The Tenth Witness by Leonard Rosen. Publisher: The Permanent Press (2013). Mystery. Hardcover. 288 pages. ISBN 9781579623197.

“The documents I had copied were singeing my fingertips. In them was evidence of crimes so horrible that I felt, on leaving the Archive, that I was carrying some dread virus into an unsuspecting world.”

In 1970s Holland, young engineer Henri Poincare takes a commission for a new project to uncover a salvaged shipwreck potentially worth millions. He meets and falls in love with a troubled steel heiress. The smart, charming Leisel Kraus attracts Poincare but her family’s mysterious business dealings drive Poincare into investigative mode. Turns out her fortune’s tied to Nazi Germany. Board members for the company re-invented themselves guilt-free with new identities in forgiving countries like Brazil and Argentina which offered easy escape for Nazis after WWII. Corporate greed, WWII deceptions, fear, loyalty and dishonesty deftly unravel in this intense and brilliant thriller.

RATING: ****/5