This is book 6 in the Dudley Sisters Saga, and not unusually for me, this is the first one I've read. That said, I did not feel that I needed to have read the others in this series to be able to fully appreciate this story.

Set mostly in 1950, the action takes place in England, France and Canada. Alain Mitchell, known as 'Mitch', has been receiving psychiatric therapy from Doctor Lucien Puel in Canada for shell shock. During the course of this treatment, Mitch has remembered something which now puts his life in danger.

When he disappears, his wife, Claire, sets out to find and help him using her network of French Resistance contacts, despite circumstantial evidence suggesting that he might have left her for another woman.

The blurb didn't give much away, but I was attracted to this book by the cover, which had a war-time feel to it.

The plot was interesting and well-thought-out. It contained several details which underlined the time-frame in which it was set. I liked the characters, especially Esther, Mitch's grandmother, who comes across as a wily old lady and Thomas Durand, the leader of the Paris Marquis.

However, I struggled to get into it until about mid way through, because I felt there was too much detail about things which did not matter to, or enhance the story - such as an entire paragraph in chapter one about making tea and toast. As I read that paragraph, I thought this detail would make great stage direction, but it's detracting from the drama by reducing the tension which should be building in a thriller.

My thanks to the author for a free digital copy of this book to review. ( )

This is number six in a series. However, I've read none of the previous books, and did not find it a problem to follow and understand what was going on.

Englishwoman Claire Mitchell and her husband, Canadian Alain "Mitch" Mitchell were SOE operatives during the Second World War, dropped into France to work with the French Resistance. During that time, Mitch was captured and imprisoned by the Germans. What exactly happened is unclear, but he did eventually escape. During the escape he was shot in the leg, but reached a doctor who removed the bullets and successfully saved the leg.

They did not exchange names; it would have been dangerous. You can't reveal what you don't know.

In 1949, they've been reunited for several years, and their daughter, Aimée, is now eight years old. But Mitch has been having problems since the war, and is now diagnosed with shell shock--what we now call Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. He's sent back to Canada to be treated by a specialist, and Claire and Aimée go with him. Three months later, when they are returning home, Mitch disappears before they board the plane.

Informed that her husband is AWOL, questioned aggressively herself, and learning that Mitch is believed to be a traitor, Claire is frightened and confused.

Oh, and angry. She knows her husband is not a traitor.

And her superiors and his have forgotten that she's no ordinary war bride. She's a seasoned undercover agent who operated directly under the eyes of the Nazis in occupied France.

This is an engrossing, complex story, with enough backstory to add to the interest without being confusing. Claire is a woman of her time, but with a strength and character women were usually not recognized as having, even though that strength and character had been needed in many women, certainly during the war. We also get to meet Mitch's family, Claire's family, and their Resistance comrades in France.

Highly recommended.

I received a free electronic galley from the publisher, and am reviewing it voluntarily. ( )