Just Finished Reading: Keane’s Company by Iain Gale (FP: 2013) [341pp] 

Portugal, 1808. Lieutenant James Keane knew it was a bad idea. Duelling had been banned in the British army and yet here he was. Not that he had much choice as it was a matter of honour. Being accused of cheating wasn’t something that an officer and a gentleman could simply ignore. Naturally he never intended to kill his opponent. He knew now that his conduct would result in more than a reprimand and a fine. It would mean a court-martial and being cashiered from the Army. To leave in disgrace after over a decade of service. When they came for him, he went quietly, expecting the worse. What he didn’t expect was being brought up before the new Commander-in-Chief himself. Recently arrived from England, Arthur Wellesley clearly had other troubles than one careless Lieutenant. But he also clearly required talent if he was to expel the French forces from Portugal. Keane couldn’t have been more surprised when he was promoted to Captain. There was, of course, a price to be paid. Keane was to form a company of men with a variety of talents and to operate primarily behind enemy lines. He was to scout ahead of the army and, where possible, disrupt enemy intentions wherever and however he could. Periodically he would report back to Wellesley himself but, until then, he and his men would be on their own, living off the land, working with partisans, and generally raising Hell. Fortunately, his men, rescued from prison, firing squad and flogging were already practiced hellraisers. Life as an exploring officer was going to be anything but dull. 

Already being a dedicated fan of Bernard Cornwell’s Sharpe novels, I just HAD to pick this up when I came across it. I was not disappointed. Not only was Keane a fun creation the whole idea behind the novel was one I had been thinking about for some time. One of my favourite characters in the Sharpe universe was Major Hogan the ‘exploring officer’ doing secret work behind the lines. I’ve been hoping for a while now that Cornwell would produce such a book, but that’s not going to happen. Although this wasn’t EXACTLY what I wanted it was a pretty close fit. The blurb on the back of the book describes Keane’s company as ‘a 19th century Dirty Dozen’ which I completely agree with. The idea works really well in the context of the Peninsular War. Such ‘Special Forces’ groups were force multipliers and Wellesley (later the Duke of Wellington) was strapped for troops and strapped for cash, so it made sense to think outside the box and create something like this. I have no idea if such a thing did happen IRL as, sadly, most of my ‘knowledge’ of the Napoleonic Wars comes almost exclusively from Sharpe novels. I mean to address this at some point! 

Needless to say, I really enjoyed this. Keane is an interesting character with room for development (there are three more books in the series to date) and there’s plenty of war/action for him and his men to be involved in. There are some very nice set-pieces – befitting a small fighting group - throughout the book, and I never once found myself disengaged or wanting more. I am very much looking forward to the next book, which I don’t have yet, but I do have the last book in the set so... Definitely recommended for all Napoleonic War fans and most definitely for fans of Richard Sharpe. More to come in this (short) series and from the author. 

Just Finished Reading: An Englishman in Madrid by Eduardo Mendoza (FP: 2010) [380pp] 

Madrid, 1936. It was an opportunity he could hardly refuse. Art expert Anthony Whitelands has been commissioned to appraise a selection of paintings to assess their origin and their value for a high-ranking Spanish family. With the political clouds darkening in that country, it might be the last time for several years (at least) that such a visit to his favourite European city is possible. Of course he accepts. What he doesn’t expect is that his visit is a ruse. There are no paintings, there is just one. One work that will change his career path, one work that will make his name, one work that would be a global sensation. If he can prove it is in fact as advertised, he would be the toast of the artistic world. But the word IF is a very important one. IF it is indeed by the great Spanish artist Diego Rodríguez de Silva y Velázquez its owners are sitting on an unimaginable fortune. The secret is, however, already being rumoured. The idea that the painting will be used to create a safe haven for the family outside Spain might be a lie. Will it be used to buy arms for the expected Civil War and will the authorities try to stop the sale? Will the Falangists, so desperate for weapons, intervene? Will the Socialists, or their Soviet handlers, prevent the painting leaving the country, or even worse destroy it? At the centre of everything is an Englishman. An innocent abroad – but innocent for how long? 

As usual with such things I picked this up a few years ago because “it looked interesting and different”. I had no idea, despite it winning the Planeta Prize, that it would be SO good. The blurb on the back, which I honestly usually just skim, called it a ‘perfectly balanced blend of PG Wodehouse (who I’ve never read), Evelyn Waugh (who I’ve only seen adaptations of) and Graham Greene (who I’ve never read a bad book by). It did have a Greene feel to it – so I guess the others must apply too! I wasn’t, at first, sure what to make of it. It was clear from the start that it was (very) well written which definitely helped. The description of mid 30’s Madrid and the Spanish culture of that time was super immersive. I’ve read a little about the Civil War and the circumstances around that conflict (MUCH more later) so I was aware of some of that but this really put you THERE, on the street, in the meetings, in the private smoke filled rooms and made you understand what was what – without the feeling that any great mental effort was involved. It had a quite wonderful FEEL to it that’s (obviously) difficult to describe. 

Then, as always for me, was the characterisation. Anthony Whitehead is a GREAT character. Full of passion for Velazquez and for Spain itself his rather blinkered approach gets him into trouble after trouble, but his mastery of the language and his personality make it difficult for anyone to actively dislike him. Even those who have been tasked to kill him apologise for the event and seem genuinely sad to do so! He becomes involved with teenage prostitutes (complete with babe in arms), high class ladies, aristocrats, both fascist and socialist activists, the Spanish secret police and the British secret service and even the Prime Minister of Spain itself. One of the funniest recurring jokes (there are MANY funny moments in this often-serious book) was the comments from the exasperated staff at the Englishman's hotel who have to deal with a seemingly constant stream of visitors – the police, radicals, prostitutes, spies - looking for him or leaving cryptic messages on his return. It did indeed often read like a classic farce which caused much chuckling and not a few laugh-out-loud moments.  

Needless to say, as you’ve probably picked up on by now, I absolutely LOVED this book. It is, not to put too fine a point on it, totally brilliant and is definitely one of the top ten novels of the year for me. Yet again a translated book knocks it out of the park. If you have any interest in Spanish history (especially around the Civil War period), Spanish culture (especially art and most especially Velazquez) or Spanish politics in the 1930’s, or just a VERY good read indeed that will leave you with a desire to visit that city in reality then this is definitely the book for you. A total and absolute delight and, therefore, very highly recommended. I’ll most assuredly be seeking out more by this author.  

Translated from the Spanish by Nick Caistor.   

Just Finished Reading: The Pull of the Stars by Emma Donoghue (FP: 2020) [291pp] 

Dublin, 1918. Nurse Julia Power has other things on her mind than turning 30 soon. With growing staff shortages due to the Flu, she has been put in charge of the small maternity ward (6 beds in a crowded room) for mothers suffering through fever on top of everything else. Despite not being full nurse Power is on her own until young volunteer Bridie Sweeny is assigned to her. Completed untrained and barely educated, Bridie is more than nurse Power could have possibly hoped for. A quick learner with a natural bedside manner she is a veritable godsend. But trained and experienced as she is nurse Power cannot make decisions about medication – what little they have after almost 5 years of war – or much else besides. What she needs is a doctor, preferably one trained in maternity. The rumour circulating is that a new doctor is about to arrive to fill one of the posts vacated by a sick surgeon. The rumours say that this doctor is not only a woman but one with a political past who the authorities would very much like to speak to. The rumours say that she aided the rebels during the Easter Rising and was only not executed because of her sex. Not that nurse Power cares about any of that. The only thing on her mind is the health of the mothers under her charge and the delivery of new life into a very troubled world. 

I picked this up primarily because it was a fictional account of the Spanish Flu. The location of Dublin, especially not too long after the 1916 Easter Rising, no doubt added to my interest – although I wasn’t aware just how much this event impacted on the story when I chose to bring this home. The feel of a city at wartime – despite being FAR from any front or fighting – is palpable as is the obvious rubble still not cleared from 1916. I can only guess that the evidence of a failed rebellion was left in place, at least in part, as a reminder to any future rebels what happens when you go up against the British Empire in a time of war.  

The majority of the novel takes place over a period of 3-4 days and in the ‘ward’ of 6 beds. It honestly had a feel of a stage play with characters coming in and leaving off-stage to complete tasks only to return when the story demanded their presence. Most of the focus was on Julia Power as she narrated the story and interacted with the two other main players – Bridie and the doctor Kathleen Lynn (who was a real historical person – more later!). The secondary characters were the mothers awaiting their births who passed through the maternity ward throughout the book. While not exactly cyphers they’re not as deeply rendered as the main characters but are still individuals with enough depth to feel sympathy and understanding for. Although Julia Power is front and centre in the plot and is a great character in her own right, my favourite was Bridie Sweeny, and I honestly fell in love with her. Orphaned from an early age and largely uneducated she had survived her brutal upbringing with her native intelligence and ‘soul’ fully intact.  

Now the warnings: Being the time, the place and the particular circumstances of the story you need to be aware that people are going to die and that there will be a not inconsiderable amount of pain and blood displayed from time to time. Although no doubt toned down quite a bit this is not a book for the squeamish! But if you can read about (and imagine!) or have experienced birth and its dangers without feeling faint or sick you should be OK. Finally, if you’re like me and form emotional bonds to characters in a book you’re going to need a few tissues handy at the end. I’m still getting over it... One of the best reads of the year. Definitely recommended with the above warnings! 

Just Finished Reading: A Prayer for the Ship by Douglas Reeman (FP: 1958) [255pp] 

England’s South coast, early in WW2. After several months on armed trawlers, sub-lieutenant Clive Royce is transferred to HMS Royston, a motor torpedo boat mothership. Now second in command of an MTB Royce is both looking forward to action and is worried that he’ll let his squadron down if he doesn’t perform as needed. Learning the ropes, learning command and learning how to fight in the ever-changing environment of the English Channel is a steep enough challenge. What he doesn’t really need is a new commanding officer how is a stickler for the rules and who is jealous of anyone else’s success. Both making and losing friends, worrying about his aging parents and, just maybe, falling in love he has enough to think about on the cold, dark patrols.  

This is yet another of those books I picked up a while back (although WELL after its publication date!) that I’ve been meaning to get around to. Small craft combat in the English Channel isn’t something that gets much attention – in fiction or non-fiction – so I thought it’d be interesting if nothing else. It was, unfortunately, a book of two halves. The main narrative was typical enough: young (but not entirely green) officer recruit learning the ropes, worried about fitting in and being up to the task – especially as he’s never seen combat before. Also, we have the trope of an overbearing officer who can (if annoyed) inhibit if not destroy his military career. Most of that was decently handled. As often with these books the combat side of things is well done, and this was no exception. There wasn’t a HUGE amount of combat sequences – as in real life its mostly waiting for things to happen – but once the shells and the torpedoes where flying the pace picked up and it was all rather well done. 

As often the case though, the more personal aspects of the plot were rather less competently handled – but that might have been more the times it was written in rather than any shortcomings by the author. The hospital scenes with Royce’s parents as he recovered from a very close shave were OK, but it was the love story in the second half of the book that REALLY slowed the narrative down and honestly read like something an inexperienced (but romantically inclined) teenage might produce. I cringed more than once as that particular plot thread SLOWLY progressed. 

Overall, this was generally reasonable although I would have preferred more action and less mooning over a pretty face. I don’t think I have any more from this author in various stacks and am not really looking to buy any more, but I’m sure that I have others to fill the gap.   

Just Finished Reading: The Sea Witch by Stephen Coonts (FP: 2012) [253pp] 

This was a collection of three short novellas by an author I used to read a lot of pre-Blog. The first story was the titled ‘Sea Witch’ (1999) which revolved around an American ‘jinx’ fighter-bomber pilot early in the Pacific War being assigned to be co-pilot in a PBY Catalina (one of my all-time favourite aircraft) after the original and well-respected co-pilot had been killed. There followed the usual trying to fit in trope and it was obvious from the start that the ‘jinx’ would end up saving the day. This he did – but not in the way I’d expected. An above average story overall. 

Next up was ‘The 17th Day’ (2003) which told the tale of an American pilot in the Royal Flying Corps on the Western Front. The pilot's pre-occupation was, as you might expect, survival especially as it's his 17th day in service which is the average life-expectancy of a fighter pilot in that theatre. The question is: will he make it through the day. Despite being a well-constructed story, it didn’t have a lot of tension (can you really imagine the main character dying part way through and the officers in his squadron shrugging their shoulders and saying “Well, them’s the odds.....”. The flying scenes were well handled although, depending on how my memory is, I did think he stole a real incident for his fictional lead to add a bit of addition danger/threat. Still, it was reasonably entertaining. 

By FAR the worst story was the last - ‘Al-Jihad’ (2001). This was a frankly ridiculous story of a retired marine sniper being hired to assist a navy brat whose parents had been killed by Libyan terrorists by blowing up the airline they’d been travelling on. The plot, if you can call it that, was incredibly muddled and barely made sense. Even I could see ten other (and better) ways of eliminating the targets and that’s without getting into the area of extra-judicial killing. The conclusion was a nonsensical cherry-on-top and honestly made me laugh out loud at the stupidity of it all. I can only imagine that the author’s publisher asked him for a quick terrorist related story, and he passed on the task to his teenage son, then made a minimal effort of ‘clean it up’ and put his stamp on it. Terrible. 

This had been (as so often is the case) sitting in a pile of books for YEARS and I decided to finally ‘get around’ to it now. I might have tossed it if the story order had been reversed but that didn’t happen. Reasonable overall but not recommended even for the hard-core thriller reader. I’m SURE that there’s MUCH better stuff out there! 

Just Finished Reading: The Excursion Train by Edward Marston (FP: 2005) [351pp] 

London, 1852. Dubbed ‘The Railway Detective’ by the Press after his successful resolution of the country's first train robbery, Inspector Colbeck is asked for to quickly solve an apparent random murder on an excursion train to an illegal bare-knuckle fight. At first the victim appeared to be someone of little account – a cobbler. This tradesman however carried a wicked knife and a very expensive watch sewed into an inner lining of his jacket. On further investigation the victims true name and occupation changed everything. The man was Jacob Guttridge a public executioner. At a stroke the nature of the crime and the number of suspects changed dramatically. Was it, in fact, a revenge killing? If so, on whose behalf? With pressure from both the railway company and the Inspector’s superior in Scotland Yard, Colbeck and his trusty sergeant Victor Leeming had their work cut out for them. The place to start, it would seem, was the object of the excursion train itself – the bare-knuckle fight of the season! 

This is the 2nd in the series of the Railway Detective, but my third read (I read ahead some time ago with a Christmas appropriate book – the 15th in the series). Not only was it a fast read, and MUCH faster than the previous book which I’d DNFd, it was a fun one too. Colbeck is a great character, open-minded enough to use modern techniques and modern ways of thinking and educated enough (he’s an ex-barrister) to work his way through the intricacies of the investigation. His sidekick, Victor Leeming, is a great foil for the Inspector’s musings and another great character (he’s funny too!). One character I was very impressed by in the 15th book was Colbeck’s wife. She was deeply involved in his first case (and first book) and their relationship continues in this one. One of the things I really liked is just how SLOWLY its going. They obviously like each other a great deal and are not even officially ‘courting’ yet but I can’t help but love how they’re both being ‘correct’ about the whole thing. It’s both sweet and funny. 

The case itself is VERY convoluted. I picked out some of those involved quite early on, but the details and motivations eluded me almost to the very end. I really liked the way that several interweaving plots were slowly brought together for a very satisfying ending. I also became quite intrigued by the whole illegal (but tolerated) bare-knuckle fighting thing (interestingly the fighters wore padded gloves whilst practicing but took them off for the real event). I’ll have to read up a bit about that. I am aware that even women took part – IN the ring! How bizarre Victorian society was – SO many contradictions and complexities. Needless to say, I HIGHLY enjoyed this and look forward to the next book in the series. I already own quite a few, but I’ll need to buy the next two sometime soon to progress with it. Highly recommended for all fans of historical crime or just bloody good story telling. 

Just Finished Reading: Enemy Women by Paulette Jiles (FP: 2003) [299pp] 

Missouri, November 1864. When the Union Militia arrested her father for aiding the Rebels his young daughter, Adair Colley had no option. She would travel with her younger sisters to the nearest Union Headquarters and ask for his release. She never thought that such an obvious plea for justice could lead her even further away from her family, her farm and everyone she loved. Accused of aiding Rebel forces with supplies and intelligence, Adair is sent to a woman’s prison in St Louis where she is interrogated by Major William Neumann who makes it clear that running a woman’s prison in the middle of a war is the very last thing he wants. Determined not to reveal what little information she possesses, Adair concocts a series of outrageous stories to play with and infuriate the Major. Surprisingly for both of them their game of cat and mouse leads to a growing romance. But falling in love across political lines is never going to be easy, especially when the Major finally achieves his long-standing aim and is assigned to a combat unit. Adair is left with only one option, to escape from prison, return home and seek out the Major once the fighting is over. 

I’m not exactly sure why – most probably from the cover to be honest – but I thought that the female protagonist was going to be a Native American woman. I guess I should have paid closer attention to the blurb on the back cover! But that was OK. Once I started reading, I was dropped into a well-drawn time and place and settled right in. The plot was a straight-forward one: girl finds boy, girl loses boy, girl hopes to get boy back after they both have adventures/side-quests. The two main characters are well drawn and believable and even the romance part – which I did find rather slow – was well handled. The character of Adair was feisty and smart so was fun to ‘watch’ as she argued with the often pleasantly bemused Major. The Major himself is also well drawn, and I rather liked him if somewhat less than Adair. They actually made a good couple and complimented each other well. There’s a brief action scene which I was impressed with, and I thought it was very well handled. But... despite ALL of that I thought this was a bit too slow for my liking. It was certainly well written; the plot was well constructed, and characterisation was more than adequate throughout but it never really ‘gelled’ with me. That might say more about me than the author or the book, but there we are.  

Despite my somewhat equivocal feelings towards it this is definitely an above average read and, no doubt, others will enjoy it much more than I did. I’ll give it a reasonable overall but still recommend it too – if it sounds like it's something that will appeal to you.   

Just Finished Reading: The Infernal Device by Michael Kurland (FP: 1979) [259pp] 

It was an opportunity that was hard to turn down. American journalist Benjamin Barret would be at the test of Turkey’s latest weapon of war – a submersible that would be the envy of the world. But just as the sea trials began off the exotic city of Constantinople, tragedy struck, and a huge explosion sent the craft to the bottom. Still dazed by the day's events, Benjamin is arrested for murder and espionage, and it sentenced to death. With no friends and with his own embassy now against him he is forced to face his own demise until an unlikely saviour makes his appearance. Professor James Moriarty is there to make Barret an offer he simply can’t refuse – if the journalist consents to give the professor two years of his life in his service – no questions asked, then he will ensure Barret's captivity comes to an end and this he is spirited out of the country. With no other option he says yes and awaits his salvation. Back in London and now working for the professor Barret is given a special task suitable for one with his skill set. He is to use his journalist contacts and experience to help Moriarty to track down a very dangerous man indeed – a rogue Russian agent committed to one vision, to force the British Empire to engage Russia in all-out war. To do that he must goad the British into action by creating an atrocity that simply cannot be ignored. Only one problem stands in the way of Moriarty – his long time enemy and self-proclaimed nemesis: Sherlock Holmes. 

I’ve been looking into and slowly accumulating what I’m calling ‘Sherlock Holmes Adjacent’ (SHA) works for a while now but have delayed reading any of them until I finished re-reading the original works. This is the first one. One of the things that surprised me from my recent re-reads is just how little Moriarty is mentioned in the Sherlock stories despite him being built up as Holmes’ arch-enemy. Rather amusingly, there’s a comment – from Moriarty to Holmes – in this novel on that point exactly where Moriarty chides Holmes on his fixation with the Professor as some kind of ‘Napoleon of Crime’ despite being nothing of the sort. This is summed up by the quote: He who has one enemy will meet him everywhere.  In fact, Moriarty in this world is Sherlocks mirror-image as a ‘consulting criminal’ advising (though not controlling) criminals in their nefarious endeavours merely as a means of gaining money to continue his scientific research.  

Well written, full of interesting characters (including a more than adequate rendition of Holmes himself) and with a delightful slant on the genre, this was a fun read from beginning to end. I understand that there are four more books in the series, and I’ll be searching them out. Recommended to all Holmes fans. More SHA works to come – modern, strange and Classic.              

Just Finished Reading: News From Berlin by Otto De Kat (FP: 2012) [203pp] 

Switzerland, June 1941. It was a dangerous whisper in a public place. Dutch diplomat Oscar Verschuur was delighted to see his daughter Emma and her German husband Carl on an official trip from Berlin. What he didn’t expect was the content of her whispered message. She had discovered from her husband that Germany was about to attack its supposed ally and invade the Soviet Union. She even had a date, June 22nd, and a name that meant nothing to her: Barbarossa. But what was Oscar supposed to do with this information? Who could he tell? His Dutch colleagues? Hardly. The neutral Americans? The British? Would they believe him? Would they accept any news out of Berlin except as misinformation or simply lies? Even if he managed to pass the information on, even if an Allied contact believed him, would the Russians? They had little love for the capitalists and assumed, rightly to be honest, that they desired to break the Axis-Soviet Pact, so what would their reaction be? What was worse was the fact that Emma’s actions were bound to have been seen and reported back to Berlin. Oscar was often under surveillance and if the warning could be traced back to him then his daughter, and his son-in-law, would be real danger. But to do nothing? To let the attack go ahead unhindered? Could he live with that? The deaths of thousands, or even millions, that his words might avoid... What to do... What to do... 

On the face of things this sounds like a pretty standard “race against time” espionage ‘thriller’. There are some *faint* echoes of that, but this is much, much more. Oscar is a man of secrets. No one is quite sure what his function is and exactly what he’s doing in Switzerland. His family is, like so many others during the war, scattered across Europe. His only daughter is in Berlin under constant threat of Allied bombing attacks. His wife Kate is in London savouring the drop in German air attacks (as the Luftwaffe presumably reposition on the soon to be Eastern Front). Oscar has just started an affair with a fellow Dutch refugee and Kate is still thinking about her first husband who died in Italy before the war. All of the main, and subsidiary, characters have deep believable backstories and motivations for what they do – or don’t do. They’re all real in that sense as is the central tension created by Emma and the leak from the German Foreign Office. We now know that Stalin had been warned repeatedly by the Allies (and by his own military intelligence!) that an attack was coming but refused to accept the fact and his country paid a very heavy price for that denial. Oscar, of course, didn’t know any of this (unfortunately for his sleepless nights) but OUR knowledge of that fact makes his situation all the more dramatic I feel. 

I’d been looking forward to reading this since I picked it up in my Indie bookshop last year. By page 3 I knew I’d picked a winner. The prose is sublime, the characters very well drawn and it was overall a delight from beginning to end. I think the author has 3-4 more books in translation, so I’ll be looking out for them. One of the highlights of the year. Highly recommended for lovers of well-written character driven stories. 

Translated from the Dutch by Ina Rilke.

[Oh, I almost forgot.... There was ONE disappointment. I was hoping that this would add Switzerland to my fictional world tour but, 'unfortunately' the 'action' was too split between Berlin, London, Lisbon (briefly) and various parts of Switzerland to count.]  

Just Finished Reading: The Manningtree Witches by A K Blakemore (FP: 2021) [290pp] 

Essex, England 1643. She was trapped and she knew it. With a dead father, an aging mother and a life of the ragged edge of the village her options where few to none. Trapped. There was one, possible, way out if she could somehow manage it. The town clerk, John Edes, had taken a shine to her and was teaching her to read. He might, just might, be her means of escape. But he was increasingly busy these days with the incomers. Two strangers had taken up residence in an abandoned tavern and looked to be staying for a while. They were both clearly gentlemen, educated, well-dressed. They were also in Manningtree for a purpose. They were looking for witches and seem to have found one. An aging widow with a wooden leg was accused of casting a harmful spell. Under examination she had confessed and had accused others of being in a coven. It was a great victory for witchfinder Matthew Hopkins – his first breakthrough of the crusade. For Rebecca West it was something quite different. Her mother, Anne West, had been named as a witch. It was only a matter of time before someone named Rebecca too. Her mother gave her just one piece of advice – survive, no matter what you need to do. But what price would the feared witchfinder general demand of her? How far would she go to protect her own young life? 

I briefly studied the European witch craze in university for an essay I was working on and read a handful of books on the subject to help me formulate my arguments. One thing that was very clear from the outset was that the English witch craze was a very different beast both in extent and in result. Although witches certainly were discovered and ‘dealt with’ in various ways in England (although they were hardly ever burnt at the stake which was a common misconception) the number of witches arrested, tried and executed was minute compared to our European neighbours. However, especially in the Civil War period where this story takes place, the breakdown of law and order and of society as a whole allowed so-called ‘witchfinders’ like Hopkins to do their work largely (at least to begin with) unopposed. 

I could definitely see, almost from the outset, why this impressive debut novel won the Desmond Elliott Prize in its publication year. As a first novel it was outstanding. The prose used throughout was excellent and often beautiful. I was not surprised at all when I discovered that not only was the author a published poet but an award winning one too. It certainly shows in her writing. Her feeling of time and place was completely immersive and her characterisation, most especially of Rebecca West (a new fictional favourite), was very good indeed. I found out later that much that took place in the book is based on real events which made me even more impressed at how the author weaved her tale in-between known historical events without (as far as I can tell) inventing anything too outlandish or out of context. She certainly never at any point came close to ejecting me from the narrative with ahistorical or anachronistic insertions. Indeed, the language and idioms used throughout made things more ‘real’ if anything. Although the English used in the novel had been modernised for the reader there was enough 17th century words and ideas sprinkled through the text (some of which I’d heard before, some I picked up with context and some I was tempted to Google but let the narrative flow instead) to make it sound realistic in the historical and geographical context of the novel. That alone was an impressive feat. Overall, this was a very impressive and often quite lovely read despite its subject matter. I shall definitely be looking out for her next novel. Definitely recommended and if you want to know what REALLY happened in Manningtree (yes, it's a real place!) and with Matthew Hopkins stay tuned....  

Just Finished Reading: The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien (FP: 1990) [254pp] 

Vietnam, 1968. He was a coward, pure and simple. Even with the Canadian border in sight he just couldn’t do it. He couldn’t leave. It would shame his family, shame his high school, shame his church, his town. There was only one thing he could do – accept the draft letter and report as ordered. He was going to Vietnam. As a basic grunt, humping through the jungles and paddy fields as part of Alpha company, he saw friends die from a sniper's bullet, a random mortar round fired into a field stinking of human shit, a booby-trapped artillery shell, from infection, from a self-inflicted wound. He watched as air support destroyed entire villages and helicopters picked up the dead and dying. He stopped being amazed by the fact that no matter the amount of ordnance they used, the bullets expended, the rockets fired or the grenades thrown, there was always more, more than you could count, more than you could imagine, more than you could carry.  

I’d heard of this author and some of his Vietnam novels – including this one – long before reading this. As a serving soldier in the infantry in that conflict he has, since his rotation back to the world, been writing about it ever since partially, he suspects, in order to remain sane. I was expecting this to be a novel so was a bit surprised that it turned out to be, sort of, a series of short stories or vignettes drawing on his personal experiences. There’s even an interesting discussion about the ‘reality’ of war stories and the question of whether you can actually tell the truth to those who haven’t experienced the surreal war experience first-hand. I’m sure that many of us have seen Vietnam war movies that seem more fantastical than real (compared to, say WW2 movies) - for example Apocalypse Now! - and its these, the author maintains, that get closest to the truth of things. The more believable, the more understandable, the story the less likely it is to have actually happened – and that’s before we get into the psychology of combat stress and false memories. Fascinating stuff. 

I think my favourite story was ‘Sweetheart of the Song Tra Bong’. This was a story related to him by the Companies medic who was, briefly, working at an evacuation station deep in the jungle. It was an easy posting only interrupted by occasional helicopters carrying wounded who needed urgent medical attention prior to flying them to a full hospital. Inevitably the grunts were bored and wondered if it was possible to ‘sneak in’ a few local women. Some wise-guy suggested that the fly their girlfriends from back home instead – so one of them did just that. But things didn’t turn out quite as expected. After a few weeks 17-year-old Mary Anne Bell started asking questions – how things worked, what it was like out outside the wire, that sort of thing. So, equally bored, the grunts showed her how to field strip a M-16, set up a claymore anti-personal mine and how to shoot. Then, one day she simply disappeared – for 3 days no one saw her. When she did come back it was with a bunch of Green Berets who had taken her on patrol. Not only did she like it, she was good at it... I did laugh at that... 

This was a rather strange read at times, as you might imagine with all things Vietnam related. But it was also a very good read. Generally, the stories were of a high quality – I think the worst one was ‘only’ reasonable – and gave a lot of insight into the Vietnam ‘experience’. It wasn’t always pleasant, as you should expect from the time and place, but it was always a page turner. Definitely recommended and more to come from this author and this region/war. 

Just Finished Reading: The Testimony of Alys Twist by Suzannah Dunn (FP: 2020) [273pp] 

England, circa 1554. It was the very pinnacle of achievement; she was a laundress to royalty itself. It was, even if she said so herself, a strange kind of royalty – a Queen, ruling alone, without a man, a King, to guide her. Alys thought it both disturbing and oddly exhilarating. Even so, a Queen needed a King to produce heirs and Queen Mary wasn’t getting any younger. More worryingly though was the fact that the new monarch still clung to the old religion and was, it seemed, dedicated to bringing it back to prominence with all the dangers that such an idea entailed. One of those dangers was the Queen’s younger half-sister the Lady Elizabeth. As an adherent to the new religion of Protestantism she was likely to be a lightning rod for any conspiracy against the rightful crown. But Miss Twist thankfully realised, this was none of her concern – until it was. The Lady Elizabeth needed staff and elements within the Queens orbit needed information. As Alys had only just arrived at court, she was the ideal subject to be transferred to look after Elizabeth’s laundry. Now at the very heart of things, Alys begins to wonder which side she was on and whether being on any side in such an endeavour wasn’t just a quick road to an execution. 

As usual I picked this up years ago because it looked interesting and different. It also focused on a particularly interesting period of English/Tudor history – the countries (brief) return to Catholicism following Henry’s establishment of the Church of England and the reign of ‘Bloody Mary’ so revealed in later centuries. Although both monarchs are only very briefly ‘on the page’ they have very distinct and well-known characters – Elizabeth is young, intelligent, crafty and lucky whilst Mary is wracked with doubt, pious to a fault, paranoid (especially about Elizabeth) and delusional if not actually mad. The main thrust of this often-excellent novel is, as the title suggests, the life of Alys Twist herself. Alys is a great character, maybe a little too modern for the period but I can understand why this is the case. Like updating the language to a more modern parlance – I'm not sure if more authentic ‘Shakespearian English’ would work with most readers! - a more modern mindset/personality is more palatable to a modern reader as long as things aren’t TOO modern that is. This is where the author come in for my only criticism, if I can use that word. The world the author creates and the characters she populates it with are very good indeed. The author's style is, likewise, very good indeed and I thoroughly enjoyed my reading experience. But, sometimes, I paused and thought to myself – did people REALLY say such things in the mid 16th century? Would someone in 1544 even find that particular thought even possible? I’ll explain... 

Metaphors or styles of speech have their time and place. Words, meanings and common usage are born, live and, sometimes, die. Phrases have historical roots. For example, a Roman would never have said that something was ‘a flash in the pan’ or that everything had been taken ‘lock, stock, and barrel’ - because both phrases date from the age of gunpowder flintlocks. In this novel nothing ‘quite’ like that happened, but on more than one occasion the author used a phrase that knocked me out of the narrative because it made me wonder – without any actual knowledge to back it up – if such a phrase COULD be used at the time. It certainly didn’t ruin things for me – nowhere near – but it was more than a little irritating at times. This was, however, my only quibble with the book which, apart from that, I thought very good and edging towards excellent. It’s from a very interesting period of British history, its chocked full of interesting characters and has a real sense of place which I enjoyed. There are some minor (non-conventional) non-explicit romantic elements which shouldn’t bother anyone but is worth a mention. Overall, a fun intriguing read. Definitely recommended to all history, and especially Tudor history, buffs.                

Just Finished Reading: Play the Red Queen by Juris Jurjevics (FP: 2020) [346pp] 

Saigon, 1963. It would’ve been nice to have been on the investigation from the start but since when has the Army done anything in a straightforward manner? So, with the third American officer shot dead in broad daylight on a busy street Staff Sergeant Ellsworth Miser and Sergeant Clovis Robeson of the Army’s Criminal Investigation Division are practically starting from scratch. Not that there’s much to go on. Each of the victims was a US military ‘advisor’ to the Army of South Vietnam, each was killed at fairly close range with a single shot from an automatic handgun with the killer apparently being a young girl who then escaped on the back of a motorbike. In a city of thousands of motorbikes and tens of thousands of pretty young girls riding on their backs that information was practically useless. So, where to start? There’s a basic rule in police work – if you can’t investigate the murderer then investigate the victims. The ‘random’ killings of American soldiers turned out to be nothing of the kind – they were linked, they knew each other or worked in the same department, the area of the Army responsible for the importation of American supplies into the South. It was an area awash with money. Were the officers on the take or had they refused to be corrupted? Was someone simply cleaning house prior to the much rumoured ‘coup’ that had been talked about in the local bars for months now? Was the hit-girl Viet Cong or someone closer to home? With regular in-fighting and powerplays between members of the South’s ruling ‘elite’ who could tell which death-squad was responsible for which execution or assassination? It was impossible to keep track. What made things worse, if they could get worse, was that the American ambassador was in town doing deals and making waves. His life had already been threatened and he might even be on the assassins ‘list’. Closing the case wasn’t going to be easy in a town full of refugees, undercover agents, factions and teenage killers. But orders are orders – find the girl and stop the killing... 

As usual I picked this up because both the blurb on the back and the distinctive cover looked ‘interesting’. I was most definitely not disappointed with my choice! This turned out to be one of my best reads of the year so far. The author writes beautifully and, having served in Vietnam for “fourteen months, nine days and two hours” knows his way around the city, the people and the culture of the region (like knowing NOT to pat a Vietnamese kid on the head!) which made the reading both highly entertaining and very informative. It was, honestly, like being there complete with the oppressive humidity, the constant sound of traffic (and distant gunfire), the regular random power cuts and knowledge that if you stayed there long enough you were going to open the wrong door, meet the wrong person or just start the wrong car and that would be that – Game Over. It’s a real shame that the author died not long after completing this novel – his third – so I can’t look forward to reading him in the years ahead. I’ll definitely be looking out for his other novel based in Vietnam though. If you’re interested in the very early phase of the Vietnam War – when the American’s were still in their ‘advisor’ phase before that started shipping in troops by the tens of thousands and carpet-bombing entire countries – including those not even involved in the war – this will intrigue you. If you just want a bloody good read and want to lose yourself in a faraway place and a very different time I can't recommend this book too highly. One thing I need to do, going forward, is to read up on the US Ambassador – Henry Cabot Lodge Jr. If he’s anything like his character in this novel, he deserves my attention! More to come on the region, the war and from this author.   

Just Finished Reading: The Red Eagles by David Downing (FP: 2014) [232pp] 

Europe 1945. With the European war swiftly coming to an end Premier Joseph Stalin is looking to the future and he doesn’t like what he sees. It has become obvious that the USA will, with the inevitable defeat of the Axis Powers both in Europe and Asia, become the world’s dominant power for years if not decades to come. What is worse, if such a thing can be imagined, is that they will for most of that time be the world's only nuclear power. Knowing about the bomb's existence before the American President told him was a delicious moment but that fleeting moment didn’t count for much with a radioactive Sword of Damocles very publicly dangling over the head of the Soviet Union. Their own programme was advancing at pace. People, even scientists, work wonders when their families are threatened. But there was one element that even death threats cannot conjure out of thin air – enough Uranium 235 to build enough bombs to counter the Capitalist threat. If they couldn’t make enough fast enough there was only one real alternative – they would have to steal it from the Americans. Easily said but certainly possible – except for one thing, the Americans would both know it had been taken and how many bombs could be made from it. A deception plan would be needed, and a third party needed to be blamed. If there was time for the Germans to act before the Third Reich collapsed. 

This was, to say the least, an intriguing work of fiction! I’ve been watching a long running series of YouTube History videos on the end of the European war, so I had lots of background information sloshing around my brain cells which helped fill in some of the background details. The plot was very clever, and I really liked the inevitable problems that arose – no plan surviving contact with the enemy (AKA reality) - as well as to how they were believably handled. As always (broken record time!) good characterisation was key to my enjoyment and here we had that in spades with the Russians, Germans and Americans all being well drawn and, mostly, likable. The only character we were supposed to dislike – and I did – ended up satisfactorily dead which was good. The romance elements actually made sense (normally I skip over those bits) and I didn’t have a single eye-rolling moment which is a pleasant change. Pacing was good and despite being rather short gripped enough to feel longer – in a good way. I actually don’t think I can fault this in a single way, and I consequently enjoyed it a great deal. More from this author to come. A solid above average read. Recommended.  

Just Finished Reading: The Blackpool Highflyer by Andrew Martin (FP: 2004) [336pp] 

Halifax, Yorkshire 1905. After his adventures in London, young Jim Stringer is back on his home turf. Well on his way to achieving his aim of becoming an engine driver and with a new wife to support, life is at last moving in the right direction. He is soon reminded however of the duties and responsibilities of his coveted position when his engine narrowly avoids being derailed due to an object left deliberately on the track. Feeling responsible for the passenger's safety he starts a private investigation into who was responsible. The list, however, is far from a short one. Did the wreckers target his train specifically because of a passenger on it? Was it at attack on the Mill who organised the excursion or an attack on excursions themselves? Was it personal, political or financial? It was enough to make anyone’s head spin with the possibilities. In the hot summer of 1905 with Special trains running to the resorts and beyond Jim had his work cut out for him to figure out exactly where the danger was coming from. What made things worse, and more urgent if such a thing was possible, was that his wife, recently confirmed to be pregnant, was scheduled to be aboard the Blackpool Highflyer – so recently attacked – and Jim himself was due to man the footplate... 

This is my 2nd Jim Stringer ‘Steam Detective’ novel and although I enjoyed it, I did also find it rather frustrating. The issue I had, unlike with the other rail detective series, is that Jim doesn’t have an official (or actually unofficial) position on the railways so is essentially reduced to asking people questions and musing on the results. Jim is also both young and still quite naive so doesn’t yet possess the skill set he needs to progress his enquiries in anything like a logical manner. The fumbles and struggles his way to something like a conclusion – and sometimes not. It took me a while – actually a few days or so after finishing this novel – to realise what my problem was. It’s that I was expecting an historical detective novel, and this isn’t it. What we have here is an historical novel based on the Edwardian railways. Within that novel, mostly about the time and place in which it takes place, is a scattering of crimes (often petty) and mysteries (sometimes unresolved). These are actually secondary to the story itself rather than driving the narrative. Looked at in this fashion I’m going to be a lot less frustrated in future outings with Jim and his trains. 

Overall, I can say I enjoyed this although I did honestly find a quite long diversion into Edwardian vaudeville shows somewhat tedious. This was made up for by insights into the sometimes fractious political situation in England and across Europe at the time as well as an insight into the lives of the Northern working class. Reasonable. 

Just Finished Reading: The Railway Detective by Edward Marston (FP: 2004) [348pp] 

London, 1851. It was a crime that shocked the nation. For the first time a train had been stopped and the contents of its mail carriage taken away – including a considerable amount of gold and a number of mail bags. Under intense pressure from the railway company, the Royal Mint, the Post Office and the Press, Scotland Yard assigns Detective Inspector Robert Colbeck to the case – a rising star in the department. Colbeck certainly has his work cut out for him. The raid was carried out with military precision and had quickly overcome both guards and locks to gain access to the gold – something considered simply impossible. The questions, however, were piling up: how did the robbers know the train would be carrying so much gold? How did they open the twin safes so quickly? But the most perplexing question of all bothered Colbeck deeply – why, after securing the gold did the robbers delay their escape in order to derail the locomotive? Was it simple malice or a perverted desire to cause additional destruction or was it something more, something sinister? As Colbeck continues his investigation he becomes convinced that the gang will strike again and that the object of that strike will not be simply to gain more money but will be an attack on the railway itself! 

I’ve been looking forward to ‘starting’ this series for a while now after previously reading, and greatly enjoying, the 15th book back in December ‘21 because of its Christmas theme. I was pretty confident that if the author could more than hold my interest after 15 books, he should do so with the first in the series – and so it was. I REALLY like this. I was already most impressed by Colbeck's abilities from my earlier introduction to him and his world and here he hit the ground running as he, and the inevitable solid side-kick, began the investigation, ran down clues and closed in on the miscreants behind the diabolical scheme. I was also hoping that we’d be introduced to Colbeck’s wife who I fell in love with in the 15th novel. Luckily, she did indeed appear – although both were single here – so we got to see how they met and why their difference in social standing didn’t come between them (Colbeck might be a highly education Inspector, but he actually came from more humble origins). The baddies were equally well-drawn and interesting and their motivations for their crimes were understandable. Being ‘baddies’ they had few redeeming qualities, which was quite funny at times, and I was convinced that at least one of them would end up twilling his moustache menacingly at some point! Overall, this was a well-paced, intriguing and highly entraining historical mystery/crime novel and I’m SO glad that its part of a LONG running series. I’m not 100% sure if I can get around to reading all 22 of them, but I’m definitely looking at trying. Very highly recommended for all crime, historical and railway buffs. 

[Highest page count of the year so far: 348pp][+22pp]

Just Finished Reading: Rubicon by The Historical Writers Association (FP: 2019) [177pp] 

I thought this was an interesting idea/concept so picked it up to try it out. The idea is to showcase a number of established as well as new(ish) authors who are writing in a particular historical period. This volume, naturally, revolves around Ancient Rome with others based around the Crusades, the Tudors and the Victorian era. It’s a really great way to deepen your experience in an already favourite era – especially if you’re unsure which author to try next – or to expand into other historical periods you’re less familiar with. 

This slim volume contained 10 short stories or extracts from longer works and each story concluded with a short (3 pages or so) Q&A with the author uncovering their backgrounds, motivations and future plans. I was aware of some of the authors, and indeed have books by them waiting to be read – like Anthony Riches, for example – but others were completely new to me. One that particularly impressed me was Alter Ego by Ruth Downie where a Roman doctor travelling in occupied Britannia solves a crime at a roadside hostel because his travelling companions had annoyed him. I’ve added the author to my interest list, and she will, no doubt, be showing up here again at some point. Another author, who has been on my interest list for a while now, got my attention with her story Mystery of Victory where a small cadre of Romans during the Empire’s transition to Christianity smuggle out one of their icons to set up the break-away state of Roma Nova in order to keep the Old Ways alive. Oddly Roma Nova shows up again in a completely unrelated book of short stories coming up soon. Maybe the Book Gods are telling me something!?! 

I’m giving some serious thought to picking up the other volumes in this series as this one impressed me and they’re only £6.99. They’re a great way to test the waters and, if you’re anything like me and are always looking for something new, a great way to pick up future historical reads with confidence. Definitely recommended. 

[This is my last book review of the year, so I’ll be posting my 2023 yearly review on Saturday. My plans for 2024 and beyond will be posted on the following Saturday.]  

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Just Finished Reading: Storm Force to Narvik by Alexander Fullerton (FP: 1979) [268pp] 

April 1940. Denmark has fallen to the Germans in a matter of hours. It's almost certain that Norway will be the next target, but still the British government under Nevil Chamberlain vacillates on what to do. With the Altmark incident still fresh in everyone's mind (more soon!), Britain is reluctant to abuse Norway’s stated neutrality but finally a decision is made – to mine Norway’s territorial waters to force the German navy into waters where the Royal navy can engage them. Meanwhile, Nick Everard commander of the destroyer HMS Intent is fighting for his life against a German heavy cruiser. With a ship badly battered and in need of urgent repairs he makes for what he hopes is safe harbour in the fjords. Further up the coast his son is serving aboard another destroyer HMS Hoste which has been ordered, along with a flotilla of other destroyers, to stop the German landings at the vital port of Narvik. Unaware of the German disposition they are about to encounter a large force of destroyers that are larger, more heavily armed and much newer. The risks are high indeed, but the consequences of failure could determine the outcome of the war. The Phony War is most definitely over, and the dying is about to start... 

The Norwegian campaign is one of those stages of the war that is all too often forgotten or sidelined, overshadowed as it was by the subsequent invasion of France and the ultimate retreat to Dunkirk. I suppose one of the reasons for this memory loss was the rather ignominious and shambolic way the fight was prosecuted from London. With troops embarking, disembarking and then reembarking transport ships before arriving in Norway with inadequate or missing equipment the actual ground fighting wasn’t going to go well. The Royal navy also lost a number of ships – including an aircraft carrier! - because of poor planning and contradictory orders. However, the attack on Narvik was something else. Without giving too much of the plot of this excellent WW2 naval thriller away, the navy more than made up for any apparent deficiency in equipment with dash, aggression and ultimate belief in their undoubted abilities. Told from 3 points of view (one of which purely to show the larger picture in conversations in the Admiralty with a prospective high-ranking appointment), including onboard HMS Intent and HMS Hoste (neither of which actually existed) this was a thrill to read, especially after reading about the real engagement some time ago. The author had served in WW2 on several ships so understood not only how they fought but also about how the officers and crew lived. The dialogue therefore is both realistic, salty and often very funny. It definitely added an extra dimension to the book for me and enhanced the pleasure of the read. It also got you invested in the characters a bit more so made the action sequences all the more nerve-wracking! The battles/encounters were VERY well done, again super realistic and exciting. Being the kind of novel it is, you might expect the heroes to be bullet proof but that’s not always the case. There were a few well-crafted heart-in-mouth moments that made me wonder! Although I’ve been reading this sequence completely out of order, I don’t think that’s made too much difference. Definitely recommended for all naval warfare buffs – if you can source a copy. 

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Just Finished Reading: The Necropolis Railway by Andrew Martin (FP: 2002) [231pp] 

London, 1903. It was young Jim Stringer’s dream – to be an engine driver on the railway. Not quite there yet but on his way, he has been transferred from his home company in Yorkshire to the London and Southwest Railway at Waterloo. The climb from a provincial porter to a cleaner in the Capital might not seem like much, but cleaners can progress to the footplate and then, given time, to driving the train itself. Trying desperately to fit in, Jim fails to impress the other men and it’s made that much worse when they discover that he has been hand-picked by a Senior Manager for his job. Suspicion that Jim is a spy, planted amongst them, grows along with his constant questioning regarding a series of accidents plaguing the station and the crews of the Necropolis Railway – the specialist trains delivering the great and the good to London’s largest cemetery. Jim himself is unsure of his role and when his sponsor dies in mysterious circumstances, he’s on his own. Surrounded by enemies, out of his depth and expecting the hammer to fall at any moment Jim is going to have to unravel quite a mystery to avoid an early arrival at a recently dug grave. 

It’s funny that I’ve been picking up two sets of railway detective stories recently – by this author and by Edward Marston. I’ve read one Marston so far (loved it) and this is my first by Andrew Martin. Although broadly similar – in that trains figure heavily in both (naturally) - they are very different, and not only because Martin’s books are deeply Victorian in tone whilst this series takes place in early Edwardian England. Jim Stringer is a young train enthusiast who, through circumstance alone, is drifting away from his intended path into that of a steam detective. He is, in every sense, an amateur. The detective in Martin’s books is not only fully mature – Jim stands out as VERY naïve and provincial – but is a fully profession detective with all the resources that implies. Jim is very much on his own, using only his natural wit and intelligence, plus both his practical and (mostly theoretical at this point) knowledge of the railways. 

Although I found this first novel in the series rather slow, I did enjoy both the character development as Jim became much more self-confident and mature by the end of the book than when his arrived in London only months before. Even more so I enjoyed the author’s world-building as we were exposed to aspects of Edwardian England, from the pervasive over-exaggerated adverts EVERYWHERE to the steam trains on the Underground (which must have been horrendous for those waiting on the platforms never mind those stuck in the long tunnels). I have the second novel scheduled for early(ish) next year and I’m looking forward to seeing Jim get involved in more crime solving and, maybe, becoming a professional detective. I’m also looking forward to seeing more of Edwardian England. Reasonable but with much promise. 

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Just Finished Reading: Three Miles by Robert Dinsdale (FP: 2011) [229pp] 

Leeds, 1940. It was Watchman Captain Abraham Matthews’ lucky night. He had finally caught up with Albie Crowe, a small-time thief and hoodlum with big ideas. Now came the hard part – taking him across the city to the Station House to deal with him. But that simple task was going to be anything but simple, especially tonight. The Station was three miles away. It might as well be three hundred. Handcuffed to Albie the Captain would need to navigate across a blacked out and ruined landscape, avoid the bombs being dropped by the Luftwaffe and evade Albie’s gang who were sure to try and free him. Those three miles were not just going to be tough going. It was going to be three miles through Hell itself. 

I had hopes for this one. On the face of it it’s a great idea. We have a compact area to traverse under extreme circumstances, we have a fraught ‘relationship’ between the two main characters, we have a time element and a chase. Tension would, I thought, be the watchword here. Plus, naturally, we have the element of random death and destruction from the air. Pretty good, yeah? Unfortunately, it just didn’t work for me. I should’ve got my first clue from the cover. Now I’m aware that covers are put together by the publishers who probably farm them out to a graphics company to do the work. So, I’m not exactly expecting them to accurately reflect the contents. Here though, they did – unfortunately. The keen eyed among you will notice an aircraft in the top right-hand corner along with the barrage balloons. It’s a JU-87 ‘Stuka’ dive-bomber designed primarily as a close air support light bomber for use in attacking entrenched positions and hard points which are preventing the ground forces (and especially tanks) from moving forward. It is NOT, generally, used for attacking cities. More specifically this is LEEDS we’re talking about. Now, true the Stuka was used (early on) to attack convoys in the English Chanel as well as ground installations on the English South coast (like the RADAR stations so important in the Battle of Britain) but these are SHORT range machines. The JU-87 had a range of around 220 miles. So, how exactly could they fly to LEEDS and back again to their home bases? They would either have to fly half way up England from bases in France or over the North Sea from bases in Norway – both of which are WAY outside their range. Plus, the JU-87 was withdrawn from attacks on the UK mainland in August 1940 after proving that they could not operate in contested skies. So... repeated mention of ‘Stukas’ in the text were both annoying, sloppy and broke the emersion in the story. [RANT Over!] 

But I think my bigger problem was with the ‘tone’ of the story which read (to me at least) more like a fable than actual historical fiction. I understand that both of the characters saw themselves in a ‘fantastic’ story-book mold as heroes in an epic struggle but I think the author took things too far and strayed much further from reality than (in MY opinion at least) he should have. A straight telling of the events of the evening – minus the Stuka bombers! - would’ve been much better. Needless to say, I spent much (too much) of my time consciously *reading* a story rather than being ‘inside’ the narrative. This was despite the fact that, overall, it wasn’t that badly written. It was, again for me, the fact that the tone seemed to repeatedly clash with the story itself. So, although the book was reasonable, I can’t honestly recommend it. 

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