Review: Another gripping novel in the Duval series
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 12 19, 2013
What sets Michele McGrath’s novels apart from a lot of other historical fiction is that they are about people, not mere characters. In her latest Duval book, set in Napoleonic France, the police officer has the opportunity to retire and take over his father’s business in Grenoble, giving him well-earned time with his beloved wife and family, but Napoleon’s escape from Elba dramatically alters his fate. When the King flees from the Emperor’s advancing troops, Duval and his friend and colleague, Lefebvre, have only one choice: to help the Emperor in his fight against the Royalists and their foreign allies, the British in particular. Those of us born and bred in London take Waterloo for granted, never for a moment giving thought to the Battle after which the station was eponymously named. The author’s description of the battle is masterly. There is heartfelt pathos too; genuine, not the tear-jerking variety. Most of all, tension is maintained in a story with a surprising number of threads for such a short novel. Equally, there are many story arcs with a nice surprise twist towards the end. Read it... and enjoy, which you surely must!