If you are someone who is interested in topics such as World War (1 and 2), European tax administration, prison camps, spy networks and other related stuff from that period, then this historical fiction Mystery of the Broken Gargoyle by Steven Burgauer is going to interest you.
My particular area of interest was the description of London and its destruction during the Blitz of World War 2. Of course, I have been a fan of spy novels but this is not your typical, conventional spy novel. Rather, in spite of being a work of fiction, it offers very richly detailed and realistic depictions of each and every event. Plus, there is of course the age-old themes of honor, loyalty, betrayal, courage and resilience; I mean any book on war, fiction or not, would be incomplete without these. The war scenes are quite creatively described and there is not a single page where I felt bored.
I literally had my heart in my mouth as I read about the prisoner of war camps – which goes on to show the amount of research done by the author on the topic.
To sum up, I highly recommend this work to any fan of the historical fiction genre – anyone who prefers a realistic view of the two wars (instead of a sanitized or over-the top and exaggerated version that I have been so used to).
