Those who have read Downing’s Jack of Spies (check out a review of that one here) will be happy to hear that the next book in the series One Man’s Flag is just as good. It is now 1915, and as Europe goes up in flames in the second year of World War I, Jack McColl is still working for the British Secret Service. Now though he is in British India tracking down anti-imperialist Indians who may or may not be in cahoots with Germany and trying to decide how he feels about Caitlin Hanley. Caitlin is still a reporter, Irish Nationalist and radical suffragist. She is simultaneously working her way around Europe reporting on the war, trying to get to the bottom of an Irish plot to throw off British rule and decide how she feels about Jack.
Those who loved Jack of Spies will find the same narrative style that takes the reader on a veritable tour of the early twentieth century world. You get to ride along with Jack across the Subcontinent, from the teeming streets of Calcutta to the jungles of southern India. Caitlin hops from one country to another, crossing battle lines and societal lines. Along the way they historical figures make cameo appearances.
If you want a book with a tight plot this may not be the read for you since the plot takes a backseat to experiences of the characters and the world they move through. However, if you want what amounts to a historical fiction travel narrative with suspense, action and romance tossed in for spice this is definitely a book for you.