What is the author's style in the novel, Warlight?

Because Nathaniel is narrating the novel retrospectively, the narrative is able to freely move in a nonlinear fashion between different periods of Nathaniel’s life and the lives of others. The novel is therefore structured so as to build mystery and suspense, eventually leading to salient plot revelations. The narrative begins in 1945, just after Nathaniel’s parents have left the country and have left him and Rachel in the care of The Moth. The narrative then largely concentrates on Nathaniel’s teenage years as a type of coming-of-age story. Near the midpoint of the novel, the narrative features the revelation that Nathaniel’s mother had been working as a spy for the British government, thereby recontextualizing the first half of the novel and shaping the narrative of the second half.

The second half of the novel is largely framed around Nathaniel’s secret, personal investigation into his mother’s past. He uses the discoveries that he read in classified government files as a means of constructing a fuller narrative about his mother’s time as a spy. This part of the novel also frequently shifts to focus on the time between Rose’s return to England and her assassination. Nathaniel recalls his own interactions with his mother from this time in order to more fully develop her character and his relationship to her.