During the early stages of World War II the island of Malta was a strategic target of the Axis forces. It stood as the only holdout in the Mediterranean against Germany and Italy and allowed the Allies to intercept shipping between Europe and North Africa. By May of 1942, enemy planes were carrying out multiple bombing raids every day to bring the island to its knees.
As Information Officer on the island, Max Chadwick s job was to report the news in as positive a light as possible to help maintain the morale of the small contingent of troops as well as the citizenry of Malta. Even under normal circumstances, this would have been an extremely difficult assignment; but to make matters worse, there may be a sadistic serial killer of young women on the island and a clue left at one of the murder scenes apparently links the killer to an officer of the British forces.
Because of the potential negative fallout if the killer turns out to be a British serviceman, the military powers aren't in a rush to investigate and they discourage Max from delving further into the mystery. Torn between his duty as an officer and his conscience, Max secretly hires a local detective to quietly investigate. To complicate matters further, Max is also torn between two women on the island, one of whom is married to a fellow officer who may or may not be under suspicion for the crimes. Under a nearly constant barrage of bombs and unsure who he can trust among his colleagues, Max must move cautiously, not only to stay alive, but to protect the women close to him.
As a World War II history buff, I enjoyed learning more about a part of the war with which I wasn t that familiar. But whether you have an interest in that era or not, I think you ll enjoy this exciting and informative novel which is part mystery, part history and part spy thriller.