The Traitor's Emblem

Spanish journalist turned author Juan Gomez-Jurado is going places, winner of the impressive sounding 'Premio de Novela Ciudad de Torrevieja' (even more impressive when you learn the prize was a half million US$), the rights to his first book (God's Spy) have been sold in 42 countries, his first two books claim 3 million readers and his third and latest 'The Traitors Emblem' is being translated into 40 languages. 'Traitors Emblem' is set in post world war one Germany against the background of po [...]

I received this book as part of the Vine Program. I was attracted to this novel by its setting - Munich during the time of the Weimar Republic and the rise of the Nazis.I won't give a blow-by-blow account of the plot;I don`t like to give away too much as it spoils the enjoyment for the reader. The tale is set in motion by the mystery of a strange medal-like object which a Spanish captain passes on to his son; only in 2002 is the origin of the emblem finally explained.Gómez-Jurado skilfully use [...]

My husband is a blogger, and he recived the Advance Reading Copy of this novel. This book is set mainly in the period leading up to WW11, most of the events taking place in Munich. It concerns two boys as they grow into men. Jürgen, the son of a baron, is a nasty piece of work who becomes a dedicated follower of Adolf Hitler. He ends up in the SS working under Reinhard Heydrich with Adolf Eichmann as a colleague. He is violent by nature and so well suited to his role in the SS, where he is give [...]

Other reviews go into more details, but here is my own quick response to The Traitor's Emblem. Once I started reading, I simply could not put it down. This was a true page-turner, as it was very well developed, and structured as a novel. Also, there is no doubt a tremendous amount of research was conducted by Gomez Jurado, with a lot of information around which to frame a story. One of the best historical novels I've ever read. It's disguised as a thriller, but when you think about it this is th [...]

This is a well crafted novel with nicely defined, believable characters. The main action is set in the years before the Second World War during a time of political upheaval in Germany.The story is of dark family secrets and the rivalry and bitterness between Paul and Jurgen involving the liberated young woman, Alys. Slowly these turn to hatred and the need for revenge.Finally the family secrets and the creation and meaning of the 'emblem' are revealed.This novel has plenty of action and intrigue [...]

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. The Traitor’s Emblem is the latest novel from Spanish writer Juan Gómez-Jurado. The setting is a different European country, as the story follows the lives of two closely-related but feuding German families through the twin horrors of the World Wars.The book opens with a tantalising prologue of a storm at sea in 1940, from which four enigmatic Germans are rescued from drowning. One of the saved – a man with only one eye – imparts a departing gift to their valiant Spani [...]

Hace un par de horas que he terminado de leer "El Emblema del Traidor" y aún estoy conmocionada y emocionada con esta novela, sin ninguna duda, la mejor de las publicadas hasta ahora por Juan Gómez Jurado.Soy una lectora compulsiva, unos libros me gustan más, otros menos, pero a veces, me cuesta encontrar un libro que me toque de verdad el corazón. Hacía muchos meses que no encontraba un libro que me entusiasmara de verdad. Pues bien, este lo ha hecho, y tardaré bastante en olvidarlo.Es un [...]

This had all the potential to be a very good book. Unfortunately, it ended up being merely OK. The story begins with the captain of a Spanish boat rescuing a group of Germans lashed to a raft in a howling storm. In return for saving their lives, the leader of the group gives him an unusual medal that appears to combine Masonic symbols with things definitely unMasonic. The rest of the book is the tale of how that medal came to be and how the German man got it. It is the story of a Munich family i [...]

This is a book that has you on the edge of your seat for the entire storyline. Gomez Jurado does a wonderful job connecting historical facts with fiction. The love story plot it was good, but not perfect. All in all, The Traitor's Emblem is a great novel.

THE TRAITOR’S EMBLEM begins in the Straits of Gibraltar in March, 1940. In the midst of a terrible storm, the crew of the Spanish naval vessel, Esperanza, rescues four German sailors from a life boat. The rescue could have cost Captain Manuel Gonzalez Pereira his life but he couldn’t leave the Germans to die. Agreeing to alter his course, Captain Gonzalez takes the Germans to a point near the coast of Portugal. As a token of his gratitude, the German officer, a man with one eye, leading the [...]

30dediferencia/2015/08/01/Son varios los libros que me he leído de Juan Gómez-Jurado, el último reseñado en este mismo blog hace algún tiempo. No soy demasiado amigo de libros que tienen la masonería como parte de la historia, creo que llegó un momento en que me saturé de ese tipo de historias, pero en este caso se trata más bien de una pequeña excusa que nos va a permitir sumergirnos en una época complicada, la Alemania de entreguerras, el ascenso de la Alemania nazi, la llegada de H [...]

Es el primer libro que leo de este autor, además ha sido éste por sugerencia de él mismo, a través de Twitter. En El emblema del traidor, nos sumergimos en la Alemania entreguerras, el ascenso de la Alemania nazi, cuando Hitler subió al poder, y vivimos la historia de Paul y Alys, dos personas que se enamoran, y que a lo largo de años luchan contra los errores que sus familias cometieron, pero a pesar de todo, acabando juntos. Traiciones, secretos de familia, matrimonios que pretendían se [...]

Yo ya sabía de sobra el buen hacer de Gómez-Jurado a la hora de contar historias. Sin embargo, lo que más agradezco por 'El emblema del traidor' es la genial manera de transportarnos a ese momento histórico. Durante los días que he dedicado a este libro he procurado documentarme yo también sobre el tema y he visto un par de documentales sobre Adolf Hitler, he escuchado algunos podcast sobre el nazismo para intentar comprender mejor la situación y tengo en mente leer algunos libros sobre e [...]

The Traitor’s Emblem is a thoroughly enjoyable novel. It is written really simply and as a result is not a challenge to read the way some novels can be. I like novels that have any kind of link with the social impact of the two world wars and this covers both wars to a certain extent and was done very interestingly. Initially I was not keen on the opening scene as I felt it gave away the fates of some of the characters but actually it is not as simple as I thought. The final scenes were surpri [...]

By the time I got to the last 50 pages of The Traitor's Emblem, I was oddly reluctant to read on. Yes, I was eager to find out what happened next. But I didn't want the journey to end. The story is thrilling and believable, kept to a human scale. I wish Gomez-Jurado had spent more time describing Paul's growing realization, and how the search for his father's murderer did it changed him. The author is deft in bringing even minor characters to life with a few vivid strokes. It is a pleasure to se [...]

En una sola palabra ¡ESPECTACULAR!Juan Gómez-Jurado ya me cautivó con "La Leyenda del Ladrón" y esta no se queda atrás ni mucho menos. ¡Qué me ha encantado se queda corto! Que haya una historia real detrás es lo que más me ha gustado. Si alguien quiere ampliar información:Video(1/3): dailymotion/video/x8muVideo(2/3): dailymotion/video/x8n2Video (3/3) dailymotion/video/x8n2

Too late. Sale's over. $8.99 now, so I hope you picked this up if you wanted it.**********************************Now half off for Kindle, this book is only $3.49. I've not read it (yet), but it's been on my TBR forever and now I don't have to smudge my hardcover! Get your copy here.

Increíble! Súper recomendable

Fun to read! A work of fiction that created enough intrigue to make me look up some facts. The writer was able to really paint a visual image of that difficult times - very entertaining!

Con una buena historia y un marco histórico muy interesante ha conseguido Gómez-Jurado elaborar un libro de los que atrapan desde las primeras páginas.El autor además ha trazado la historia de tal manera que no deja ningún fleco suelto y tampoco incurre en demasiados hechos “de los que no hay quien se crea”, construyendo una novela redonda, con un ritmo que se mantiene constante.Los personajes están bien dibujados aunque echo de menos un poco más de profundidad en sus personalidades, [...]

A novel of revenge, betrayal, and love, a good heir to Alexandre Dumas. Paul Reiner and his mother, Ilse, live in Baron von Schroeder’s home in Munich as servants. Ilse is the Baroness Brunhilda’s sister and the Reiner’s are dependent on Brunhilda’s generosity, what little there is of it. There is little of the baron’s fortune left in the wake of his gambling and that does not change the way Paul’s cousin Jürgen treats Ilse and Paul. Jürgen is a petty tyrant and a coward and vents [...]

My final opinion on this book is "meh".When I read a book, I hope be drawn in to the characters-- to see them molded and feel the depth of their personalities, fears, and motivators. I was sorely disappointed in this area. The characters were cliche, their situation predictable, their outcome mediocre. All sense of moral consciousness was nonexistant. Selfishness was rampant, momentarily forgotten in fits of empassioned love that had seemingly no place.The storyline was interesting enough, but n [...]

Efectivamente se trata del mejor libro, hasta ahora, de Juan Gómez Jurado.Una novela que, como sus predecesoras, te engancha desde las primeras páginas. Una historia que ocurre en una de las épocas más interesantes de la historia reciente de Europa, la Alemania de entre guerras. Con unos personajes brillantes y un protagonista que te conmueve. A medida que avanza la historia es espeluznante ver de qué manera se hicieron con el poder en Alemania los nazis. Novela donde encuentras traiciones, [...]

This fascinating story deals with life in Germany between the wars following the fortunes of some fundamentally decent people as they struggle with the moral and physical difficulties of survival in a system increasingly distorted by violence, sectarianism and hatred.The main characters are well drawn and involving; the plot is fast-paced – I thoroughly enjoyed this book and welcomed the peripheral insights into Masonic beliefs and practices. I was surprised by the denouement, I hadn’t expec [...]

I really enjoyed this story, liked the characters of Peter and Aliya. Peter attempts to find out the truth behind his father's death against the backdrop of Germany's terrible economy after World War I and the beginning rise of Hitler and his SS. World history takes the back seat in this novel, though the book is based on the actual fact of the Traitor's Emblem, the main story is Peters. Fast read and a plot that keeps moving makes this book worth reading.

Reads like a literary classic with surprising depth and nuance. And at times, the narrative has a flavor of Ken Follett and maybe Carlos Ruiz Zafon -without all the esoteric mumbo-jumbo-. It's not your simplistic, mindless, summer action plot, but a coming-of-age journey with substance, history, and style. I would give this 4 and 1/2 stars. A deeply satisfying and compulsive page turner.

I felt like this book was uneven; parts of it were extremely thrilling and kept my interest, while other parts sort of just meandered along. Paul is a young kid in post-WWI Germany, living at his aunt and uncle's house, as they've been afraid to kick Paul and his mom out because of some secret only she knows. After Paul discovers that his dad was not killed in a shipwreck years ago, as he's been led to believe, he and his mom are thrown out and have to start making a future for themselves. Paul' [...]

Gomez-Jurado brings us a ripping good yarn that thrusts in the streets of Munich as Hitler and the Nazis come to power. Lines are drawn and crossed, not just by tradesmen and racial divisions, but in families and lies their feuds uncover. We are introduced to a less familiar field than many have discovered previously. As well documented as the crimes of terror imposed on Jews, homosexuals and the mentally impaired, less was known, or at least to me anyway, about the Nazi’s pursuits of the Free [...]

The Straits of Gibraltar, 1940. In the heart of a storm at sea, Captain González rescues a group of German castaways. When the torrent subsides, the leader of the survivors gratefully offers the captain a strange-looking emblem made of gold and diamonds, in exchange for safe passage to the coast of Portugal. Decades later, in 2002, the son of captain González receives a substantial offer for the emblem. He does not sell it, but the buyer reveals an astounding story behind that mysterious objec [...]

I felt the book was very much like an Edward Rutherfurd or Follet (in Fall of Giants), in its inter-generational nature. While it took place mainly within Alys and Paul's life, there was some stretch added to the timeline. I enjoyed it, especially with the NIZA Germany backdrop, but would not call it stellar, as the two aforementioned authors tend to have their works labelled.The story keeps a good interest from start to end. I am used to the usually Hitler is good, rah rah, or Hitler is bad, bo [...]