This espionage thriller, the 3rd in the Tommy Hambledon series, is set in 1939 before England declared war. It's the first book in the series which takes place entirely in England and Tommy has a new (and young) colleague James Bellair.

Bellair is keen but a bit naive and as such makes a good foil for Hambledon and Reck.

While it isn't completely necessary to have read the first 2 books, it does help to understand some of the relationships and references. ( )

Tommy Hambledon is just back in England after completing his assignment in Germany. Before he can even settle in he is recruited to solve the ship bombings that keep happening in Portsmouth Harbor. He is given a junior intelligence officer, Jimmy Bellair, as an assistant.

The case is hush-hush and must be kept completely secret, so the agents plan to meet their informant at the Café D'Albertini on New Year's Eve. Just as the informant is entering the restaurant he his killed. The café is packed and everyone is interviewed but now obvious suspects are found. It is now up to Hambledon and Bellair to befriend a few of the guests and try and get a line on who would be the murderer and if it ties with the bombings.

Among the guests they befriend are Bettine Gascon, a governess and a bit of an air head, Rodney Siddall, a well known hairdresser, Elsie Roberts, who is known as the Wax Doll and Stafford Wilkins, Bettine's date. Each of these people have secrets of their own they don't want revealed.

Bellair wines and dines Bettine to get closer to her and see if he can find out some clues. He also goes out with some of the men and finds himself on the receiving end of some rough treatment, which doesn't look good to Hambleton. Hambleton has his own brushes with rough treatment, but in the end he does solve the mystery using his information and what Bellair digs up.

It moves a little choppy at times, but it is a good read at a slow pace. ( )