James Holland continues his winning formula with another Jack Tanner story. Holland blends his historical knowledge and expertise with the joyful exuberance of the old Commando comics. Newly promoted Tanner is recovering in Cairo where the Eight Army is in disarray and the fate of Africa is in the balance. While waiting to return to his unit Tanner helps out an old friend trying to identify a German spy cell but soon he is back into the action with the troops fending off Rommel's tanks. Of course both storylines come together, but it is a satisfying mix. James Holland seems to have found his niche, that deep rich knowledge to wrap around our hero Tanner. As always it was an excellent read, and I learnt a few things about the North African campaign too,

A great read,a rattling good yarn

Pretty gung ho! Our hero, Jack Tanner, not only fights the Second World War virtually single handedly, but also uncovers a spy ring in Cairo when he has a week’s sick leave. As you would expect from a historian of Holland’s standing, the period setting is really authentic and the nuances of world allegiances well explained. However, the characterisation is unsophisticated and not everyone is interested in which was the best machine gun in the war. We are asked to believe that Intelligence would conduct a top secret interview with a hospital patient, with the nurse still in the room? Needless to say, she just happens to be Jack Tanner’s beautiful girlfriend and the “careless talk costs lives” dictum obviously doesn’t apply to them. I felt this promised more than it delivered – initially, I thought it would be a great espionage thriller along the lines of “The Key to Rebecca”, but it soon degenerated into a rooting, tooting, shooting Boys Own special, which went on rather too long. Could have done with some drastic editing in my opinion and more subtlety with regards to plot and characterisation, but would make a great beach read for my 16 year old nephew.