When Inspector Rudd is asked to go incognito to guard a retired British agent now living in the little village where he (Rudd) usually vacations, he feels his hands are tied rather badly: he’s given very little information to go upon, and he can’t use his usual channels of information and contacts within the police. But the puzzle of what exactly *did* happen thirty years ago in France, when the agent’s Resistance cohort all died (except him) is intriguing. And even more to the point, just who is sending slyly scary threats to him now, and causing “little” accidents?

The pulling back of psychological - and historical - layers is well-done; Rudd is a very likeable man, and a good detective; everyone else is rather sketchy, but efficiently so. The settings are good and the plot itself is, while fairly easy to guess in advance, is nicely woven together and well-paced.