The mysterious death of Mad King Ludwig, his life of fantasy and excess and the discovery of a former Nazi bunker are combined to produce a fast paced thriller. History and surmise are blended in a story in which tough characters triumph over enemies almost as tough as they are, move from former royal castles to the Black forest, along underground canals and across Bavaria in order to track down the solution to a puzzle and thus find the treasure they believe exists.

Verdict: A well-researched and interesting premise, let down (for me) by too much contrived jokiness between the two lead characters; it read like the author had thought of lots of witty repartee and then randomly dropped in each exchange. Take that out you’d have a well written, interesting, four-star book. ***