Firstly, let’s look at the writing style. Here, the author is very competent. There is the odd clumsy paragraph, but nothing ‘BIG’ nothing to pull away from this gripping story. The author also understands pacing and how to develop characters through speech...plenty of ‘showing’ and not ‘telling’,,,and the author is not scared to keep a sentence short and simple...to improve the pacing where speed is needed.
...All of the characters, even the secondary, jump off the page...I was sympathising with many and rooting for the rest. I was particularly keen on Gunter Hoffman. He probably develops the most in the story. The ending of the book with Gunther was particularly well-written and touching...do I recommend this book? Yes, absolutely!