Rating: 
Summary: The Key To Rebecca = The Key To A Thrilling Suspenseful Read
Review: "The Key To Rebecca" is one of Ken Follett's most exciting suspense-thrillers. This novel has all the essential ingredients for an "unputdownable" read.The novel opens in 1942. World War II is raging, and German Field Marshall Erwin Rommel is having success after success with his Afrika Corps. The Nazis are planning to invade Cairo. The British are hunkering down, and doing everything possible to thwart the invasion. Rommel desperately needs access to British intelligence from their Headquarters in Cairo, in order to ensure his plan's outcome. So Rommel sends a master spy into British occupied Egypt. The spy, known only as the "Sphinx," covertly enters the country, and with a few mishaps, makes his way to Cairo. He has with him a radio, a code to transmit the information secretly, based on Daphne Du Maurier's book "Rebecca," and a piece of paper with the key to the code. Having spent much of his childhood in Cairo, the German-born spy, knows the city, language and many of its inhabitants well. The Sphinx's task is not as easily accomplished as he once imagined. A British officer, Major Van Damme, with whom he shared past adversarial encounters, is soon on to him - and after him. Enter a beautiful Egyptian Jewess, Elene, who Van Damme wants to use as bait to capture the Nazi spy. Sparks fly between Van Damme and Elene from their first meeting, making it difficult for him to send her into danger. The cast also includes a famous, erotic, and somewhat depraved, belly dancer. The main plot, although complex, is very realistic and reads smoothly. The various subplots are fascinating, and are often related to historical fact, such as the Egyptian Free Officers Movement's plot to subvert the British. This group of officers, headed by Gamal Abdul Nassar, and Anwar el-Sadat, plan to secretly side with the Germans, in order to rid Egypt of Britain's presence. They strategize to exchange their support - (thus Egypt's support), and throw in their cards with the Nazis, for postwar freedom for their country. Ken Follett is a master at creating lifelike characters. All of the book's characters have their own past history, baggage and inner conflicts - and their own dreams and plans for the future. There is not a one-dimensional figure in the novel, even with the minor characters. The novel moves at an incredible pace, ending in an unbelievable, and mortally dangerous chase through the desert. Hold on to your seats for this one. I highly recommend "The Key To Rebecca," and would have given it 4 1/2 stars, but that option is not open to me. I do like Follets "Pillars Of The Earth" and "Eye Of The Needle," more - which decided me on 4 stars. Still, this is a thoroughly enjoyable and well written book.
Rating:
Summary: Engaging and fast-paced.
Review:
In this story an English Intelligence Officer tracks down a german spy in Cairo during WWII. The story is well-written and engaging with a lot of good description regarding military procedures and intelligence practices. The characters are well developed for this type of novel and the story moves fast. The only thing I didn't like (warning - ** spoilers **) was that at the end the confrontation between the Brittish officer and the spy was somewhat anticlimatic. But all in all it was a good spy story and a quick read!
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Summary: A fantastic book.
Review: A thrilling ride. One of the best books I've read recently. A great combination of history, romance, suspense, and intrigue.
Rating:
Summary: GREAT
Review: As a german you get fed up with books about the second worldwar. but this book is great to read and very well done
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Summary: must read
Review: great characters, wonderful setting. I've read nearly all his books and this was by far my most loved.
Rating:
Summary: another good follett, one of the better
Review: great story and character feel. i really couldn't put it dow it had everything i like in a book: suspense, a great story and in effect a few hours lolling around with my imagination and a great read.
Rating:
Summary: another good follett, one of the better
Review: great story and character feel. i really couldn't put it dow it had everything i like in a book: suspense, a great story and in effect a few hours lolling around with my imagination and a great read.
Rating: 
Summary: Sleazy and unbearable
Review: Having read 'Eye of the Needle', 'Pillars of the Earth' and 'Hornet Flight' earlier and having thouroughly enjoyed them, I had enormous expectations from this book. To say that I was disappointed with it would be an understatement. Its supposed to be a spy-hunt set during WW2, but the neither the tension nor the enormity of the situation is actually established. And in some places, the book is so childish that is sounds more like a Hardy Boys mystery.
Examples: The spy is an extremely intelligent person who plans all his moves. Once he's made his move, the officer on his trail (Vandam) is Einstein reborn because he guesses the intent behind each of the spy's moves within the blink of an eye. Not just once or twice, but throughout the length of the book.
Add to it the sleazy, over-the-top love stories (if one may call them that) which leave you disgusted. In some instances, Follett's obsession with sex comes out stronger than the plot itself.
The book seems to go on, and at a point, you want it to end. And when the end does come, its absolutely pathetic. By that time, you neither feel malice towards the spy nor sympathy towards the the officer. What you do feel is a sense of relief that the book is over.
I agree with the reader who called this book a bunch of crap. It is. And its hard to believe its been written by the same guy who wrote 'Eye of the Needle' and 'Pillars of the Earth'. Highly unrecommended.
Rating: 
Summary: A Big Disappointment from a great author
Review: Having read and LOVED "Eye of the Needle", I was all too ready to embrace another one of Follet's acclaimed spy thrillers. Unfortunately, "Key to Rebecca" reads like a cheap romance novel. True, the espionage details are very-well crafted, and the chase scenes are nail-biting. But at the heart of the novel is a love story so soppy that it drivels through your fingers; not to mention that it's a yawning rip-off of Hitchcock's "Notorious". When unforgivable dialogue like that is tossed around it ruins the whole experience. Not to mention that the two most awaited sensual scenes are delivered in a hokey dialogue sequence and an anti-climax. (Re)read "Eye of the Needle" to see how it's really done.
Rating:
Summary: Another Follett Gem
Review: I have become an avid fan of anything Ken Follet writes because I never know where his words will take me in time and space. I am not a military enthusiast by any means, but this novel set during WWII captured all my attention. Follett's Character development is second to none; it is very easy to visualize each person in the novel, especially Alex.
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