Captain Jake Rogers Liberty Ship sunk in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean with German U-boats abundant in the area. Luckily he and several crew members were rescued by an Irish freighter and brought to Limerick. While walking the docks hoping to find out the fate of other crew members, the 'chai' pendant he is wearing attracts the attention of a sailor who asks if he's Jewish. Rogers say no, that a friend from Amsterdam gave it to him. The sailor tells him all the Amsterdam Jews were rounded up and sent to concentration camps. Rogers asks about his girl friend, Miriam's father, who he learns is in a concentration camp outside of Amsterdam. Rogers vows to rescue him and devises a successful plan. He also learns that Miriam, who he brought to Palestine in the previous book in the series, has returned to Europe and has been jailed. He wants to save her as well.

While Miller give a good historical sense as he describes cities and buildings and German and Resistance organizations, this history is totally marred by the ease with which Rogers and his small group of sailors constantly and seemingly easily outwit the Germans and other Axis supporters. It makes it seem that people could easily escape from concentration camps (which they couldn't), bounty hunters, Axis supporters and most of all, the Germans.

I don't feel that I can recommend this book to anyone.

Very absorbing spy story, set in the days of WWII and based on actual historical events. Several well known names from those difficult days in Europe appear in the story, and their exploits have been well researched.
Although this book continues the exploits of Jake Rogers, it isn't necessary to have read the previous book to enjoy this one.
On a secretive trip to occupied Holland, to rescue a man he knows from a potential trip to a death camp, Rogers discovers that a woman very important to him has returned to occupied Europe from a safe harbor in another country.
Rogers and his crew experience and endure one setback after another, from a harrowing shipwreck to potential discovery as they execute their recovery mission.
An excellent choice for readers who enjoy a good adventure story!
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance copy.

I had not read John Winn Miller’s first book and had no idea that this book is considered a sequel as it doesn’t refer to the first book.

I choose this book because it was about WWII. The book is a quick read, it is action packed and gives the reader a terrifying view of what it was like to be in Europe and on the run from the Nazis.

Our hero, Captain Jake Rogers, is leaving the US on the latest cargo ship and bound for Europe. His ship unfortunately breaks apart in the middle of the ocean and he struggles to rescue all his men. His ship was one of the new ones build specially during the war, and they had structural problems. He eventually makes his way to Ireland. While in Ireland, he hears that the Dutch arrested the father of the women he is in love with, and they are putting him in a Dutch concentration camp. He knows he must act.

The book is terrifyingly real, and we are kept on the end of our seats to see who is going to be alive as the book is a cat and mouse game to dodge the Nazi’s, their many collaborators and get to a safe place.

There is lots of action and it is certainly suspenseful and well researched. There is even information about the IRA and their role during the war. These details make you want to read this book and it I did fact check some details and it checks out!

This was a harrowing story about life in Europe in World War II. Those of us in this century have no concept of what it must have been for people who lived under the Nazis. The story revolves around a liberty ship captain that is determined to rescue a friend , who was the father of his lover , from a Nazi "work" camp. Then, when he discovered that Miriam, who he thought was safe in Palestine, had returned to Europe and was in danger, he included her in his rescue mission. There were some nail biting moments as their story progressed. The narrative was based on the actions of real people, and I appreciated the historical notes and knowing what actually happened to them. A caution--the descriptive prose was well done, but the dialogue was a bit awkward. Thanks to NetGalley for an arc and no pressure for a positive review.

Thanks to NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book for review purposes.

This was a fantastic book! The author did a wonderful job researching each situation and bringing historical context into this story. This book has lots of twists and turns and keeps you on the edge of your seat the entire book. The characters are very well developed and flow well in the historical context of the book. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who loves history, along with anyone who loves action, thrillers, or crime novels. This book can be read as a standalone, but I will be going back to read the previous book in this series. This would make for a great tv series or movie.

Thanks to NetGalley and Bancroft Press for this advance reader’s copy, in exchange for an honest review. “Rescue Run” is scheduled for publication on March 4, 2025.
And you can find all of my reviews on my blog site, Raised on Reading (www.raisedonreading.com).
“Rescue Run” is the sequel to author John Winn Miller’s “The Hunt for the Peggy C”, and features the exploits of Capt. Jake Rogers. He’s now the commander of a U.S. Liberty ship in the North Atlantic during World War II. But when his ship is destroyed, he and his crew end up in Ireland where he learns the Nazis have arrested Solomen Maduro, the father of the love of his life, Miriam.
Thus begins an exhausting trek from Ireland to Amsterdam, throughout Brussels and France, and eventually ending in Spain. I say exhausting because the journey to safety seems to never end. And somehow Capt. Rogers, his small band of crewmen, the rescued Maduro, and his daughter Miriam, manage to elude the Nazis and everyone else looking for them.
And that seems a bit unrealistic. Every time they clear one hurdle and appear to reach their goal, there’s another roadblock. Another setback. It made me wonder, how many lives do these people have?
Oh, and if things weren’t challenging enough, at one point our band of heroes have to protect and also transport six children of varying ages. And somehow they do all of this completely unnoticed by the authorities? A bit unrealistic.
Of course, with all the new roadblocks that crop up there are some interesting plot twists that are not necessarily shocking, and you may even see them coming. But they at least keep the story moving at a decent pace.
I didn’t read the first book in the Capt. Rogers saga, and you don’t have to in order to understand what is happening in “Rescue Run.” But I did come away with a strong feeling that Rogers was cultivated (or could have been cultivated) from an Indiana Jones model. A youthful Harrison Ford could easily slip into the role.
Without giving anything away, there’s a provocative ending (that also shouldn’t come as a complete surprise), and clearly paves the way for a third installment in the series.
“Rescue Run” has its moments, and some of the characters are drawn from history, so it’s also interesting and informative. There are just too many spots where the narrative borders on the unbelievable.

RESCUE RUN by JOHN WINN MILLER is an exciting, suspenseful, well researched and documented historical novel that I just could not put down. Although it is the second book in The Peggy C. Saga it can easily stand alone. The author’s true to life descriptions of what went on in Europe during the second world war, the Nazis’ horrific treatment of the Jews and other prisoners, and the double crossing that was rife is well described.
Following Captain Jake Rogers and the three members of his crew, as they get his Jewish girlfriend Miriam Maduro out of prison after helping her father escape from Westerbork camp, and then their escape through Europe, is nailbiting suspense, especially as things are not always as they seem and bounty hunters and spies are everywhere.
I like the references to the Old Testament and the author’s obvious respect for the Jews, and the strength, courage and commitment of Rogers and his group, together with that of those who helped them on their journey.
I highly recommend this most interesting and inspirational read.
I was given a free copy of the book by NetGalley from Bancroft Press. The opinions in this review are completely my own.

What an assignment! Sneak an important Jewish businessman out of a Nazi prison camp. And, do it in such a way that the Nazis don't know he's gone and won't take reprisals on other prisoners. Simple.

For Jake Rogers, the stakes are even higher. The man he's supposed to rescue is the father of the love of his life, Miriam. The two met when Jake smuggled Miriam and several others out of Europe spiriting them to Palestine. Imagine his chagrin when he discovers Miriam posing as a Red Cross nurse in the camp.

With the help of the Resistance, cleverness, and deception Rogers and a few crew members extract both Miriam and her father Maduro. An accomplice arranges the records inside the camp to show that Maduro left on a train to an extermination camp.
Miriam is captured and tortured but escapes with an enormous bounty on her head. The money attracts a storied Jew hunter and elements of the criminal underworld. The original plan was to smuggle Maduro and Miriam aboard an Irish-flagged steamer in Amsterdam, which, while neutral, is also smuggling a consignment of arms to the IRA. The pressure to capture Miriam forces the steamer to sail before Rogers’s team can get aboard.
Trapped in Nazi-held Europe, the team works its way to Spain. They face close calls, betrayal the death of one member of the party, and ultimately must rely on Rogers’s sailing skill to escape.

Miller has done much research and treats us to models of automobiles, ranks and duties of Nazis and Dutch collaborators, introducing many historical figures where appropriate. He goes so far as to describe the wood-burning automobiles that were used in the absence of gasoline. As fascinating as these details are, I think Miller got caught up in them. Otherwise an excellent read.

There were 2 main protagonists to support this well-written exciting tale. One of them, Captain Jake Rogers, a veteran skipper of a merchant marine ship. Most of the time he found himself smuggling war-related contraband on many hazardous ocean crossings while navigating in perilous German U-boat infested waters.

Then there was Miriam Maduro. She was a twenty something intelligent, beautiful woman who had been recruited by the notorious (SOE) - Special Operations Executive out of Britain. Her job was to sabotage, spy and report back enemy movement in occupied Europe; if caught, it would mean certain death.

Troubled times during this war-torn period of World War II kept the main characters in a constant state of high alert. As the chapters progressed, intrigue etched up to a critical level. The storyline clawed its way through safe houses, train stations and dark alleyways. Forever on the run, Miriam, a fugitive with a hefty price on her head, for the murder of three policeman, led a bounty hunter on an amazing chase throughout Europe. The nerve shattering suspense kept me perched at the edge of my seat.

There was never a dull scene with the mounting intrigue and suspense. This book has been introduced as a sequel. To get the best reading experience it is recommended to first read book one, The hunt for the Peggy C; you'll be glad you did.

This was honestly one of the most intense and suspenseful WWI historical books I've ever read. I was drawn into the story almost immediately and couldn't wait to get back to it every night to find out what was going to happen next. It opens with Captain Jake Rogers heading back to the North Atlantic with some crew members from a previous venture there on a ship called the 'Peggy C', but disaster hits his new Liberty ship and they end up stranded in Ireland. As they are trying to figure out their next move, Rogers learns from some Dutch seamen that the Nazis have arrested the father of the woman he loves and are about to send him off to a concentration camp. And with that, the perilous adventure begins. Captain Rogers and his crew manage to sneak in Holland and start to try and connect with a resistance group to aid them. The story takes many fascinating, and sometimes shocking, twists and turns from there as they struggle to connect with people who are trustworthy and truly want to help them. To further complicate things, there is a very menacing, one-armed bounty hunter who is hot on their trail. It was very clear that the author has put a lot of time in researching the history of that time. I was especially impressed with the chapter-by-chapter information at the end of the book, which further explained many of the characters who were real people, as well as the information about the ships, weapons and terminology of that time. I would highly recommend this book!