Reviewed by Grant Leishman for Readers' Favorite

El Coronel: Book Two of the Medium Series takes us inside the old conspiracy theory that perhaps the Third Reich isn’t truly over and somewhere in South America lurks the beginnings of a new atrocity ready to be foisted upon the world in the form of the Fourth Reich. Author Jerry Gundersheimer continues the story of medium Brody Whittaker and his lovely daughter Abby. Abby has been kidnapped by a ruthless child-trafficking ring spearheaded by one of Dr. Mengele’s closest allies and partners from the horrific experiences of the death camp of Auschwitz. Nonagenarian Irving Crossman knows all about Auschwitz – he lived it and he was one of the few survivors, along with his recently departed wife, Marie. Whether motivated by survivor guilt or not, Irv had spent his life tracking down and capturing Nazi war criminals. When it becomes apparent that it is probably the evil Ernst Claussen (El Coronel) who has kidnapped his darling Abby, Brody and Irv’s grandson Aaron, an Israeli special forces commando, set out to recover Abby, capture Claussen and destroy the burgeoning Fourth Reich but they will face strong opposition and some very unexpected assistance along the way.

Author Jerry Gundersheimer takes the reader on a non-stop adventure ride that is packed with thrills and spills. At times, the narrative reads like a James Bond movie and some of the “stunts” perhaps stretch the bounds of probability but, as a satisfying adventure read, this story cannot be faulted. The two main characters, Brody and Abby, are both delightfully drawn and I was especially pleased that Brody, despite the obvious advantages his “gift” of seeing spirits and communicating with them, is still a humble man, fraught with his own weaknesses and failures. I particularly enjoyed the childish naivete of Abby's character as she began to come to terms with the realization that she had inherited her father’s abilities and perhaps even more than him. Clearly, this is a long-term series built around these characters and this is book number two in the series. I haven’t read book one and it is in no way necessary to do so before reading this – it stands alone as its own stunning adventure story. The greatest compliment I can give is that reading this work has inspired me to read the first book in the series and to look forward to the next adventure of these characters. I can highly recommend this read, especially for all the action junkies out there – this story has action in spades.