Robert Radcliffe (Little, Brown, £14.99) This is that rare thing, a novel on the Second World War that should appeal to both male and female readers. Radcliffe's novel not only shows the hellish life of those on the Atlantic convoys, when the German Enigma code was unbroken and their U-boats easily picked off targets, but also delivers a rich sub-plot concerning the life and loves of one of the main characters.

The first chapter introduces us to the narrator, Stephen Tomlin, midshipman on HMS Daisy, a corvette escorting merchant ships across the Atlantic early on January 1, 1943. As German U-boats start sinking ships, Sub-Lieutenant Villiers launches a rescue boat, which includes Tomlin, to look for survivors. The Daisy is then itself destroyed.

As the rescuers attempt to outwit the German submarine, the narrative is interwoven with the earlier extraordinary life of Villiers, son of a Uruguayan socialite and British diplomat, and life on board the Daisy earlier in the Atlantic campaign.

Radcliffe is brilliant at evoking life on the convoys and on-shore in Uruguay and England. His characters are lovingly drawn with a deep understanding of their frailties, whether English, Uruguayan or German.

MARY ZACAROLI