Thank you Netgalley for the advanced reader's copy of A Slender Thread by John Rhodes.

I didn't realize this was the third book in the series when I started reading. I struggled with this one. It felt like the book spent more time on the mechanics and action of wartime than character introductions or development. Not having read the first two, I'm unsure if this was due to the writing style or if more character development had already taken place.

I would consider going back and reading the first 2 books.

I would recommend this book for fans of WW2 historical/action fiction.

I had mixed feelings about this book. I feel like John Rhodes captured the problems and conflict of Malta during the war. However, I just feel this was gloom and doom more so than it needed to be. Yes, I absolutely understand the hardships and the conflict the war has caused, but I feel like the object of this book was follow a character till their death and repeat. Do I wish they made it light and fluffy? Absolutely not. I think it could have just been written slightly different. Still a good book for me in the end though.

Thank you Netgalley and Roundel House for access to this arc.

In book three of this series, which has more than enough backstory to allow new readers to start here, Eleanor and Johnnie Shaux are back together again and on the island of Malta during part of the epic two year siege it endured in World War II. Eleanor is working with Air Vice Marshall Park again, sits in on two meetings with Harry Hopkins as that man gathers information for President Roosevelt, and accompanies Park to testy weekly meetings with the Governor of Malta in which Park and Lord Gort snap at each other thus showing that politics and territoriality carry on even during war. Meanwhile Johnnie manages to ignore all the deskwork that goes along with his position in favor of flying endless missions in his amazing Spitfire Mark IX.

Of course that’s not all that everyone does. The island of Malta is in the second year of dogged survival against the best efforts of the Italians and Germans to bomb it into submission while, at the same time, they also try to cut off the desperate British resupply missions – costing merchant shipping, Royal Navy vessels, and lives in almost suicide convoys across the Mediterranean.

Will supplies arrive and keep Malta from having to surrender? Can the British finally turn the tables and take the fight to the Axis rather than just grimly hanging on? Can Eleanor be any more admired by one and all? And is Johnnie coming close to finally cracking under his enormous weight of guilt due to shooting down enemy air crew and the loss of yet another of his few friends?

No, this book isn’t going to come close to equaling the fantastic first book, in this series but I like it better than the second one. There’s more flying and less about Eleanor’s “zero-sum” mathematical model that propelled her to the notice of political and military movers and shakers and which got described ad nauseam in the last book. Oh, and there’s also a bit less of Johnnie’s favorite Yeats’ poem and thank you for that.

Yet Eleanor now approaches Mary Sue status as Park and Hopkins seem to venerate her insight and she is given several instances wherein it seems that only she can hit upon just what is needed to save the day. In one scene when a pilot has been shot down, it’s Eleanor who realizes that a slower flying plane is needed to spot him and recommends two different ones to the professional pilots who remark that “She’s right!” Shouldn’t the pilots have come up with this first? Penelope, a new character, also has to mentally sing Eleanor’s praises in almost every scene that Penelope is in. Eleanor would think this to be tosh as she’s constantly berating herself to do more, work harder, and somehow manage to save the hungry children of Malta all while denigrating the new doctor who dares suggest that Johnnie is suffering from battle fatigue.

I have to agree with the red-headed runt of a doctor who thinks Johnnie needs a bit of down time. We’re in Johnnie’s head a lot while he’s in the air which is cool as details of flying a Spitfire, among other planes, are included (which may be mind numbing if readers aren’t interested in this). We also learn of a disturbing recurring dream that haunts Johnnie when he tries to sleep amidst flying endless missions, volunteering for others, and acting as a navigator for a rescue boat trip. It’s almost a good thing that Johnnie didn’t have to suffer through receiving yet another medal he disdains as his head might have finally exploded from his disgust. Yeah, I think Johnnie might actually benefit from a bit of rest.

The book does include some interesting views of the stresses of those under constant strain. Johnnie and Eleanor have a long history and have been happily married for two years but fractures are beginning to show in Eleanor’s vision of their future. Another couple come together over the course of the narrative – ignoring the fact that he’s got a long term relationship at home while she has just emerged from one she didn’t want.

Will I be back for the next installment? You betcha as this one ends on a cliffhanger. I’ll cross my fingers that it will be more like “Breaking Point.” C+

This would be a great book for someone who is really into planes. The descriptions of the different planes and flying them would be great for a plane person to nerd over. It's written very much like a narrative non-fiction and you can tell it was very well researched. When people think about WWII, they generally think about the France, Germany, Poland area, but much of Europe was involved in this conflict and this book brings awareness to Malta and the North Africa region of the war. These stories are important to be told.

A WWII fiction novel set on Malta which is a setting that I haven’t read before. I found it interesting and now I want to read more about the Siege of Malta.

An very good novel of the hardships faced by the people of Malta during the early stages of the war. The story is well developed and there is sufficient action to keep your interest. A good read.

Thank you to #NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you net galley for the advance reader copy of this novel. This was a wonderful WWII read about the importance of Malta. Lots of historical details.