2024 Cold War espionage and aviation thriller. In 2022, an
undocumented bunker turns up during construction work on a former RAF
base, containing squadron paperwork and a body with a bullet hole in
the skull. In 1964, a highly secret unit was flying Vulcans to test an
experimental weapon…
So obviously this is very much the sort of thing that I know a
bit about; it was recommended to me by someone who knows a lot more.
And I at least found the research solid, which is rare and
encouraging. (There was one possible error I noticed, but for me the
rest falls within the bounds of plausible fiction.)
The narrative is split between the modern investigation and the old
events that let up to it; the timing of those is very careful, after
the Skybolt crisis of 1962 but before the cancellation of the TSR.2
in 1965. These aren't directly relevant to the plot, but knowing about
them sets the scene. In the modern day, the RAF Police collaborate
with the local force in working out what happened, and in trying to
identify the body; in 1964, tensions arise between the RAF air crew
and technicians, the higher-ups, the small company that built Banshee
and (at a distance) the aircraft manufacturer and the Air Ministry.
(Which had become part of the new MoD back in April of 1964, though I
could readily believe that people continued to refer to it
informally.)
Of course, there's the question of what Banshee was since there's no
information about it in the present day. (Obviously the characters in
1964 have a general idea, but they don't need to tell each other as
they already know.) To me the very limited descriptions made its
nature quite apparent, but I was glad to note that Rumbold didn't
treat its discovery in 2022 as a Great Revelation (which can often
fall flat, as in a detective story, if the reader has already worked
out what's going on); the characters already know a bit about the
operational principles and don't have to have it explained entirely
from scratch.
There are also spies, in past and present, and the MICE principles at
work again (Money, Ideology, Compromise, Ego, as reasons to betray
trust).
I don't read many espionage stories, largely because of the usual
atmosphere of grubby men using each other for trivial gains. This one
worked for me, in large part because it isn't just about the
espionage; the flying is good, the aircraft mishaps are better, but
the people on base are really interesting, and never as simplistic
as one might have expected.
Some things puzzled me slightly: why was Banshee entirely abandoned?
There was certainly embarrassment about these particular events, but
the reasons for the problems with it were known, and a new design
using the same principles could have worked. (Not that it ever could
in the real world; there simply isn't enough power available on a
Vulcan to achieve the desired effects. But I file that under
"reasonable exception made for the fiction" rather than requiring
Rumbold to invent an actual Cold War weapon which for some reason
nobody thought of at the time.) Meanwhile, the nature of its backup
power source felt a little forced, as if Rumbold needed a smoking gun
to wrap up this side of the plot; in terms of the engineering, it's an
expensive extra capability of extremely limited usefulness.
Nonetheless, I am very impressed by this first novel and hope Rumbold
writes more.