by Anthony Price
This story brings back the days of the Cold War about 25 years after end of WWII. The main protagonist is Dr David Audley who is an expert on the Middle East but who is called to use his admirable sleuthing capabilities in a case of a fighter pilot believed lost at sea who is actually found at the bottom an accidentally drained lake. The plane, a Dakota was last seen in late 1945, making it's last run. Only the earthly remains of the pilot Johnnie Steerforth were found in the skeleton of the aircraft. Along with this were found several boxes of pieces of concrete, pretty much unchanged. The other three members of the crew and a passenger had bailed out before the doomed aircraft found it's watery grave. 
For some reason the Russians have been looking for any information on Dakota airplanes for all the years of the past quarter century. It is apparent that the boxes of cement in the cargo hold are substitutes for something. The intriguing question is what is it that the Russians are still looking for that would be of importance after so long? The answer may lie in clues pointing to the abandoned airfield that was home base to the pilot Johnnie.David Audley always looks behind the obvious and even the not so obvious and he soon has an idea of what the the mystery is. But he feels out of his depth after having been a desk bound mentalist for donkey's ages. He has also to discover why he has been chosen for this task when he is more of an expert on the areas of Israel and Lebanon. The answers to the questions must be found quickly before more people die, perhaps David himself is in danger.
This is an excellent tale. It has a taste of spies, the sixties, a hint of romance and murder as well as a bit of a history lesson. I am looking forward to reading more about David Audley and his adventures.
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