Written almost thirty-years after the last book in the trilogy – ‘The Knighton Vampires’ (1993) – Smith’s hardboiled protagonist, Sergeant John Mayo of the government’s anti-terrorist force is back in the thick of it again, having been pulled out of semi-retirement to assist with one of the biggest terrorist threats faced yet.

Despite Mayo having aged a tad since tackling the last bout of homegrown terrorism, he’s still just as tough as ever, with nerves of absolute steel in the face of the most hostile of forces. Furthermore, not even his libido has dampened over the years. So, despite having a partner waiting for him at home, as always, he’s still not one to back away from the offer of some on-the-mission sexual frolicking when the opportunity arises!

The story takes us back to the city of Lichfield where incidentally the first book, ‘The Black Fedora’ (1991) was also set. However, now we have one of Zinovsky’s terrorist cells plotting to set off a couple of bombs during the spring Bank Holiday, when crowds are set to gather at the tourist hotspot.

Of course, dressed from head-to-toe in black, along with that distinctive fedora, Mayo’s quick to infiltrate the terrorist organisation seemingly by the way he looks and acts alone! In fact, out of all three books, this one in particular urges you to suspend all disbelief with how everything plays out for Mayo. In fact, barely a question’s asked of Mayo before he’s pretty much at the head of the Lichfield terrorist cell, working alongside a man named Dave Richardson who’s one of Zinovsky’s most trusted followers heading up that arm of the cult.

As far as pulpy action goes, there’s actually not all that much within this final book. Instead, it’s more of a slow burn thriller, with Mayo cautiously snooping about the place, pretending to be one of the radicalised terrorists whilst doing his upmost to bring the bomb threat to an abrupt end.

That said, this Zinovsky fella’s one nasty piece of work to come up against. Anyone who messes with his devious plots will soon find themselves crucified on an inverted cross before having their throat sliced open. Oh yeah, these terrorists aren’t just jihadist nutters, they’re also knee-deep in murderous satanic black rituals too!

The Spring Bank Holiday bomb plot doesn’t actually form the dramatic finale like you’d probably think the story was gearing up to unleash. Instead, it’s a sort of precursor for an alternative showdown, which puts Mayo back into Smith’s textbook turf, whereupon the author can once again draw upon his skills at writing tense rural-set horror. In fact, we even have the appearance of a wild boar roaming the woodlands, bringing its own slice of terror into the whole equation.

I’ll not ruin the story with any spoilers, although what I will say is the big finale probably plays out a tad differently than you might expect. Although hasn’t that pretty much been the way with all the Black Fedora books?! So once again you’re kept on your toes with Smith’s purposeful unpredictability.

However, despite the book’s title, the novel’s still a fair bit tamer than the previous two titles in the ‘Black Fedora’ series. Mayo’s his usual no-bullshit self, but instead of bodies piling up within the mayhem of an over-the-top pulp thriller, with this final book Smith’s gone for more of a smouldering suspense.

The pacing’s still tight and there’s plenty of nerve-jangling drama thrown into a good number of the chapters. But although the terrorist threat is perhaps Mayo’s biggest challenge yet, its still feels that slightly toned down in comparison to the wild pulpy ride of the previous book in the trilogy.

The novel runs for a total of 156 pages.