This is a fast paced, dual timeline wartime spy caper. I say 'caper' because it is a breaknecked tour of Europe with bad guys at every corner, but there's very little air of menace. Despite being flung into various life or death moments I rarely felt our hero teen and his Gran were in any real, grave danger.
That said, the characters are engaging enough to sustain interest, and the pacing never lags to hit a midway slump to put you off making it to the end.
But there aren't really any great surprises, apart from the characters uncanny ability to find someone from a vague description of a lake, with pinpoint accuracy and pre-Google Earth.
It's a good read, just a little light on the thriller elements it's sold on. The family relationships, particularly in the 1979 timeline are well crafted, and it really draws you in and takes you right to the heart of pre-war Europe.
That said, the characters are engaging enough to sustain interest, and the pacing never lags to hit a midway slump to put you off making it to the end.
But there aren't really any great surprises, apart from the characters uncanny ability to find someone from a vague description of a lake, with pinpoint accuracy and pre-Google Earth.
It's a good read, just a little light on the thriller elements it's sold on. The family relationships, particularly in the 1979 timeline are well crafted, and it really draws you in and takes you right to the heart of pre-war Europe.