From Publishers Weekly This absorbing first novel， which skillfully evokes life in the '30s and '40s， is the story of a woman who loses her ideals and her love to the ravages of WW II in Nazi Germany. After the war， American army lieutenant Sally Jackson， 33， has returned to her former home in Berlin as part of a special military intelligence unit assigned to analyze photographic evidence of Nazi war crimes. While committed to her job， Sally is afraid of the past; she flinches from thoughts of her German husband whom she left 12 years earlier， and her connections with Nazi brass. But a confrontation with memory is inevitable， and Abbott allows Sally a long first-person flashback to 1933. A Nazi commander's obsession with sex and power corrupts her husband， Christian， turning the sensitive but insecure man into a killing machine and destroying the marriage. As the narrative returns to 1946， Sally breaks through her defenses and takes action to locate Christian. Protracted and melodramatic recollections and a few stereotypical characters detract only slightly from this fascinating psychological drama. 125，000 first printing; $125，000 ad/promo. Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information， Inc. From School Library Journal YA-- At first， The Last Innocent Hour appears to tell merely a beautiful love story overlaid with a patina of sadness and pathos. However， the novel evolves into a powerfully moving tale of the realities of World War II. The book begins after the war when Sally Jackson， now in a special army unit designed to study photographs of Nazis and war crimes， returns to Berlin. Flashbacks reveal how her idyllic life there slowly turned into the horrors of Nazi Germany. Naively marrying her handsome childhood sweetheart， Christian， an S. S. officer， she was drawn into a maelstrom of parties， decadence， and intrigue that finally resulted in absolute terror for her. She escaped (barely) and now， 12 years later， faces the haunting fear that Christian might still be alive. Her fears become reality， and， in the end， instigate the shattering climax of the novel. A deeply meaningful， riveting story of love， evil， loss， and finally redemption， this book will be appreciated by a diverse cross section of readers. --Bunni Union， Young Adult Services， Geauga West Library， OHCopyright 1992 Reed Business Information， Inc. See all Editorial Reviews