This series has really hit its stride; the gradual change in the characters over the years is what really matters here not the plot, of which there isn’t much. This book sees Nick in his mid-thirties(ish), I guess; I find it a bit alarming that this is the start of the “autumn“ of his life! I was concerned that the military nature of this, as Nick gets into his role for the Second World War, would take us back to the all male cast that annoyed me in the first book, but I ended up fairly satisfied, even though the cast is pretty much all male. The characters are more varied & interesting now.