Thriller /mystery
WWII
This debut
novel was quite well written, and backed by some serious research; Glenn Dyer
does a creditable job of building a plot around a ‘maguffin’: a vital piece of
paper that goes missing from a US photographic laboratory in London. If this
item gets into the hands of the Nazis, the second front will be adversely
affected or might have to be cancelled, and WWII will go in a whole new
direction. The outcome of the War could be affected.
Mr Dyer’s
writing style is strong, and the witticisms sprinkled throughout the text tell
us he had fun writing the book. But he has a fondness for mentioning smells.
It’s like a writer’s tic... A good editor should have picked this
up. Had this been restricted to the main character it would not have noticed or if the resolution of the story had depended on his olfactory skill,
but several characters were possessed of this super-sense
and it had nothing to do with the plot. His editor could also have tightened the
plot here and there – so a good technical editor is suggested for this obviously talented author - the extra investment
would be worthwhile.
Overall,
however, a good, lively debut novel, most certainly in the top quartile of WWII spy
stories. I look forward to the next one. I know that it will be even better.
© JJ Toner
click here to
return to home page 'Bookshelf' then scroll down for more items of interest
No comments:
Post a Comment
We do not accept comments. If you need to contact Discovering Diamonds go to the CONTACT facility
Note: only a member of this blog may post a comment.