Reading the latest novel from Ontario-based author Robert Sutherland is like travelling back in time in two ways. Not only is Survivor’s Leave set toward the end of the Second World War, it is also written in the style of a mystery story from the era. Indeed, Sutherland’s novel resembles nothing so much as one of Enid Blyton’s Famous Five adventures.

Glen and Ding are young Canadian gunners on an Arctic convoy escort in 1944. Their ship is damaged in a storm and sinks after a fight with a German submarine, and the two are granted leave in London, where they witness the first V1 missile attacks. Looking for some peace and quiet, they accept an invitation to a remote Cornish manor house, where there is more going on than meets the eye.

The early chapters of the novel, inspired by Sutherland’s own wartime experiences, are the strongest parts of the book, with vivid descriptions of depth-charging U-boats and people trapped in bombed buildings. However, once Glen and Ding head off to Cornwall, the plot begins to stretch credulity. Smugglers’ caves, haunted rooms, and mysterious strangers are all part of an implausible Nazi plot to infect Britain with bubonic plague spread by blood-craving flying bugs. 

Survivor’s Leave is written with a light touch, though the author’s desire to get in as much wartime background as possible occasionally weighs down the dialogue. The average Londoner, for example, seems astonishingly informed about the V1 missiles (and how they were countered) within days of the first one landing on London. Young readers might have trouble with old-fashioned expressions such as “by George” and “my hat.”

For those who can overcome these difficulties, there is a suggestion at the end of Survivor’s Leave that we might not have seen the last of Glen and Ding.