Cold War

The Unfortunate Englishman by John Lawton

By DavidPrestidge

7 May, 2016

John Lawton is not the most prolific author, so when a new book comes along it is something of an event. He made his name with the excellent Frederick Troy novels, and in 2014 he gave us a new character in Then We Take Berlin…

iBook Kindle Print Reviews

Trigger Mortis by Anthony Horowitz

By Andre

13 September, 2015

Having interviewed Anthony Horowitz elsewhere and learned of his passion for the works of Ian Fleming – as well as glimpsing his collection of first editions – he seemed to me the perfect candidate to write an official James Bond continuation novel. In recent years…

iBook Kindle Print Reviews

Kolymsky Heights by Lionel Davidson

By DavidPrestidge

25 March, 2015

Lionel Davidson and his thrillers have been unjustly neglected in recent years. He blazed a trail with articulate and complex international spy stories just before John Le Carre and Len Deighton achieved celebrity status. However, a few years ago Philip Pullman selected Davidson’s 1994 novel…

iBook Kindle Print Reviews

The Whitehall Mandarin by Edward Wilson

By Andre

7 June, 2014

For crime readers with a penchant for espionage, there’s a select band of authors to explore ranging from young turks Charles Cumming and Chris Morgan Jones to veterans John le Carré, Alan Furst and Charles McCarry. Within a few pages of Edward Wilson’s latest Cold…

Features

A classic revisited: Call for the Dead

By Andre

27 January, 2014

For 53 years, David Cornwell has been publishing under his pseudonym John le Carré. He originally adopted the name because he was writing about fictional spies while toiling in his day job for the British Intelligence Service. Such literary excursions probably wouldn’t be allowed today….

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CIS: The Labyrinth Makers by Anthony Price

By RoughJustice

4 September, 2013

With a history dating back to the mid-19th century – or even further, depending on who you ask – the crime fiction genre has seen all sorts of trends over the decades, and given birth to a dozen or more sub-genres. However, nothing beats a…

Book Club

The Girl in Berlin

By crimefictionlover

29 July, 2012

It’s summer 1951 and London is feeling the downbeat mood of austerity. Jack McGovern is a detective with Special Branch. High level British diplomats have defected to the Russians and he’s told to investigate Colin Harris, a British communist who has recently returned from East…

Features Kindle

The Frederick Troy novels by John Lawton

By DavidPrestidge

14 July, 2012

John Lawton is an American-born author who settled in England and has worked in television and film production. He is something of an enigmatic and reclusive figure, but has carved out a devoted readership with his Frederick Troy novels. The concept of the novels is…

Crime Fiction Lover

The Unfortunate Englishman by John Lawton

Trigger Mortis by Anthony Horowitz

Kolymsky Heights by Lionel Davidson

The Whitehall Mandarin by Edward Wilson

A classic revisited: Call for the Dead

CIS: The Labyrinth Makers by Anthony Price

The Girl in Berlin

The Frederick Troy novels by John Lawton

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