In the second installment of Perry's Elena Standish tales, the titular heroine is the only one who can recognize MI6's man—because he's her former lover. Aiden Strother betrayed her six years before, throwing shame on her entire family. Now, with so much to prove, Elena heads to Trieste to track down Aiden and find out what happened to his handler, who has mysteriously cut off contact with Britain just as the plans of Nazi Germany are coming to light.
A Question of Betrayal is appropriately suspenseful and tense, and shows how brilliant a writer and plotter Anne Perry is. She proudly depicts a time when freedom of speech was not only valued but could get you killed if used at the wrong time in front of the wrong people. It’s a unique place to be from a historical perspective, in between world wars, and a period from which I'm sure Perry will be able to siphon out many more interesting stories.
Ms. Perry ties her story-strands together in convincing fashion, in a work whose 20th-century setting seems to have brought out new psychological and descriptive nuances in an author better-known for her Victorian-era novels.
Elena’s attempt to understand the mystery man who betrayed her takes up about half the novel and is relayed in tense, understated prose with limpid moments ... This manages to be a winning mix of crime story and espionage drama, boat chase and seaplane rescue included.
