Alex Gerlis has given us an entertaining story, set in the Second World War and following Richard Prince as he endeavours to discover crucial information about the Germans’ V1 and V2 programmes in their embryonic stages. Prince was formerly an ambitious and accomplished police superintendent from Lincolnshire, and had a sparkling record which explained why he had been promoted so far at a relatively young age. He finds himself recruited into MI6 following his helpful contribution to an operation to find an undercover agent who has been helping German spies to infiltrate the country.

Life in MI6 is markedly different to the provincial police force, and Prince initially struggles to adapt. He is, however, particularly well suited to the operation for which he has been selected, being a fluent Danish speaker (having had a Danish mother). After minimal training he is despatched to Denmark where, after a few adventures and enar misses he establishes contact with Agent Osric (just one of many allusions to Hamlet scattered throughout the book), who will prepare him for the more substantial aspects of the operation.

The plot fairly rattles along, and there are several up and downs, and surprise developments. Gerlis writes more in the tradition of Richard Hannay than John le Carre, but that is fine by me – I am a devotee of both schools of spy story. ( )

This is the fifth Gerlis spy novel I have read. I liked all of them. They have interesting characters and sound historical grounding in real events. This one follows Richard Prince, a British detective enlisted to collect information in Germany about the V-1 and V-2 rockets. It's the first in a new series. Now on to the second. ( )

My thanks to the Author publishers and NetGalley for providing me with a Kindle version of this book to read and honestly review.
Entertaining from first to last page, well researched a proper stiff upper lip wartime spy story, with quality characters throughout. Our hero a police detective recovering from a recent tragedy who plays a major part in breaking a German spy ring, suddenly find himself recruited as a spy himself, and due to Danish roots quickly whisked to occupied Denmark. Authentic dramatic tense this is a gripping intriguing story with a real feel for time and place, and if I am any judge the ending suggests more to come. Which I will look out for.
Recommended ( )