if you compare Nigel Cawthorne to properly-published writers then of course all his entire output comes out at the 2-3 star level. but if you think of him as that "1.99 ebook speed-writer" then possibly we can even go as far as 4 stars for these quickly-researched, quickly-written books about war, crime, sex. of the three, Cawthorne is skilled at writing about the second and third.