Jo Ann Vicarel – Library Journal

As the Nazi bombing of London begins in 1940, Detective Inspector Stratton is investigating the death of a silent screen star when he meets undercover agent Diana Calthrop, a new addition to the staff of Colonel Forbes-James, an important member of MI5. Soon their probes lead to Fascist sympathizers who believe that placating Hitler will stop his planned invasion of England. This expert blending of a police procedural with an espionage thriller reveals the danger of trust in the spy world, the naA?vetA? of young women unexposed to life, and the culpability of men and women who want to avoid war at all costs. Wilson (A Little Death), the Guardian crime fiction reviewer, won the Ellis Peters Historical Dagger Award for this series debut. Fans of Blitz-era mysteries (e.g., Christopher Hyde's A Gathering of Saints, John Lawton's Inspector Frederick Troy procedurals) will reserve this one.