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Eddie Dawson #3

Operation XD

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Eddie Dawson returns in his most explosive outing yet.If an officer wants to talk, something’s usually wrong. Plucked from his unit, Eddie Dawson knows trouble awaits.

The Netherlands is under Nazi invasion from land and sea. Amsterdam is besieged. But the Nazis aren’t interested only in conquest; they want the enormous Dutch oil reserves for their war effort.

Soon Dawson understands what game is he’s an explosives expert, and there’s a load of oil that needs to be destroyed. But can he get there in time – and get out alive? 

Based on true events, this latest James Barrington WWII thriller is intense and unputdownable, perfect for fans of Iain Gale and Jack Higgins.

335 pages, Kindle Edition

Published February 12, 2018

30 people are currently reading
18 people want to read

About the author

Max Adams

8 books10 followers
Max Adams is a pen name of Peter Stuart Smith.

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Community Reviews

5 stars
116 (48%)
4 stars
72 (30%)
3 stars
38 (15%)
2 stars
9 (3%)
1 star
3 (1%)
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
27 reviews
March 30, 2018
This book is a bit of a letdown

The other books in this series, inspired thoughts and emotions that, brought the war up close and personal . It was amazing to consider how the war was from a soldier albeit a fictional soldier's, point of view. This book departs from that. It follows the characters in a very dry recital of the history.
Profile Image for Nick Brett.
1,067 reviews68 followers
March 29, 2018
I am a fan of much that James Barrington has done, his thriller series featuring Paul Richter is as good as any out there and with some great characters. I read and enjoyed the first Eddie Dawson book, but was underwhelmed by the second sadly. After a long gap we get a third book, and encouraged by reviews suggesting a slightly different approach, I decided to give it a try.
It is different, the non-stop chase stories from the first two are not in evidence. Instead the author takes an interesting bit of WW2 and puts his character into the mix. The facts are amazing, a small group of territorial engineers (the KFRE Kent Fortress Royal Engineers) went into Holland as the Germans advanced to destroy oil stocks and installations to deny their use to the Germans. They then moved to France and did the same, often despite skirmishes with the Germans and unhelpful local forces who did not believe that the Germans could break through. These operations were secret, but at one stage these territorials were the most decorated unit in the British Army.
So Eddie brings his innovative skills to the KFRE and joins them on their missions to blow the dumps. Eddie is used well and is not given all the credit for the great work of the KFRE, but the flow and pace that I have come to expect from Mr Barrington isn’t there. Too often things are explained to the reader by one of the characters “talking” to Eddie and this became too regular and too unnatural. So it is a slice of a very interesting bit of WW2 history, but is a little too factual and suffers a little from that.
Profile Image for Alan Conner.
17 reviews
September 15, 2018
I didn't enjoy this book as much as the first 2, everytime you thought that there may be some action it fizzled out. There wasn't much contact with the German army, I know it was based on a true story and if that's the case they seemed to be extremely lucky that everything went so smoothly including getting back in time for the evacuation. There didn't appear to be much in the way of tension and action for me, particularly when they reached France.
Profile Image for Monroe Bryant.
412 reviews1 follower
February 17, 2018
Not the Dawson I know

Ok, Dawson is a bad ass but not much action in this story. Probably because the author was recounting actual events, never the less, it was not one of his best therefore the two stars. Here's hoping for more action and quick thinking next time.
Profile Image for Ben Peyton.
Author 1 book9 followers
May 28, 2019
Far too pedestrian. As others have already said, the first two books were frenetic action thrillers, but this had far too much dialogue and nowhere near enough action.
Very disappointing, but still entertaining in places.
18 reviews
August 1, 2018
A good read

Fast moving, believable characters and full of action. I found it hard to put down. Looking forward to the next instalment.
19 reviews1 follower
December 15, 2018
A different slant on this part of the war

A fast read. I am well read in this area and I learned a lot. Fun characters
An interesting read.k
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews

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