..There are alot of people who do not want this story to be told..The story of Operation Gladio..
....Bravo realised that the hand holding the cigarette was shaking....
Robert Bravo, a man with countless life's on his conscious in the name of freedom, was finally driven by guilt and resolve to unburden decades worth of secrets. Knowing his time is limited and desperate to share his story, Peter Kentish is the right man to help bring all the ugly deeds to light. However upon meeting him and more importantly his
family there may be more at stake then he released for both Peter and himself.
The Colletta Cassettes by Bruno Noble sets us down in 1978, Argentina is hosting the Fifa World cup and the Kentish Family are taking a small vacation to the sleepy picturesque village Colletta. The family trip is really a disguise for a work commitment as Mr Kentish an investigative journalist is about to unravel the story of a lifetime.
While this is a working trip as well as a family holiday Sebastian the oldest child is not to eager to be cooped up with nothing to do, that is before he meets Rosetta. Bitten by first love and curiosity he cannot get her out of his mind. His mother is not to fond of her and wants to keep a close eye but Sebastian always seem to get mixed up with the other teenager.
Overall it was an enjoyable read, some of the things I really liked was how Bruno spoke about Colletta, it gave me flashbacks of when I go on holiday. The community in the village, the staff and activities. The descriptive language was so good I felt like I was there,repetition of locations and even the pathways and routes the characters took, it was easy to imagine the world they were in.
The story flowed really well as we had a good balance between the dark nature involving Bravo and ultimately his conclusion on one end and a love story plus holiday life on the other. With certain parts intertwining such as Bravo's link to the Kentish family, Rosetta's father and the political unrest during the football World cup.
It was fascinating to know more about Gladio and Bruno's involvement. I would have liked to have seen some of Bruno's stories as flash back chapters and as a reader live through the situations rather then having the events retold by Bruno. For example like the memory he recalls when meeting the French lady in 1941. At times the information was overwhelming but this did not deter it from the importance or weight of what was going on.
As we got towards the end of the book there were some thrilling moments but nothing that was unexpected and I did like the slightly open ending we got as we get to decide the outcomes of some of the characters.
Overall Bruno Noble delivered a great story of love and espionage sprinkled throughout.