Review: Once More Unto the Breach

During the Allied liberation of Europe Rhys Gravenor, a Welsh farmer, travels to France looking for his son in Once More Unto the Breach. With the help of American ambulance driver Charlotte Dubois he sets off on a roadtrip across the country following clues and encountering one dangerous situation after another.

The novel was off to the races before we ever got to know the main characters or their motivations. And the plot hinges on a too convenient and improbable meeting at the beginning of the novel.

Once More Unto the Breach (digital galley, Polis Books) has promise but is, unfortunately, full of stiff dialogue and it’s not really clear why Rhys is so desperately looking for his son. After all, he’s just one of millions wrapped up in WWII and displaced from their families. What makes this situation and relationship so unique that it was worth commencing a search during wartime?