“Highly recommended by me – and I must add that I was left with the thought that the whole story would make a quite perfect Sunday night tv drama…”

A spy thriller – now that might be many miles away from my usual reading, but I must say I thoroughly enjoyed every moment of this one. The whole era is so wonderfully recreated, with little touches of contemporary and domestic detail that transport you into the late 1950s, with reverberations of wartime intrigue and the growing shadow of the Cold War. The world of espionage is beautifully handled too – Ena’s work with the wartime “cold cases” putting her in mortal danger, its source the mystery at the story’s centre, along with her husband Henry’s work with MI5 complete with all its confusing smoke and mirrors.

Ena’s a quite wonderful heroine, totally driven by her quest to uncover the mystery behind the reappearance of her former colleague, totally undeterred as the danger comes considerably closer to home, even when her marriage becomes affected and colleagues die in mysterious circumstances. She constantly bends the rules of engagement, and I loved her strength and dogged determination – and all her interactions with others, that made her such a well-rounded personality and so engaging, and a character I found myself rooting for as the threats to her personal safety multiplied.

But although Ena herself always draws the eye and her actions drive the story, this book is filled with other very strongly drawn characters. I particularly enjoyed the portrayal of her two colleagues at the cold case department; and I really liked her relationship with Inspector Powell, perhaps one of very few characters she might just be able to rely on.

I really do want to talk about some of the cleverly handled small detail – particularly the Collins enigma, the way it emerges and the quest to solve it, that opens another fascinating dimension to the gripping story – but I don’t want to spoil the story for others, which would be quite unforgivable. The layering of the whole story is so superbly done – the surprises, the twists, the whole way in which things often aren’t quite what they seem – and the nail-biting tension steadily cranks up towards a satisfyingly dramatic climax, vividly written and cinematic in scope.

And I really do need to mention the sheer quality of the writing – I’ve enjoyed other books by the author, but this one really does move her into a different league. The whole story – the concept, and the way it’s developed – is thoroughly excellent, every scene vividly described, the dialogue authentic and real, the period detail perfect, with every new character well-developed, integral to the story and driving the action.

Read the full blog post and Ann’s opinion of The Dudley Sisters’ Saga @ https://beinganne.com/2019/10/review-there-is-no-going-home-a-bletchley-park-cold-case-by-madalyn-morgan

On BeingAnne.com the are reviews of some great books. Check them out @ https://beinganne.com/