I finished this book with a tinge of sadness as this is the end of the story of The Choir, the dedicated and ludicrously brave escape committee dedicated to help allied military personnel escape from occupied Rome.

As in the previous two books we marvel at hw they all put their lives on the line and continually outwit the cruel but overmatched Paul Hauptmann , the despicable, murderous Gestapo Chief in charge of the German occupation forces. You almost feel sorry for him but then reality kicks in as he is nothing more than a murderer who deserves what is coming to him.

There is non-stop action involving the whereabouts of a massive sum of money purloined from the Nazis by a local master criminal and the allies are drawing ever nearer.

Who will survive and who will not?

The main characters are brilliantly depicted with May in the forefront and the Monsignor not featuring as much as previously.

What has to be mentioned is the sheer quality of the writing - rich and lush with incredibly detailed descriptions of the architecture of Rome but the action never stops and this is an incredible book which pays tribute to a brave group of people from diverse backgrounds who came together to do so much good.

Although this is fiction it is based on reality and just has to be read - but please read the first two in the series beforehand or you will miss so much back story.

Easily the best book I have read this year.