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Luke Pagan #2
Into Battle
A former London police officer turned special intelligence agent for the M.O.5., Luke Pagan enters his newest case chasing down a German spy, who is discovered traveling through and around Britain on the eve of the Second World War.
233 pages, Hardcover
First published February 1, 1997
About the author
Michael Gilbert
135 books97 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
Born in Lincolnshire in 1912, Michael Francis Gilbert was educated in Sussex before entering the University of London where he gained an LLB with honours in 1937. Gilbert was a founding member of the British Crime Writers Association, and in 1988 he was named a Grand Master by the Mystery Writers of America - an achievement many thought long overdue. He won the Life Achievement Anthony Award at the 1990 Boucheron in London, and in 1980 he was knighted as a Commander in the Order of the British Empire. Gilbert made his debut in 1947 with Close Quarters, and since then has become recognized as one of our most versatile British mystery writers.
He was the father of Harriett Gilbert.
Born in Lincolnshire in 1912, Michael Francis Gilbert was educated in Sussex before entering the University of London where he gained an LLB with honours in 1937. Gilbert was a founding member of the British Crime Writers Association, and in 1988 he was named a Grand Master by the Mystery Writers of America - an achievement many thought long overdue. He won the Life Achievement Anthony Award at the 1990 Boucheron in London, and in 1980 he was knighted as a Commander in the Order of the British Empire. Gilbert made his debut in 1947 with Close Quarters, and since then has become recognized as one of our most versatile British mystery writers.
He was the father of Harriett Gilbert.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
October 18, 2012
BOTTOM LINE: #2of2 Luke Pagan, MO5, 1913 Portsmouth and other naval installations, London slums and factories; gentle thriller. German spies in England in the last days before WW1. Another lovely visit with young Luke and his buddy Joe, even though he didn't come out of their last adventure in one piece but has managed to pick up his life and continues to live to the fullest. They track down a nest of German spies and attempt to figure out what's being plotted before something terrible happens. Bomb factories and naval installations and zeppelin all seem to factor into the adventure, along with Germans who seem British, Brits who seem German...
Main Characters: Luke Pagan and his best friend Joe Narrabone, intelligence operatives who work long hours undercover trying to figure out just what it is the Germans are up to; German spies high and low, and English ditto, plus a few bureaucrats thrown in for good measure.
Nicely convoluted and entertaining, but contains a bit less of Luke's personal story, which I had found to be the most entertaining bits of the previous novel. This was fun but had a very light tone despite the terrorist subject matter, with a nearly elegiac overall attitude. A "Boy's Own"-style thriller but rather slow paced for all that, still I enjoyed being transported back to pre-World War One again.
As it is Gilbert's next-to-last novel and nowhere near his best work I was a bit disappointed, but the story is clearly told and the characters interesting. A fine afternoon's read, for those of us who enjoy books set in this time period.
Main Characters: Luke Pagan and his best friend Joe Narrabone, intelligence operatives who work long hours undercover trying to figure out just what it is the Germans are up to; German spies high and low, and English ditto, plus a few bureaucrats thrown in for good measure.
Nicely convoluted and entertaining, but contains a bit less of Luke's personal story, which I had found to be the most entertaining bits of the previous novel. This was fun but had a very light tone despite the terrorist subject matter, with a nearly elegiac overall attitude. A "Boy's Own"-style thriller but rather slow paced for all that, still I enjoyed being transported back to pre-World War One again.
As it is Gilbert's next-to-last novel and nowhere near his best work I was a bit disappointed, but the story is clearly told and the characters interesting. A fine afternoon's read, for those of us who enjoy books set in this time period.
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March 10, 2008Graceful historial espionage set in Britain before WWI. Zeppelins!
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews