The Good Assassin

Stephan Talty's fast-paced account of how Herbert Cukurs was brought to justice by Mossad operatives in 1965. Cukurs was a member of the Arajs Kommando. Involved in the mass murder of Latvian Jews as part of the Holocaust, he never stood trial. This was despite many eyewitness accounts linking him to war crimes.

Talty mines archival records for vivid details. Then tracks the complexities of Mossad's undercover mission with flair. The result is a captivating and gruesome real-life spy thriller. This is as gripping as any novel. The details of Cukurs' horrific crimes are hard to read. But the outcome is both moving and uplifting. His demise helped to bring other culprits of genocide to justice.