The Winter Ball
The Winter Ball covers five days in December 1942 leading up to the Buckingham Hotel’s annual luxurious winter ball. It opens with Maynard Charles, who works for MI5, meeting an asset who tells him that there’s a traitor in the American Embassy. The traitor is preparing to give the enemy secrets about a powerful new weapon being developed. However, just after Charles informs his superiors, he is shot. Undercover agent and ‘ballroom king’, Raymond de Guise, is told his family will host three American servicemen from the US embassy as part of the ‘home away from home’ programme, one of whom is the traitor. Raymond therefore needs to protect his family while uncovering the traitor. He also has to balance this assignment with the pressure of preparing for the Buckingham’s winter ball, especially as there are rumours the royal family might attend. In addition, staff at the Buckingham’s rival, the Imperial, are determined they will host the royal party and use various underhand methods to try and achieve this.
The Winter Ball is the eighth novel in du Beke’s Buckingham series. As a result, there is a huge cast of characters which the omniscient narration follows, most of whom work in different areas of the Buckingham. If (like me) you haven’t read the previous books, it is a lot to absorb at first. However, it is worth persevering with this engaging, feel-good Second World War read. The main plot, and the many subplots, move along briskly to a satisfying conclusion, and the characters are (mostly) likeable, decent people and leave the reader rooting for them.
