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qalminator's review
4.0
Very enjoyable sequel. Nice seeing how Miles and Briers have continued on from Eleventh Hour. What's supposed to be a straightforward extraction turns into a series of disasters, culminating in a curtailed Orient Express jaunt. I'm amused that got them out of the penultimate jam (naturally there was still a complication left when they made it to England).
Two minor complaints: The first is that we never learn who, exactly, has been trying to stop them getting to England. However, the book ends with a clue to that, which will probably be the seed of the next book. The second is that there are quite a few minor typos (missing word, misplaced comma, minor misspelling), more than I would expect in something professionally proofread. Mostly these are minor enough to be ignored, but once in a while there would be a sentence whose meaning was difficult to parse, as a result of some typo. Hoping these can be fixed in a later edition.
Spoiler
the money of an American oil heiressTwo minor complaints: The first is that we never learn who, exactly, has been trying to stop them getting to England. However, the book ends with a clue to that, which will probably be the seed of the next book. The second is that there are quite a few minor typos (missing word, misplaced comma, minor misspelling), more than I would expect in something professionally proofread. Mostly these are minor enough to be ignored, but once in a while there would be a sentence whose meaning was difficult to parse, as a result of some typo. Hoping these can be fixed in a later edition.
jce's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
suze_1624's review
4.0
I do enjoy this series which harks back to a bygone age.
Yes, the instances Miles/Millie and Briars/Brian find themselves in are both believable and OTT at the same time!
For members of HM Secret Service they do trust on appearance a lot, but maybe that was how people were at that time, still coming out of an almost feudal class system. And people trusted what they saw with Millie.
Highly recommend reading book 1 as characters do come through.
Mrs Siward is a trooper in the best British sense, lots of action and adventure with chases, flits, train journeys and crashes.
Then there is a lovely little ‘and also’ at the end to hook into book 3.
Yes, the instances Miles/Millie and Briars/Brian find themselves in are both believable and OTT at the same time!
For members of HM Secret Service they do trust on appearance a lot, but maybe that was how people were at that time, still coming out of an almost feudal class system. And people trusted what they saw with Millie.
Highly recommend reading book 1 as characters do come through.
Mrs Siward is a trooper in the best British sense, lots of action and adventure with chases, flits, train journeys and crashes.
Then there is a lovely little ‘and also’ at the end to hook into book 3.
alisonalisonalison's review
4.0
A wonderful spy romp. I loved it! I adored the first book and this one is just as awesome. Miles and Briers are fantastic characters, and I loved seeing how their relationship has developed. I was also quite pleased to see the enigmatic Falk return, as he was one of my favourites from the first book. This book felt so cinematic and it's very vivid visually. It really conjured the spirit of a thriller movie from the 1930s. This was a really excellent adventure. Dare I hope there will be another book in this fantastic series?
kaje_harper's review
5.0
This was a wonderful sequel, bringing back Miles and Briers in a new adventure. Miles's mother is in Romania with her ambassador husband when she comes into possession of a piece of information that is a very hot potato indeed. Agents of other countries may want her silence or her information, and she needs to be whisked out of danger back to England. Who better to do the job than her son, whose talents extend beyond his file clerk routine?
But when Miles arrives, extracting his mother turns out to be fraught with difficulty and violence, and only a quick change to Millie saves their lives. From there, it's a harrowing journey by train to find Briers and enlist his help in getting Lady Siward back safely to England. But even with Briers' help, the job is anything but simple. Their train is full of unknown characters who may be enemies, friends, or just acquaintances, and there are many long miles to go.
I enjoyed catching up with several secondary characters, especially Pritchard, and appreciated the strong female characters. I also like that Millie has nothing to do with Miles's sex life, and everything to do with his personality. The plot was a bit less cohesive than in the first book, but still a lot of fun, and the ending pretty clearly sets up another story, which I will be waiting eagerly to read.
But when Miles arrives, extracting his mother turns out to be fraught with difficulty and violence, and only a quick change to Millie saves their lives. From there, it's a harrowing journey by train to find Briers and enlist his help in getting Lady Siward back safely to England. But even with Briers' help, the job is anything but simple. Their train is full of unknown characters who may be enemies, friends, or just acquaintances, and there are many long miles to go.
I enjoyed catching up with several secondary characters, especially Pritchard, and appreciated the strong female characters. I also like that Millie has nothing to do with Miles's sex life, and everything to do with his personality. The plot was a bit less cohesive than in the first book, but still a lot of fun, and the ending pretty clearly sets up another story, which I will be waiting eagerly to read.
aprillen's review
4.0
I loved this return to Briers and Miles/Millie, and the story was incredibly atmospheric -- I really felt transported to early 1930s Europe. Gregory takes no shortcuts with her historical facts; nothing feels out of place. The side characters are wonderful and vivid personalities, especially Miles's mother, who is such a great character.
The plot seemed a bit thin, and the story of the complicated flight across the European continent was more lovely and sweet and enjoyable than suspenseful and nerve-wracking, despite the obvious danger and catastrophic events, but something about this book just felt so damn *likeable*. That said, it seemed more like an unfinished story, with quite a few plot points unresolved, some of which quite big, which at least promises a possible continuation or two.
There were more than a few tiny editing slips in my epub version, but they didn't take away my sheer enjoyment of the book.
The plot seemed a bit thin, and the story of the complicated flight across the European continent was more lovely and sweet and enjoyable than suspenseful and nerve-wracking, despite the obvious danger and catastrophic events, but something about this book just felt so damn *likeable*. That said, it seemed more like an unfinished story, with quite a few plot points unresolved, some of which quite big, which at least promises a possible continuation or two.
There were more than a few tiny editing slips in my epub version, but they didn't take away my sheer enjoyment of the book.