Overall I have enjoyed the five book series describing Eva Molenaar’s wartime adventures, which, in this final episode, tracks into an uncertain post war period, wherein powerful forces are seeking to dominate a new international order. With intrigue aplenty, there’s still a role for the diverse skillset of Eva, Brandt, de Witte, et al, drawn together, despite the diminishing drumbeat of conflict, for one last hurrah.
The book has the feel of a finale, with the familiar cast of characters reassembled for one last bow. Even spymaster, Chainbridge, is winkled out of retirement, but having survived the war, can their luck hold? For Eva and Brandt particularly, their relationship having withstood recent years of separation (the latter having been incarcerated in some Russian hell hole), the stakes are set high. It’s to the author’s credit that Mr Craven manages the plot threads of drama and romance, turmoil and poignancy, humanity and tyranny with the assuredness of an accomplished storyteller. The villains are despicable, the heroes unassuming, but determined and similarly ruthless.
The ending also takes no prisoners, though having bought into the group’s journey across five volumes, the culmination of their collective sacrifice seemed somehow deflating. Perhaps, the message is deliberately philosophical, when it comes to war, there can be no ‘winners’….
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