The Accidental Agent

Starred review from June 13, 2016
Rosenheim’s outstanding third Jimmy Nessheim novel (following 2013’s The Little Tokyo Informant) combines a crackerjack plot and multiple nuanced characters with a convincing portrayal of WWII America. Nessheim has left his life as an FBI agent behind to pursue his law studies in Chicago, but his mentor and friend, Harry Guttman, pulls him back into the world of espionage. Gen. Leslie Groves, who has just been placed in charge of what will become known as the Manhattan Project, fears that Nazis have infiltrated the Chicago location of the enterprise. Groves wants Nessheim to go undercover, an assignment that’s even more high-risk given that it’s to be a secret even from FBI director J. Edgar Hoover. The operative, who’s bored by law school, is soon working with scientist Enrico Fermi to identify any security weaknesses at the huge laboratory, which is located at an unused football stadium. The dramatic twists work to propel the plot to a powerful and moving conclusion. Fans of Joseph Kanon’s thrillers of the same period will find a lot to like. Agent: Gillon Aitken, Aitken Alexander Associates.