FBI agent Ben Blanchard is angry at God for allowing his wife to die. He’s tasked with investigating a Nazi sabotage operation with a new partner, Vicky, a known German spy who looks strikingly like his late wife…and they’ll be posing as a married couple.

They arrive in the isolated town of Sugar Falls, Ontario, where they find a mysterious lumber mill, a distressed German soprano, and murderous disputes over maple tapping. With outside support cut off, Ben is forced to rely on a shaken faith and a woman he can’t trust in an attempt to stop the Nazis from spreading their poisonous plan.

Rife with grief, deception, swords, songs, and scars, Codename Mermaid is a historical thriller inspired by Beethoven’s 9th, the Ode to Joy.

“Giver of immortal gladness, fill us with the light of day.”

Those words are the last stanza of the Hymn of Joy (Joyful, Joyful We Adore Thee) written by Henry van Dyke, and set to the tune of Beethoven’s 9th. The melody stretches across the bottom of the book’s cover. I won’t give away the significance, but the figure shown is Kirsten, a world-renowned soprano who is the symbolic heart of the story.

Codename Mermaid is available as an audiobook produced by Kristina Rothe, award-winning narrator and voiceover artist. I couldn’t be more pleased with her performance. She delivers the suspense, emotion, German dialogue, and singing with talent and care, breathing life and heart into the text beyond what’s written on the page. It was a pleasure to work with her.

Kristina’s website

From Audiobookreviewer.com:

Michael James Emberger, the author, has woven a deep and passionate story. Love, romance, war, spies, and God all folded into one story in a creative manner. His characters are rich and fully developed making each betrayal painful until the ultimate plot twist at the end. The plot and character twists are well developed and delivered. The storyline moves at a steady pace; while it has moments of reflection, they are balanced with moments of action.

The narrator, Kristina Rothe delivers a wonderful performance. Her delivery and move from English to German and back is well done and musical to the ears. She provides a unique voice for each character along with appropriate tones of passion, anger, narcissism, and more. Rothe speaks clearly and succinctly.

This is an awesome book in so many ways. This book features strong women and an equally strong plot. The storyline flows smoothly, and the performance of the narrator pushes the book over the five-star ranking. Therefore, this book will receive the Audiobook Reviewer’s Choice Award. A prestigious award for those books that rate a higher than the standard five-star review. Congratulations go to the author and Ms. Kristina Rothe.

“It is rare indeed for classical music to show up in a contemporary novel! I’m humbled and honored that our Royal Albert Hall performance of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony inspired Mr. Emberger.”

— Robert Isaacs, Interim Director, National Youth Choir of Great Britain (BBC Prom, 2012)

“Deftly written, Codename Mermaid plunges its readers into pre-WW2 espionage and a pursuit for answers. As the hearts of the characters are revealed, the intensity of the story grows like an orchestral crescendo that draws to a shocking and satisfying conclusion. Not to be missed.”

— Ann Elizabeth Fryer, author

“Emberger’s Codename Mermaid deftly weaves together two romantic plot lines and sets the whole suspenseful adventure against the backdrop of the approach of World War II. The novel portrays well-defined characters, some of whom struggle to find and follow God in a world where others remain captive to the forces of Evil. Love and self-sacrifice, in all its human and divine dimensions, stand against self-centeredness and hate.”

— Christian W. Hallstein, Emeritus Professor of German Studies, Carnegie Mellon University

“Codename Mermaid is a triumph of the human spirit, perseverance, love, and symbolic intrigue.”

— T.R. Prouty, author