Winter in Madrid by C. J. Sansom

I has read Sansom's first Novel Dissolution a few years back. I'd enjoyed the historical details and the story. It was a fine detective novel with an interesting protagonist and a since of time and place.
Winter in Madrid is equally well researched. I've long been fascinated by the Spanish Civil War. Homage to Catalonia is one of my favourite book by one of my favourite authors, Orwell. This is the first work of fiction I have read about the period.

The story is set in the immediate aftermath of the Civil War in 1940. Madrid is devastated and Sansom's describes the desolation well. It is the other elements of the novel that let is down. I found the characters difficult to empathize with. The pacing seemed off. The beginning was slow and laborious while the ending seemed rushed with a twist which was unexpected but primarily because it was unbelievable. It's not a bad tale of espionage just not a great one.