, he is on top of the world. His career as the man-about-town columnist of the  New York Sentinel  is on the upswing; his beloved Brooklyn Dodgers are contesting ding for the pennant; and a promise WHO had jilted him years ago has unexpectedly Agreed two drinks and dinner at the Stork Club. Collins is surethat his luck has turned for the better. But at the Garden his within close childhood friend , Morris Rose, approaches him for help. Rose asks Collins two safeguard microfilmed documentsthat he says will try his innocence in a State Department investigation loyalty. Out of friendship, Collins reluctantly Agree to hold the microfilm for a week. When Rose disappears from the scene , and FBI agents begin asking hard questions, Collins must solve a puzzle That somehow Involve his friend, a shadowy forms OSS officer, and a beautiful refugee, Karina, with a troubled past. Collins discovers That both American and Soviet operatives desperately want the documents he is holding, and he is drawn into a twilight struggle between intelligence agencies that will challenge his loyal ties and test his courage. 

Rich with historical detail,  Herald Square  tells a story of intrigue and deception, of ordinary people propelled into a dangerous, clandestine world where duplicity reigns and any misstep can have dire consequences.

Ratings and reviews

I received an electronic copy of this excellent historical novel by Jefferson Flanders, published by Monroe Hill Press, as a Goodreads Giveaway, on August 13, 2021. I have read Herald Square of my own volition, and this review reflects my honest opinion of this work. The first of a series of novels under the subtitle of The First Trumpet, this work is completely stand-alone. The story is well defined, picturesque, and told with compassion. It is a series I will want to read in sequence. We are in NYC, it is September of 1949, and we have the World Series. Our main protagonist, Dennis Collins, is a well-known and respected newspaper reporter covering, for the most part, - sports. If you love baseball you will enjoy the historical references as this was a Subway Series, if you could care less, the spy stuff will distract you from The Dodgers and Yankees. We are plunked down right in the middle of the Cold War. Personally, I found it all fascinating. This was a book hard to set aside to cook, and my crew is getting tired of sandwiches for supper. I keep telling them, you have to read this book! You, too. Flanders writes a fine tale - my first exposure to his work was "An Interlude in Berlin" which I also adored. This series has been out for several years, so we can all read the series back to back. Lots of folks have already told you about the finer details, so I will just get on with book two. The North Building.

About the author

Jefferson Flanders has been a sportswriter, columnist, editor, and publishing executive. His parents met in the newsroom of the New York Herald Tribune in the late 1940s.