Riptide

Description

Spring 1941: After ten years spying for the Americans, Wolfgang Stahl disappears during a Berlin air raid. The Germans think he's dead. The British know he's not. But where is he? MI6 convince US Intelligence that Stahl will head for London, and so Captain Cal Cormack, a shy American 'aristocrat', is teamed with Chief Inspector Stilton of Stepney, fat, fifty, and convivial, and between them they scour London, a city awash with spivs and refugees. But then things start to go terribly wrong and, ditched by MI6 and disowned by his embassy, Cal is introduced to his one last hope - Sergeant Troy of Scotland Yard.

Named by the Daily Telegraph as one of 'Fifty Crime Writers to Read Before You Die' and selected by Time magazine as one of 'Six Detective Series to Savour,' Lawton's work has earned him comparisons to John le Carre and Alan Furst. Lawton lives in a remote hilltop village in Derbyshire.

One of the most entertaining thrillers I have read. * Sunday Telegraph * Lawton evokes wartime London with an infectiously jaunty panache. * Sunday Times, Donna Leon * The sense of London during the Blitz is strong and the story, with its mix of real history and believable invention, is fast-paced, twisting and tense. * Observer * Troy is a character of real depth and subtlety. His brooding presence at the heart of the novel, at once enigmatic and vulnerable, makes Riptide not only a satisfying read, but... [a thriller] with a strong moral heartbeat. * Independent *