A brutal read this. Deep in detail, the plot follows the planning, execution and conclusion of a bombing raid during World War Two. Told from the viewpoint of both British and German sides, Deighton utilises a clinically detached vantage point. This affords us a unique view, one in which terrible injuries and deaths are described in the same detail as the tactical approach of modern warfare.

This is surprisingly effective, and as each successive event is dissected, the pointlessness and barbarity of war is laid bare. There are no winners here, and I defy any reader to make their way through this and not feel absolutely gutted by the end.

Not for the faint-hearted.