After working for three novels (which I didn't read) as a private investigator in Hollywood, and one (which I quite enjoyed) in which he served as the executive officer on an anti-U-boat vessel in the U.S. Navy in the early days of World War II, protagonist Riley Fitzhugh shifts gears again to become a spy in Casablanca.

Terry Mort, the author of this series, likes to keep his readers guessing. In this story, Fitzhugh's boat is undergoing extensive repairs in London after damages suffered at the end of the last book, Hunters in the Stream, so an old friend offers him a chance to help the Allied cause by posing as a naval attache at the U.S. consulate in the largest city in Morocco and gathering valuable information about a river that might prove useful for a future invasion.

Fitzhugh of course agrees to the assignment, so don't expect this book to provide much naval action (despite what the cover art would suggest). Or much action at all, really; off the top of my head, I can recall just one gun being fired. A Spy in Casablanca is a slow burn, with a lot of time spent on setup, character development and intrigue. That's not a criticism, by the way; A Spy is quite enjoyable, for many reasons.

Fitzhugh begins the book by ending his relationship with traveling author and journalist Martha Wellhorn, with whom he started an impassioned fling in the last book while stationed in Cuba (where he also met her husband, Ernest Hemingway, who was using his wooden fishing boat to search for German submarines). They're still quite fond of each other, but he's off to Casablanca, after all, and she's heading back to the States to look for more assignments. That leaves him open to reignite an old flame when he meets Amanda Billingsgate -- who might also be a spy, is potentially a double agent, and is almost certainly a murderer -- posing as a moderately talented French chanteuse in a Casablanca nightclub.

There are unexpected turns and duplicitous revelations as the story progresses, and not everyone is who they seem. The denouement is really quite fun. The book is full of witty banter, sex, intrigue and misdirection. And, yes, Gestapo agents stalk the streets in leather trench coats.

Meanwhile, Hollywood is shooting a movie named for the city where Fitzhugh is currently stationed. Can you believe it?

I remain curious about Fitzhugh's earlier adventures as a detective, but I am even more curious to see what happens next. If the conclusion of A Spy in Casablanca is to be believed, he's heading back to his ship and further adventures await him at sea. I can't wait!

[ visit Terry Mort's website ]