A story set just after the First World War and then sixteen
years later just before the beginning of the second. It is about a
‘retired’ spy who is in his late 30s and how he deals with assassins trying to
murder him for activities that occurred in 1919. At the same time there are various 'love' interests for the protagonist and a relationship with his goddaughter that may develop that way. The action for most of the
book happens in the South of France whilst he is hosting lavish luncheons,
laborious dinners, bathing parties and scavenger hunts for an extended group of
‘friends’. But who are his enemies and is someone close to him a betrayer? It
should have been gripping but unfortunately, for me, the writing was
‘disjointed’ and the characters not engaging enough. It was just about
interesting enough to finish but then the ending was odd and very unsatisfying.
