The Eagle Trail

The Eagle Trail by Robert Rigby (Walker Books)

PB RRP $16.95

ISBN 9781406346664

Reviewed by Anastasia Gonis

A dramatic prologue opens the scene for this action-packed war story. It is northern France, August 1940. Three Andorran mountain guides are taking a Jewish family to safety over the Pyrenees top escape internment by the Germans. Business is brisk for these hard men, but no one can guess what becomes of the people they are paid to accompany.

Paul Hansen has returned to Antwerp to his father and mother from an English boarding school. Although there is a night curfew, food is still available and conditions haven’t yet reached crisis point.

When Paul’s father, a senior manager on the docks, is murdered by German soldiers and his mother taken into custody, Paul too faces grave danger. His friend Jos, a member of the Resistance, makes secret plans to move Paul to safety. Twists and turns create nail-biting tension and increase the pace of the story as things go awry.

Traitors are everywhere and no one is who they seem. Paul finds himself swept up in a fast-moving tide of conspiracy and death. Betrayal and murder is all around him and no one can be trusted. The dangerous Eagle Trail holds the only exit, and Paul is forced to travel with the Andorran guides. Will he come out of it alive?

Lots of drama, journeys through changing landscapes and thrilling adventures create an interesting read about the beginning of WW2 and the French Resistance. The characters, seemingly strong and courageous patriots, kept me wondering who the traitors could be right till the end.