I was not aware when I purchased this book that it was the most recent in a series featuring American-born Cambridge professor (and spy) Tom Wilde. The good news is that knowing that, I’ve saved myself a lot of time as I have no intention of reading another book in the series. While the opening scenes are gripping — a Japanese submarine making a secret delivery to the English shore in the final days of the Second World War, for instance — they quickly fade away and this becomes yet another thriller-by-numbers, with chase scenes at night through the English countryside, evil Nazis and *spoiler alert* even more evil Communists. The characters are wooden, the plot non-existent. Don’t waste your time.