Watches
of the Night
By
Sally Wright
ASIN:
B007G0IQRQ
A
February 2012 Kindle release
Ben
Reese is at it again in his latest suspenseful adventure. This time crime
novelist Sally Wright takes readers on a sweeping historical journey from 1945
to 1962 over two continents. It is a vast undertaking and in the hands of a
lesser write could have been a disaster. I am pleased to note strongly, this is
an outstanding novel.
First
are the characters. From the intriguing Ben Reese and his fellow army scouts to
Raimondo Ricciardi, the Italian Vatican scholar, Wright sketches strong precise
lines placing her characters in logical elegant settings that enhance the story
and the context. Then comes the setting. Moving from the horrors of the second
world war to the relative peace of a small Midwestern university in such a way
that firm connections and motivations stir similar emotions is quite a feat and
Wright accomplishes this more than once in the novel. The result is a novel
well rooted in places where the action fits tightly.
The
plot is first rate and if the author occasionally strays into meditative
ruminations, those asides tend to only momentarily slow the pace.
The
story has its roots in incidents on the Western Front in 1945. Germany is
crumbling and the Allies are desperate to acquire as much technology from the
German scientific community as possible. Frequent forays behind German lines to
collect data and experimental results occur almost constantly. In spite of the
considerable dangers, Army scouts lead technical teams into the field. Ben
Reese is one such scout. He discovers the possibility that the technical leader
of one such team is working more assiduously for his personal gain than for the
broader mission. Has he become a murderer?
Years
later, what Reese observed in 1945 continues to gnaw at his conscience and then
a series of seemingly isolated deaths reawakens Reese’s concerns to a
significantly higher level. Reese’s post-war work as a journeyman archivist
with an academic appointment both enhances his ability to act and heightens his
moral awareness. The two plot lines are nicely blended.
As
always, meticulous research lays a strong foundation for the actions of the
novel and readers may well be surprised to learn of some of the activities of
their government in past years. Although fiction, the novel and the series are
strongly based in the real world, and thoughtful readers will learn a good deal
about the historical context of today’s world and at the same time have a
rousing and enjoyable reading experience.