Product Description

My old skipper once told me to always expect the unexpected. I should have listened to him . . .

When a plane crash leaves Charlie Bassett rested from the RAF, he receives unexpected orders - to locate the elusive, pregnant Grace Baker and bring her home.

But Grace, who has been following the armed forces across Europe, clearly does not want to be found, and despite Charlie's personal stake in it, this bizarre and challenging mission is still one he would rather avoid.

Nevertheless, Charlie finds himself journeying to France in a car named Kate, with a dubious, eccentric Army Major and his loyal Sergeant - two men who are evidently going about mysterious duties of their own.

And as Charlie moves slowly towards the front-line on this exhilarating road trip, so too does he draw closer to the woman he once loved and lost . . .

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #16728 in Books
• Published on: 2006-12-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 400 pages

About the Author

David Fiddimore was born in 1944 in Yorkshire and is married with two children. He worked for five years at the Royal Veterinary College before joining HM Customs and Excise, where his work included postings to the investigation and intelligence divisions. Charlie's War is the second novel in the Charlie Bassett trilogy. With his first novel, Tuesday's War, David Fiddimore reached the final of the first ever Richard & Judy 'How to Get Published' competition.

Customer Reviews

The humour.... The horror....
Written in an informal style, like a conversation with a friend, Charlie's War continues in the same vein as Tuesday's War - a mans' view, often comical, often surreal, of his experiences in WW2, this time travelling in a car through Europe, finally ending in the ravaged city of Bremen. His mission: to find his elusive love Grace who has recently given birth to a child but, after a traumatic experience, joined the Red Cross and is working with the Allies in mainland Europe.

Slightly darker than the last book, Charlie's War reflects a Heart of Darkness style journey as Charlie and his companions travel towards Germany. Their encounters become more dangerous and surreal as the journey progresses. These experiences often reflect real life occurences known by the author and often experienced by his father.

My grandad said to me that if you took the war too seriously you would never have survived it and Fiddimore helps to show this mentality amongst the troops, especially between Charlie and his two travelling companions - Les and James. Although at times harrowing, the book mainly focuses on the camaradery between characters and has much sharp, witty dialogue to enjoy. Several celebrity cameos and knowing winks to popular culture add to the sense of fun needed to survive amongst the devastation of war.

Charlies is a man's man - loves women and booze and is not afraid to admit it. He is likeable though maybe a bit more popular with the ladies than he should be - however someone once told me if you can make them laugh that's half the battle and Charlie has a way with the one liners!
The writer admits he is influenced by pulp fiction and writers like Spillane - the women are often promiscous, the characters have a flippant attitude to danger and always have the right thing to say at the right time. I did feel however that this could take away from the possibility of giving the novel a more emotional impact as at times they seemed a bit too charmed, occurences too convenient and some of the horrors of war did not come across as powerful as they could have. But still, this is just the writer's style - he sets out to entertain and amuse and definitely achieves this. Many of the encounters are original and exciting and the ending, although I thought it a little flawed, is certainly not predicatable.

Overall well worth a read and I'm looking forwards to part 3 in the Charlie trilogy. See you in the pub Charlie :)

Well done Fiddimore!
Have to admit that before I read the first book I was a bit put off by the Richard and Judy thing but despie that I enjoyed the book enormously! I have to say though that this second book is even better and I couldn't put it down. Indeed I almost missed my flight back from Geneva yesterday as I was so engrossed! Excellent - I would highly recommend it...

Excellent!!
I read Tuesday's War and thoroughly enjoyed it. I was expected much of the same with Charlie's War but it is completely different. However, different in a good way. This book is solely about a journey made by Charlie and two intelligence people through France, Belgium and Germany right at the tail end of the war. Charlie has been dispatched to find and return his pregnant girlfriend Grace from Europe. Her parents are wealthy and have the ear of Churchill so pull strings to bring this about. The book is as much about the relationships between the three traveling companions and their respective ranks as the search for Grace. Of course there is much adventure and subterfuge along the way. I highly recommend this book. It is nearly 500 pages long but each one is a joy. I look forward to the next one.