Review of Doing one's duty

[Nonso Samuelson]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Doing one's duty" by Mike Walsham.]

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4 out of 4 stars

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Andrew is a British intelligence service agent assigned to a rescue mission to the French Coast to bring back British soldiers who fought against the Nazis. During this mission, he also had a secondary task—get vital information about the war from the French battalion. Disguised as a French man, he meets Claudette, who shelters him for two nights before returning to London.

He was immediately assigned another mission to convince the King of Norway and his cabinet members to reconsider battling with the vastly superior Nazis and accept exile in London. During this mission, he meets Helen, a supposed emissary of the Norway embassy in Britain, who assists him on his mission. As the attraction between them grows, Andrew starts noticing some irregularities that make him suspect Helen is a German spy sent to kill the Norwegian royals. Is Andrew right in his suspicion? What happens between him and Helen? Did he succeed in his mission?

"All is fair in love and war" would be an excellent statement to describe the events of this book. In Doing One's Duty, Mike Walsham showed his knowledge of war events and skill at telling war stories. The author set this story in mid-1940—the same timeline as the Battle of France. He incorporated true elements of past wars, like the rescuing of British soldiers from Dunkirk and the signing of the armistice by the French in June 1940.

It was intriguing to read about the action that warring countries took to try and destabilize each other. Walsham's descriptive skills made these events come alive in my mind. The impact of his writing was also felt in other areas, like when he talked about helming a ship and Andrew's disguise. I also liked how each chapter had a timestamp; this made it easy to follow the happenings in the story chronologically.

Although this book is a sequel, the story was self-sufficient and easy to understand—I didn't feel like I was missing anything. Andrew was my favorite character—I loved his diligence, discipline, and willingness to serve his country. For someone who had no training as a naval officer, he handled himself well on the ships. This was especially evident when he had to shoot the anti-aircraft guns. Andrew's character was sufficiently developed—I only wish the author had used the characters of Andrew's wife and kid a bit more.

There was nothing to dislike about this book. I didn't find a single error while reading; it was exceptionally well edited. I rate it 4 out of 4 stars and recommend it to lovers of war and historical stories.

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Doing one's duty
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[Astral Magi]

What an exciting read! Do the Norwegian royals survive? Thanks for a great review.

[Joseph Olalekan]

I would love to read this book because I feel it's thrilling.

[Elendu Ekechukwu]

This is a suspense filled book. I would love to know what happened to the Norwegian royals

[collinsogw555]

This is a mission of a man called Andrew who most guides the British soldier back to their country and also, spy the French.. Would he succeed in his mission? Thank you for your review.