Publisher's Weekly
Canadian author Ted Wood, writing as Barnao ( LockeStep ), puts his bodyguard hero Locke into an action-packed but ultimately disappointing third story. A Toronto wine importer hires Locke to protect his niece upon her return to France, where she spurned the advances of a revengeful Corsican. Locke believes his entire job revolves around keeping Amy Rogers safe so she can complete her research on the French resistance in WW II. But after their landlady and Amy's French boyfriend are killed, Locke realizes that Amy's interviews with survivors about various individuals and their roles in the Resistance often disturb current relationships and loyalties. Although Locke has vowed not to get involved in a decades-old dispute,, eventually he has no choice in the matter. By making Locke a figure who merely reacts to events but does not forcefully initiate action, Barnao reduces his series hero to hamstrung bystander.