Race cars, espionage, the British Special Operations, romance, and the roaring 20's to World War II is a rip-roaring account based on true events and real people.

(I received a free copy of this book from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.)

On a crisp autumn night in the twenty-first century, a car is pulled from the depths of an Austrian lake. A skeleton grips the wheel. Finally, an answer: William Grover-Williams, the premier English race-car driver of his generation and a hero of the French Resistance, met his end at the bottom of a mountain lake.
Or did he?
In the Roaring Twenties, Grover-Williams and Frenchman Robert Benoist were teammates and rivals on the Bugatti racing team. Locked in a fierce competition for the world championship, they also raced to win the heart of the gorgeous Eve Aubicq. Then the war changed everything—and nothing. As members of the British Special Operations Executive, Grover-Williams and Benoist dashed across France in support of the Resistance, but it wasn’t just the Nazis they had to watch out for. Double agents were everywhere, and friendship—or love, for that matter—was no guarantee of loyalty. Every morning, Will, Robert, and Eve had to look in the mirror and ask: Whom can I trust today? The wrong answer might just have spelled their doom.

*3.5 stars*

This one was a little hit or miss for me.

Let me start by saying that I was intrigued by the premise - a battle of two men for the affections of a woman, both in motorcars and then as spies in support of the Resistance. The double agents, espionage, friendships and romances were enough to ensure a hit novel, wasn't it?

Well, it was - for the most part. I was immediately impressed with the author's research. I could certainly sense that I was reading about the 1920's - and then WW2. It isn't easy to achieve that across the length of a book but, to his credit, the author has done that very well.

However, the middle third of the book really dragged on for me. It was like the premise was set, the plot was moving along, the ending decided...then let's have a break and waffle a bit. That was really disappointing as I was fully into the story by then.

But, in the authors defence, the last 75 pages or so were a cracking read and earned back a little bit of praise from me. I am no author but I do think that this could have been even better with a little more editing...


Paul
ARH