Member Review
Review by
Martin P, Reviewer
The race to uncover the traitor hots up.
"City of Traitors" is the third book in a planned four-book series. It opens in November 1943. Everyone knows the war is in its end stages, but there's still a lot to play for. Traitor Archie is still at large, his identify being narrowed down to seven suspects, all MI5 operatives. Churchill, Roosevelt and Stalin are due to meet in Iran, and there's every chance the Nazis will use the opportunity to assassinate all of them. Archie must not be permitted to disclose details, so Charles Cooper is assigned to uncover any plots.. However, unknown to MI5, Cooper is also the double agent known as Bertie.
As befits the third book in the series, the author wastes little time scene-setting, but dives right into the action. Moving from Britain to Tehran, to America, the complex and intricate plot follows well-established characters Cooper, Clarke, Morgan and Remington-Barber as they race to uncover Archie, while also following their Russian counterparts, as they manoeuvre their various chess-pieces in an attempt get ahead in the forthcoming post-war race for dominance. There are still few clues to Archie's identity, but the reader is rewarded with further insight into his character. Likewise, Cooper shines in this book - a man torn, driven to drastic measures, but prevailing under tremendous mental and physical strain. His race across the Alps in straight out of an Alistair Maclean thriller.
As usual, the story is full of period detail, painted against the backdrop of the final months of WW2 - the bombing of Berlin, the allies' race to get there first, the Nazis final attempts to eradicate Jews, and the plans that were already being laid to divide up Germany once the war was over. British traitor Donald Maclean even gets a mention. The historical detail is spot-on, as ever. Archie's time in New York is particularly evocative, as life in America seems to carry on as normal.
Fans of Alex Gerlis in general, and the Double Agent series in particular are going to love this penultimate instalment. The final book promises to be a belter.
Highly recommended.
"City of Traitors" is the third book in a planned four-book series. It opens in November 1943. Everyone knows the war is in its end stages, but there's still a lot to play for. Traitor Archie is still at large, his identify being narrowed down to seven suspects, all MI5 operatives. Churchill, Roosevelt and Stalin are due to meet in Iran, and there's every chance the Nazis will use the opportunity to assassinate all of them. Archie must not be permitted to disclose details, so Charles Cooper is assigned to uncover any plots.. However, unknown to MI5, Cooper is also the double agent known as Bertie.
As befits the third book in the series, the author wastes little time scene-setting, but dives right into the action. Moving from Britain to Tehran, to America, the complex and intricate plot follows well-established characters Cooper, Clarke, Morgan and Remington-Barber as they race to uncover Archie, while also following their Russian counterparts, as they manoeuvre their various chess-pieces in an attempt get ahead in the forthcoming post-war race for dominance. There are still few clues to Archie's identity, but the reader is rewarded with further insight into his character. Likewise, Cooper shines in this book - a man torn, driven to drastic measures, but prevailing under tremendous mental and physical strain. His race across the Alps in straight out of an Alistair Maclean thriller.
As usual, the story is full of period detail, painted against the backdrop of the final months of WW2 - the bombing of Berlin, the allies' race to get there first, the Nazis final attempts to eradicate Jews, and the plans that were already being laid to divide up Germany once the war was over. British traitor Donald Maclean even gets a mention. The historical detail is spot-on, as ever. Archie's time in New York is particularly evocative, as life in America seems to carry on as normal.
Fans of Alex Gerlis in general, and the Double Agent series in particular are going to love this penultimate instalment. The final book promises to be a belter.
Highly recommended.
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