The Winker

Description

'A highly enjoyable game of cat-and-mouse with perfect period texture and some nicely wry humour' The Guardian 'This playful caper is equally successful as a detailed, culture-rich evocation of its period and an English reworking of Patricia Highsmith's Ripley' The Sunday Times London, 1976. In Belgravia in the heat of summer, Lee Jones, a faded and embittered rock star, is checking out a group of women through the heavy cigarette smoke in a crowded pub. He makes eye contact with one, and winks. After allowing glances to linger for a while longer, he finally moves towards her. In that moment, his programme of terror - years in the making - has begun. Months later, the first of the many chilling headlines to come appears: 'Police hunting winking killer.' Meanwhile in France. Charles Underhill, a wealthy Englishman living in Paris, has good reason to be interested in the activities of the so-called Winking Killer. With a past to hide and his future precarious, Charles is determined to discover the Winker's identity. In the overheating cities of London, Oxford, Paris and Nice, a game of cat and mouse develops, and catching someone's eye becomes increasingly perilous. But if no one dares look, a killer can hide in plain sight . . . From 'a master of historical crime fiction' (The Guardian), The Winker is a gripping thriller that won't let you look away.

Andrew Martin is a journalist and novelist. His critically praised 'Jim Stringer' series began with The Necropolis Railway in 2002. The following titles in the series, Murder at Deviation Junction and Death on a Branch Line, were shortlisted for the CWA Ellis Peters Historical Crime Award and, in 2008, Andrew Martin was shortlisted for the CWA Dagger in the Library Award. The Somme Stations won the 2011 CWA Ellis Peters Historical Crime Award.

A highly enjoyable game of cat-and-mouse with perfect period texture and some nicely wry humour - The Guardian This playful caper is equally successful as a detailed, culture-rich evocation of its period and an English reworking of Patricia Highsmith's Ripley - The Sunday Times A deliriously dark entertainment . . . The seediness and shabby elegance of 1970s London is brilliantly rendered, the murders are genuinely upsetting, which is rarely the case in the genre, and there are a lot of very funny rock music jokes. Martin also writes uncannily well about songwriting and evokes Lee's artistry in vivid, persuasive detail . . . I didn't want it to end. - Irish Times A well-crafted tongue-in-cheek romp that captures beautifully the hedonistic 1970's - Irish Independent Mr Martin is a pro. In the space of one chapter, he can create a character whose fate immediately engages the reader - Country Life