I wasn’t a big fan of this book.
I didn’t like the characters in the book and felt that the writing style was lacking depth
A disappointing book

I was really looking forward to this book. Andrew Taylor absolutely one of my favourite writers. Also as historical fiction goes I love WW2 stories as well. So this should have been a match made in heaven. Sadly not. Compared to his other novels this seemed amateurish. It was only towards the end of the book I found out this was published in 1987. Well he's certainly improved with age! The premise is solid. Alfred Kendall is given a minor task by the British Intelligence Service and takes his son Hugh with him to Czechoslovakia. He considers Hugh to be a troublemaker. He's not. He's just surrounded by asses. His dad been one of them. Hitler invades while they are there and Alfred is "persuaded" by the Czech rebellion to leave Hugh as collateral, promising he will be returned safely. Alfred is more than happy to leave him behind and when his son becomes stranded gives little thought to his sons fate. Which is to be taken under the wing of a Nazi colonel who, for a Nazi, is an extremely nice chap with a slightly psychotic son whose own fate will be inextricably linked to Hughs.

It progresses from there through to the beginning of the Cold War. I say progresses, more meanders. It's really very slow. Also I'm not one of those that see misogyny, I'm a bit dim like that, normally I just enjoy the story. But in this women seem to be a device rather than proper characters. Hughs sister is portrayed as a nymphomaniac for liking sex (she's also properly dodgy in her behaviour to her younger brother), gang rape seems a slight inconvenience. I could go on but it would be full of spoilers. But my advice would be to skip this and go straight to An American Boy or The Roth Trilogy. My only consolation is I read these before this as I would never have read them otherwise.

A lovely historical fiction with a binding love story at its centre. I found the last third a little too easily tied up (too bizarre to bring together all the characters) but it ended well.

There was a lot for me to like about this book, but also a lot for me to dislike. It feels quite natural to split this book into 3 distinct parts, which can each be reviewed independently.

The first part led me to believe i was getting a Second World War spy thriller. As it started to take shape i enjoyed it. We had an unnatural English spy, his young son and Czech partisans thrown into the mix. As the plot was unfolding, the plot changed and we get the second part of the book, which was by far my favourite.

Hugo, the young so, is left behind enemy lines as WWII heats up. What unfolds is a hugely enjoyable read about a young boy finding his way amongst the enemy, who he realises are not too far removed from his own family. I was looking forward to the book slowly moving through the war years to see how Hugh's fate ultimately played out. However the author makes a shocking decision to race to the end of the war, bring Hugh home and start a random time hopping section during the Cold War.

We race through 20 years of the Cold War in this third section. The plot feels convoluted and weak, and sadly the book trickles to an unsatisfactory finish.

All in all an okay book. I would normally expect better from the author, however considering this was written very early in his career over 30 years ago, its understandably a weaker novel.

In ‘The Second Midnight’, Andrew Taylor unpicks the connections between a group of people – a dysfunctional family, spies, ordinary people – before, during and after World War Two in England and Czechoslovakia. Essentially it is a novel of relationships wrapped up in the parcel of wartime spying, lies and romance. In its scope it reminds me of Robert Goddard’s Wide World trilogy, except Taylor covers the subject in one book rather than three.
It is 1939 and twelve year old Hugh Kendall is bullied by his father, sighed over by his harried mother, ignored by his older brother and manipulated by his older sister. Hugh retreats into imaginative games with his toy soldiers. His father, failing glass importer Alfred Kendall, is recruited by the Secret Services as a courier on a glass-buying trip to Czechoslovakia. In tow is Hugh, recently expelled from school, a nuisance to his father. Alfred is not a natural spy, though he thinks he is. When things get sticky and Alfred must return to England, the Czech Resistance keeps Hugh as collateral to ensure his father’s quick return. But Hugh finds himself alone in Prague after the German invasion, unsure who to trust, unsure if he will be rescued. He quickly learns to live on his wits. This for me was the best section of the book.
The thing that makes this story stand apart for me is Hugh. He makes an uncanny narrator, giving us a view of life in an occupied country, stranded from everything that is safe and familiar. Adept at languages, Hugh quickly becomes familiar with Czech and German allowing him to assume a false identity as Rudi Messner, a Czech-Hungarian boy. Cared for by a German officer, Colonel Helmut Scholl, Hugh works as the gardener’s boy at Scholl’s mansion in Prague and meets the colonel’s children, Heinz and Magda. These relationships weave across the years and the pages into the post-war years and the fight against communism.
The significance of the title left me wondering if I had missed something. It is set up with an intriguing connection between two characters, then abandoned. The connection with the Prologue was also lost on me as it is only mentioned again at the end and I had forgotten what happened; ends neatly tied without adding understanding. Taylor knows how to tell a page turning story, I read this quickly. This is a fascinating read over a complex time period, but an enormous subject; I wish it had been given the space of three books to explore fully.
Read more of my book reviews at http://www.sandradanby.com/book-reviews-a-z/

Alfred Kendall is asked by the Secret Services to carry out a small mission in pre-War Prague. He takes his son Hugh along but is forced to abandon him when war is declared. Hugh is stranded in a hostile country but his papers and knack for languages enable him to survive, eventually working for a German officer. The Officer's son doesn't trust Hugh and many years later, after the war this leads to further tragedy.
I found this a very interesting tale both in terms of content and also in terms of the style of writing. What begins as a fairly gently tale about a dysfunctional family develops into more of a family sage with a touch of forbidden romance and then ends as spy thriller. There are subtle hints about John Buchan through out and this is a good model to take. The story itself jumps from pre-War to the end of the War to post-War to Cold War but the characters are engaging and the plot is entertaining. Taylor never disappoints this reader.

Lost in Prague

An incompetent businessman is recruited by British Intelligence to make a delivery in Prague immediately before the German invasion in 1938. Because he cannot get a babysitter, he takes his twelve year old son with him. Upon the German takeover, the father is spirited out of the country, but the son is left behind. How is he to survive? Cue an adventure tale, full of twists and turns, culminating in the 1950s in a shoot out in cold war London.

The novel has a Dickensian, episodic quality. There is enough plot here for two novels and the story seems at times rushed and does not quite gel. Nevertheless it is an entertaining enough read.

I was expecting a mystery novel – which The Second Midnight isn’t really – but it was such a good historical story that I was still quite happy. Based on real life events and charting from the end of the WWII to the beginning of the Cold war, this is part spy thriller, part family drama. As with all Taylor’s work it’s incredibly well written. Highly recommend, though be aware that it’s very different to his later work.

Well written, interesting, a good if slightly confusing plot but it engaged me although it was sometimes a bit hard ti keep on top of what was gong on.

Sort of an Alan Furst-lite book but well worth the read.

A thrilling story set from the beginning of the second world war through to the cold war. It follows, among other characters, the life of Hugh Kendall, a young boy abandoned in Prague in rather bizarre circumstances.
It is a multi-layered story with the characters' lives intertwining and colliding. It is a spy story, a war story, an interesting history lesson and a story of families, fathers and sons.
As with all Andrew Taylor's books it is immensely well written. Characters are well drawn, some you love, some you hate. A joy to read.

Andrew Taylor's The Second Midnight follows the story of Hugh Kendal from just before the start of World War Two until the Cokd War.

The book itself is well written although I felt that the overall story just lacked a little something. Maybe it was too ambitious and would have benefitted from being split into two volumes

Overall the book is wirth reading

It's hard to describe this novel in many ways as it's several types - a spy story, war time intrigue and the son and father story at its heart.

I read this as I love Andrew Taylor's novels but this one was very different in both style and substance. The story of a boy being abandoned in Prague just as the WW2 was breaking out was a good premise. I mean what an awful father to just leave him there! How would you get out? Hugh then takes over the story as his own unfolds, but when he wasn't in the scene so to speak and others came on and off the stage, the narrative wavered and felt more confused.

There are multiple characters and several locations as the novel jumps between them. A great idea for the kind of story being told but one which made the reading tricky in parts for me. I wanted to learn more about Hugh and focus more on him and felt I was being distracted by the rest of the book. It did examine the personal life of the spy and their family however and this was the book's strength for me. Their role is one thing - their homelife and personal life quite another thing.

This is part of a trilogy but for me I am going to go back to his other books for now.

A fascinating idea for a story but really c9mplex with a lot of characters to remember in different nations. I found it hard to follow at times and so many of the characters were unlikeable in nearly all. I would have enjoyed the read better if it had focused more on Hugh's story.