One might be tempted to think, "Another novel set during World War Two... !", or, "Another teenage spy... !", and one would be correct in both cases but with the opposite of the implied Oh No. Because this teenage spy develops from a naive boy joining in with his friends' Jew-baiting in Nazi Germany to a lad who is as accomplished and ruthless as any hard-bitten spy during the war.

At each stage of this book the voice is excellent. The adult reader may be horrified by the boy's willingness to attack Jews verbally and damage their property, but of course his diplomat parents couldn't let him know that they weren't in favour of his hanging out with the Hitler Youth wannabees. Then when Joe begins to see the horror of the hatred, the reader hears the realisation and feels Joe's own terror as he and his mother must flee for their lives. Later in London during the Blitz we have once more Joe's new understanding of the world and his growing friendship with a group of 'sewer rats'. It's great to see the development of maturity.

Throughout the book there are little snippets from an elderly Joe's memoirs - a nice touch. And at the end there's a glossary and a few historical photos should the reader want some factual background to this engrossing novel.