New York Times best-selling author David L. Robbins has entrenched himself as the master of the World War II novel. Telling the gripping story of the 1945 rescue of allied prisoners from the Los Bas camp near Manila, Broken Jewel received tremendous critical acclaim, including starred reviews from Library Journal and Kirkus Reviews. 2009 David L. Robbins; 2010 Recorded Books, LLC
What the Critics Say
Robbins's ninth novel, the best WWII Pacific campaign novel in a long time, tells the dramatic story of the 1945 rescue of 2,100 American and allied prisoners from the Los Bas camp near Manila. Middle-aged gambler Remy Tuck and his teenage son, Talbot, have been civilian prisoners since the Philippines fell to the Japanese in 1942. Packed into the miserable Los Bas, where the Japanese starve, beat, abuse and murder the prisoners, Remy and Talbot use their wits and courage to survive. Across the camp, Carmen is a young Filipina woman forced to be a sex slave for Japanese soldiers. She and Talbot forge a relationship via long-distance glances through barbed wire. Once the Americans invade the Philippines and plan a daring mission to rescue the prisoners from certain death, Remy, Talbot and Carmen risk their lives to aid the paratroopers coming to their rescue, though bad luck, homicidal guards and stray bullets nearly do them in. This is a terrific story of the triumph of the human spirit, loaded with suspense, historical accuracy and fast-paced action.