Format: Paperback
Published by: Sharpe Books
Synopsis:
November 1916.
The war of attrition is taking its toll on the Allied powers and cracks are starting to appear.
Captain ‘Blinker’ Hall, Head of Naval Intelligence, must strive to keep the alliance with France alive – and use all his guile to bring the Americans into the war.
Johnny Swift, a reckless former diplomat turned soldier, is convalescing in London, working for Naval Intelligence.
Hall knows how to use Swift’s talents for duplicity to their fullest and sends him to Paris to flush out a traitor undermining the French war effort.
Room 40, the Royal Navy’s code breaking unit, deciphers a telegram that presents Hall with a dilemma. Its use could recruit America to their cause – but also give away the secret that the codes have been broken and cost Britain the war.
Swift takes up his role in Paris and is soon caught in a web of intrigue involving Mata Hari, the Dreyfus Affair, and the catastrophe of the Nivelle Offensive.
The fate of the conflict rests on a knife edge.
The traitor still lurks in the shadows of Paris’s Art Nouveau grandeur and Swift must locate him before he can betray the Allied cause.
My Thoughts:
The third in the Johnny Swift thriller series, its another highly entertaining and engaging read, which expertly blends historical characters and weaves then into a slick narrative which combine to make for a perfect thriller set during WW1
This a wonderfully character driven story, as I read the books i’m never quite sure about Swift, sometimes comes across as a bit naive and a little bumbling in his ways, but for me he is man who knows what he doing a man of honour, determined to do his duty and to see justice served, he plays a part and plays it well, in this book there is a bit of an-aside as he seeks to uncover the truth about who his father is, we get to know more of Swifts backstory. The author clearly knows how to write characters some of whom seem larger than life but all who fit perfectly into the story, you get a real sense of them as people, though sometimes it is difficult to know exactly who or what side they are on, but this just add to the tension and drama
The book is plotted in a way that your never quite sure what to expect or where you will be taken, as Swift moves around France and Belgium in his efforts to uncover the traitor, it certainly has plenty of twists and turns, it also shows some of the harsh realities of war
Whilst this is a thriller at heart, it is also has a human touch as Swift is re united with an old aquaitance.
Sense of place also plays an important part and the author is able to brings the locations to life and thanks to the writing the author manages to put the read at the heart of the story as though your there lurking in the background
It is also clear as you read that the author has researched the period, for me vital in giving that sense of realism
The narrative throughout combined with wonderful characterisation and a plot full of intrigue and suspense make for a perfect read
Overall this is another gripping read that kept me hooked and entertained from the opening pages, and one which I would recommend and whilst is easily reads as a standalone, once read I think you will be going back to read the previous books. 5*
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