The Consummate Traitor: Volume 1 (Trilogy of Treason)
Lee Talbot is an American journalist who witnesses the terrible tragedy of Hitler’s bombing of Guernica in northern Spain. She sends a detailed account of the horror to London, where it is broadcast on BBC radio.
Churchill is building a network of spies, as the Nazis must be stopped from developing – and using – nuclear weapons. Joining the British secret operations to sabotage any possibility of Hitler’s project succeeding, Lee becomes one of the spy team, but finds herself minding Churchill’s cousin, talented pianist, Lady Grace Talbot. The two women become firm friends after witnessing yet more horror. When Grace’s parents are killed in the London Blitz she joins up with Lee, using her piano to send coded messages. Events lead them to realise they can trust no one and take nothing for granted.
The novel is intriguing and fast-paced, but it is not necessarily accurate fiction – it is a thriller and an ‘alternative’ type novel with some elements a little hard to believe. But, historical fiction does not have to be a factually accurate history to make a readable, enjoyable novel.
Nit-picks would be for the presentation: preferable would be cream paper instead of white, which is so glaring on the eyes, and a better layout of the text: the margins are very narrow. I think the cover could have been better designed as well; at thumbnail size online it is almost impossible to work out what the image on the lower black border is.
Aside from that, this is a riveting story, and I look forward to the next instalment of what promises to be an interesting series.
