Non-stop tension; grim humour; riveting and revealing human exchanges, most of all between the flawed, passionate would-be-assassin and his fatherly, worldly-wise victim-to-be. All this and more, set against a three-party scrap for power, in a country still occupied by the retreating Nazis, but now threatened by the now-unstoppable Russian advance towards Germany.

Well-crafted drama, political and moral dilemma, colourful colloquial French, and a teeny bit of philosophy thrown in for good measure (I hardly noticed it). A superb read, but also a salutory introduction to the big, bad world for young, passionate converts to, well, just about anything.