Boring - more like a lackluster thriller to consumed by war fact and geography. Lost the plot but sadly had potential

I found this book a quick and easy read.
It tells the story of a British Information Officer on the Island of Malta in 1942 who takes it upon himself to look into the murders of at least 3 local girls.

I found the characters thinly sketched, and therefore a little difficult to distinguish and recall until I was well into the story. Once I had them all down, the novel moved along at a good clip and ended with an exciting race to the finish.

There were hints of so many themes I was hoping to get more from: the experience of the local people to their latest occupying force, the routine of daily bombing raids, the role of "spin control" in the relationship with locals and the varying agendas of the Military high command.

I enjoyed the story, but it's not one I expect to hold in my memory much beyond the beginning of my next read.

At times it could have moved a little more swiftly, but overall was a great read.

After finishing Unbroken and Operation Mincemeat, I was definitely in the mood for a good, WWII-era spy thriller. The Information Officer filled the bill, although it was more murder mystery than spy thriller. Toss in an exotic locale and if I could, I'd really give this 3.5 stars.

The Information Officer is set on Malta in 1942. The strategic importance of Malta to the Allies and the role it played in helping to win the war is a little piece of lost history that this book uncovers. Major Max Chadwick is the Information Officer, responsible for spinning the news to keep morale high among the island populace. His job is not always easy, as the Nazis lay siege to the island, blocking supply lines and pummeling its cities with bombs morning, noon and night. So when the body of a local girl is found raped and murdered and evidence points to a British submariner, Max is all too aware of the destabilizing effect this could have on the delicate relationship between the military and their Maltese hosts. Finding the killer seems to be the only way to preserve the balance.

While it didn't have quite the same compelling power of The Lock Artist, The Information Officer still kept me up too late for a few nights. The mystery was just complex enough to be interesting without being convoluted. There was a lot of exposition of history, both of the real Malta and the backstory on various characters; the latter sometimes bogged the story down. Despite lots of obvious red herrings, I still guessed the identity of the killer earlier than I should have. I'm trying to decide what I think about the climax and wrap-up, which had an unfinished feel about it. In short, a good mystery and a fun read, but not one that will have me re-reading it. I might, however, check out author Mark Mills' other mysteries.

And if nothing else, I loved the setting. I found myself calling up Malta on Google Earth to look up the landmarks mentioned in the book. And I seethed with envy knowing that a dear friend of mine was, at the very moment of my reading, vacationing on Malta, seeing it all for herself. (I lent her the book before she went, so I'm hoping to see photos of some of the places mentioned.) I might have to add Malta to my bucket list.

I liked The Savage Garden but this one was just dull, despite all of the plot elements that drew me to it - an unusual setting (Malta), WWII spies, murder, etc. Sometimes I am too quick to attribute things to gender but this very much seemed like a guy's WWII spy/murder story... interpersonal relationships weren't very developed, dialogue was blah, and the only things that were well-described were Spitfires and submarines.

I enjoyed it but after I finished I was left with a feeling that something had been missing...I think the best part was the way it made me feel as if I was on Malta during the war...

A first-reads-goodreads winner. Murder, love and intrigue what more could you want? A mystery surrounding a young woman's murder, with time running out to solve it, can Max do it in time? I like the character development but the plot could have used a little more "something" I found it slow at point but over all I really enjoyed it.

It was ok. Very slow. The author was trying to cram so much detail in about the war and the characters love life. I was left wanting more about the murders. I wouldn’t recommend.