Europe in Winter

After the near future espionage thriller that was Europe at Midnight, Hutchinson let's his protagonist Rudi, from Europe in Autumn, be the focus of this, the third in the Fractured Europe series. Well, I say focus, but it's more like Rudi pops up at the end of a string of seemingly unconnected vignettes to try and fit together the pieces of a very complex puzzle.

The novel starts in spectacular fashion with two brand new characters and a devastating act of terrorism. And this sets a pattern for the book: new characters are introduced, they get caught up in the web of a vast conspiracy, their lives are turned upside down and Rudi appears to smooth things over. Rupert, from Midnight, also appears, working with Rudi to uncover just what the hell is going on.

Who created The Community, the parallel world mapped over Europe, and why? Who is behind the attacked on the vast railway known as The Line? Why have the super rich been running virtual scenarios in the walled off data facility known as Dresden Neustadt? What was Rudi's late father involved in? And how is it all connected?

This is an exciting, if at times confusing, near future thriller and the revelations at the end of the book open up the world Hutchinson has created and also pull the rug from under Rudi's feet as he realises that everything he thought he knew isn't necessarily true.

If there's one complaint it's that perhaps too many new characters are introduced over the course of the novel and then sidelined. But it's a minor complaint in what is another highly accomplished thriller by Hutchinson. Just have a notebook handy while you read!