The Good Assassin: How a Mossad Agent and a Band of Survivors Hunted Down the Butcher of Latvia

By Stephan Talty

Inspiration for the hit new podcast "Hunting the Butcher"

The untold story of an Israeli spy’s epic journey to bring the notorious Butcher of Latvia to justice—a case that altered the fates of all ex-Nazis.

Before World War II, Herbert Cukurs was a famous figure in his small Latvian city, the “Charles Lindbergh of his country”. But he was soon better known as the Butcher of Latvia, a man who murdered some thirty thousand Jews. By 1965, a statute of limitations on Nazi war crimes threatened to expire, potentially absolving ex-Nazis like Cukurs of their crimes. Jacob Medad, the misfit Mossad agent who had previously kidnapped Adolf Eichmann, knew if Cukurs was not captured soon, he may never be brought to justice. In a thrilling undercover operation, Medad traveled to Cukurs’ new home in Brazil in an elaborate disguise, befriended him, and earned his trust, while negotiations to extend Nazi innocence neared a boiling point.

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Release date: Apr 21, 2020
• ISBN: 9781328618856

Stephan Talty

Stephan Talty is the New York Times bestselling author of The Black Hand, The Good Assassin, Agent Garbo, and A Captain’s Duty. His books have been made into two films, the Oscar-winning Captain Phillips and Only the Brave. He’s written for publications including the New York Times Magazine, GQ, and Playboy. He lives outside New York City with his family.

Reviews for The Good Assassin

[ikeman100 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Very good book. Little has been published in English about this small country and how it was affected by WWII. This book contains many tales which will be new to most readers. It is a wealth of information.There is interesting information about the history of Latvian aviation and their own version of Charles Linbergh. How the country was invaded by both Russia and Germany. What happened to Latvian Jews. How the Nation of Israel hunted down former NAZI mass murderers. And finally how Germany changed their law to allow continued prosecution of these NAZIs in 1965.