Welcome
to the
World of Dathan Charles
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Welcome to the World of Dathan Charles |
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Reviews
"It is, quite simply, the best book I have ever read." - Teacher, Elizabeth Smith, Sauquoit, NYS, USA "It's a work of genius." - Newspaper & Radio Station Proprietor, Joe O'Connor, Dublin, Ireland "It's a classic, right up there with Puzo, Chandler, Eco and the best of the rest." - Publisher, Richard Fitt, Bedford, UK |
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Reviews "I wasn't going to start until after Christmas but did and couldn't put it down.The breadth of knowledge is fantastic. It makes for a wonderful book." - Company Director, Bob Merkert, Voorhees, NJ, USA "At times the suspense is overwhelming, you won't want to put the book down. Lovers of mystery, intrigue and deep abiding love, will queue for this story. MOVIE DIRECTORS - Look no further for your next blockbuster." - Author, Wendy Anne Lake, Kent, UK |
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The Lebanon Daily Record, Missouri, USA DATHAN CHARLES, the heroine, is on her first visit to Germany. It is late 1934, and she is visiting her uncle and aunt who are with the diplomatic corps from England. She meets Reinhart Heydrich, the SS officer who later becomes instrumental in the Final Solution and who is assassinated by Czech partisans in 1942, bringing about the annihilation of the entire local village by the SS. Dathan is flattered by Heydrich's attention, and, even though she believes she's strong enough to resist him, she succumbs to his strong personality. In 1934 Germany, Jews were already feeling reprisals from the likes of Heydrich. Dathan's friend from art school, Rudi Stein, is staying with his Jewish parents in Berlin. Heydrich finds out about Dathan's association with the Steins and as a result brutalizes her, in an attempt to more fully control her. Because of this, Dathan vows to never against trust another man, but only to use them to her own advantage. In this regard, she is mostly successful. By early 1935, Dathan and Rudi are both in New York, ready to go their separate ways. Dathan is driven to succeed in business. She has a plan for her life. She believes herself to be independent and is determined almost to the point of self-destruction to see her plan through. Meanwhile, Dathan has attracted the attention of Gregory Capeto, a notorious gangster. It doesn't take long for her to fall madly in love with him. This offers her business protection but adds another layer of complications to her life. In her business she treats her employees more than fairly but with others she is ruthless - her business comes first - even to the point of actual murder. The story is complex, with new twists coming along at a rapid rate, and is fascinating. However, if the book were to be rated as movies are, it would definitely receive an R-rating in all the categories. …..Murray & Maureen Darby . Historical Romance Writers of America Setting: Global; New York City, Germany, England, Spain and Italy, Period: 1934-1994 This title was difficult to classify as it is romance and history, but it is also mystery, suspense, politics and international intrigue. Reminiscent of the writing style of author Howard Fast (particularly MAX and THE IMMIGRANTS series), this novel is a fast-paced, vivid and sometimes intense adventure through the history books. Title character, DATHAN CHARLES, is a woman before her time. Her larger than life personality, combined with a unique blend of strong family (and political ties), artistic talent, creative ingenuity, instinct for self-preservation and determination stands out brightly against the backdrop of the years immediately preceding the German/Jewish holocaust and America's entry into WWII. From their first encounter on a New York sidewalk, the romance that develops between British born Dathan Charles and American gangster, Gregory Capeto, is charged with sexual tension and emotional possession. Throughout the years of their courting relationship and into years of marriage, they are riddled with dozens of obstacles that threaten to tear them apart, including a 10 year prison term for a crime never committed, questionable national and political alliances, obsessive jealousy and mental breakdowns - all of which must be overcome before they can be together and seek a measure of peace. The character development and growth of these unlikely soul mates, who are truly obsessed, is just one element of this fascinating story, and leaves the reader with the impressions of both having deeply ingrained personal convictions, commitment to their causes, extreme loyalty to loved one - and at times, a complete lack of common sense - which some may interpret as "courage". Secondary characters are as distinctly drawn as the leads, lending a believable structure to the whole, even while seeming unimaginable. The author's knowledge of artistry (painting) and the depth of emotional input, dedication and creation are remarkable, and noted arts are easily visualized in the reading. The historical settings are on the mark and true to the historical documentation as I know it, related in vivid and accurate descriptions of the period from the beginnings of the Jewish renouncement in Germany, to the speak-easy clubbing establishments of early America following years of Prohibition. On sensuality, I must note that the sexual intimacies in this book vary in a broad range from extremely sensual, cruel and occasionally explicit to moderately violent. Reader discretion is advised. Closing Comment: I want to see "Calvary" - real or imagined, the detailed description of this particular work of art and it's creation is so vividly depicted that it has stayed with me long after the reading. …..Deb Moores Barnes & Noble Reviews
Consequences take her to New York with Rudi where she battles to open a business. Quickly successful, it attracts the attention of the underworld who expect her to pay ‘protection'. For Dathan, this is a red rag to a bull and she deals with the problem, cleanly and permanently whilst falling in love with ex-gangster Gregory Capeto. Forming a partnership with him and his partner David Lazarus to launder cash from their illegal activities, unbeknown to them, through her father Sebastian, it's dispersed throughout the world. To say more about this would spoil part of the plot. Suffice, it's brilliant and blackly comic. Gregory goes to jail for 10 years, having been framed, but put away for other crimes it's believed he's committed. Dathan has his son Valentine, then concentrates on work. The Steins, still in Germany, are part of a network to rescue 'enemies of the Reich'. They disappear and Rudi asks her to find them and get them out. A second encounter with the now General Heydrich ends in fleeing Germany and a murder charge. She returns to New York and just prior to World War Two creates a company, the foundation of an eventual international conglomerate. Her association with Capeto and Lazarus has always created suspicion and she expects a day of reckoning with Treasury and the Justice Department. She has a lot to hide. After WW2 Gregory is released and they have another child, Jessica. She is kidnapped and her nurse murdered to force Gregory to finance a drugs deal. He asks for help from some of his old associates and they refuse, he and Lazarus get Jessica back but a lot of blood is shed. Dathan says little or nothing but adds the Mafia to her revenge list. Unobtrusively, she's been collecting information for years, latterly aided and abetted by Col Colcannon and Sha'alazar, then Bill McKenzie. You need to read the book to know their place in it. Although the battleground is chosen by the Department of Justice in New York, a court in Pearl Street, Dathan has an Armory of weapons which she uses to stop dead any enquiries into her conglomerate, D.C.I.. The war is being fought on three fronts, the anti-trust laws, her links to the Mafia and her relationship with Edward Charles, who is suspected of spying for the Russians. This is set in the early days of McCarthyism and attempts to create an enquiry into organised crime of which Kefauver was the later result. The court is left in disarray and she exposes in print the corruption in the legal system and City Hall in New York. She publishes nothing about the Mafia having a special form of retaliation in mind. This is just the bare bones of some of the plot. There is so much else intricately and subtlety woven into the fabric of the text, not least the murder of Stephen, her twin, in Spain in 1936. If you flip two pages by mistake, you'll lose some threads. The book takes the story to the end of Dathan's life in 1994 ending with her legacy. There are obviously at least two more books in this series based on Sha'alazar and Chandros Parker. Where can I get them? Are they in print? Amazon Reviews Where has this author been all my life? A brilliant and intelligent book. human, serious, flippant, romantic, comic, written with a real knowledge of the events and places. In Dathan Charles, the author has created a larger than life character, who leaps from the pages with joi de vivre, deviousness, loyalty and an iron determination not to allow her business, family and friends be destroyed by any organization, good or bad. Her greatest asset is her ability to keep silent. "She's so secretive, she doesn't even talk to herself", sums up her prime tactic and her philosophy,"Justice,! Government,! the Mafia, there's them and us!" The author knows her stuff on the period and the psychological aspects ring true. The reactions described after the rape scene are atypical of a victim as are those of someone recovering their memory afer injury, rationalising sexual sadism, or homosexuality. Each are treated with sensitivity and understanding, without crudity. This is not sex and incident for the sake of it, each event is integral to the plot. The panoply of all virtues and vices which everyone has make you want to laugh and cry. Either Dione M. Coumbe is an ace researcher or her insights come from personal experience. A really terrific fast paced read, I could not, and did not, put it down. Prepare to devote an entire weekend to an extraordinary new novel written by Dione M. Coumbe. Through over 300 pages of mystery, intrigue and compelling action, Coumbe chronicles the life and times of Dathan Charles, the charming, beautiful, devious, always ingenious tycoon phenomena of a huge international business empire. Crossing the ocean from England at the age of 21, just before the outbreak of WWII, Dathan Charles begins her odyssey by opening a small bridal gown emporium with her own, made-to-order designs. Coumbe hereby sets the stage for the herione's rise to head Dathan Charles International. But on the way to that goal lies a world of amazing business acumen, thrilling adventures involving the Nazi SS and the flight of the Jews from Germany, maneuvers in high finance, intrigue in gangland NYC and wonderful piano concertos which fairly waft among the pages. Behind all this is yet another facet, the world of art and the artists who mingle in Dathan Charles' life. Coumbe has brought together an absorbing cast of characters, each wonderfully rounded and complete in themselves, yet interdependent and integral to the heroine. Coumbe, as a historian and genealogist in her own right, follows the history of pre WWII to the mid 90s in this country, England and Europe, allowing the reader to visualize how each character is a product of history and their own family trees. The weaving of this web is so deft that one is amazed at how smoothly it all comes together. A risky flight from the SS, a chilling gangland shoot-out, financial finagling of the highest order, romance which warms the heart, fashion, art and music all surround and intermingle with the international cast. This is a heart warming, heart rending, heart stopping story, one guaranteed to fascinate, captivate and dominate the reader. Coumbe, already a published author, has come on the fiction stage with a truly distinctive concept and a wonderfully unique and thrilling reading experience.
A friend recommended Dathan Charles to me as an antidote to the many formula style books on the market now. Wasn't that the truth! Warned in advance, I settled down in my most comfortable chair, put a full bottle on the table beside me with a large glass and set out to be entertained. The following morning I finished the book and the bottle. During that night I was transported to another time and place filled with characters, good and evil, so real they were like family. When you enter the world of Dathan Charles, you encounter a rich tapestry of very human beings playing out their lives against a background of international business, organised crime and world events. It is by turn a thriller, a mystery, a romance as the twists in the multi-layered life of Dathan Charles unfold. Born into a very old English landed family, falling foul of the Nazi regime in the early thirties, Dathan goes to New York to avoid repercussions. There she attempts to build her business which is popular one with organised crime. Lethally dealing with the opposition, she falls in love and into a business arrangement to launder money with an ex-gangster and his partner. With her lover in jail for ten years, Dathan dedicates her life to her business to find she now has various government agencies determined to ruin her because of her connections. On the other side of the Atlantic, her problems come from the nefarious activities of her family. To her fury both are drawn together during WW2 when British Intelligence start sharing information with their American counterparts. Eventually, in 1948, she is forced to devise a scheme to bring all her adversaries down at the same time, by exposing them and diverting them into fighting each other. By introducing real life characters and events, with historical accuracy, the narrative seamlessly draws together all the threads of Dathan's life in such a way, it's hard to believe she herself is a figment of the author's imagination. I wondered, laughed and cried as the many plots unfolded and finished the book with regret. Soon I'll read it again for the sheer pleasure of walking around the "labyrinthine mind" of Dathan Charles and picking up what I missed the first time. I hope to there's going to be more books about the de Charles family, this author is brilliant. |
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A
reviewer (veryangrymuppet@hotmail.com). New Archetype for the 'Femme Fatale'
SEX, DEATH, LOVE, CRIME, and REDEMPTION. Enigmatic does not begin to describe
this outspoken, tenacious, and even dangerous new author. With her first
novel 'DATHAN CHARLES', Ms. Coumbe blends her own life with historical
episodes to create a Heroine that breaks down all barriers of the expected
conventions for a 'Proper English Lady'. Blending history and fiction,
in a such a way you will be pulling out an exyclopedia to try and find
out who is real and who is not.