Up to the usual standard

an interesting storyline with plenty happening to keep my attention.
My usual complaint is Americanisms creeping in. e.g. " do the math" in stead of "do the maths". a minor irritation in a very good story.

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Beginning of the End

The story was convoluted and seemed to start with a series of tales then the threads began to come together showing a bigger canvas as with the backdrop of the beginnings of the Great War; mutterings about the Arch Duke's assassination turning into a flood of men all over the country wanting to enlist.

It was strange to see the end of an era of footmen, parties and an innocence that seemed to belong to the 19th century. The birth of the 20th Century, as seen here, was messy and very painful.

The trail of destruction left by the murderer, horrible as it was, was small beer compared to the slaughter and horrors of the Somme.

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1 person found this helpful

Enjoyable

Another good read with very good narrator looking forward to next book by this author

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A Fine Book

I read this author as a result of a freebie book from audible, enjoyed it so much I decided to start at the beginning of this series.

I like hearing about this era, I enjoyed hearing about the build up to World War 1, I had never considered this before. Very interesting, the seemingly unconnected threads joined together at the finish, I may have missed something but thought we would find out what was in the bucket/pail the young man looked into before he left.
I also enjoyed hearing about the way it was for women in that era in certain classes (and yes weren’t we obsessed with class and what was done and not done eh!!).
The narrator is also good and puts you into that era.

Great book, purchasing next in series! One of my favourite authors right now :)

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Not For Me.

Apart from the conclusion being signalled within the first hour, I couldn't finish this for a number of reasons.

There's a distasteful and almost obsessive focus on social class, running through almost every page of this book. Every new character is described by his place in society, mostly with sneering results. This is baffling, as it never has any bearing on the story and I can only conclude that it's a personal fixation of the writer. It ruins any story that might be there, as it is relentless and tedious.

Narration is fine, until he starts 'acting' his characters.

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