London, 1941. The city is in blackout, besieged by nightly air raids from Germany. Two strangers are about to meet. Between them they may alter the course of the war.
While the Blitz has united the nation, there is an enemy hiding in plain sight. A group of British citizens is gathering secret information to aid Hitler's war machine. Jack Hoste has become entangled in this treachery, but he also has a particularmission: to locate the most dangerous Nazi agent in the country.
Hoste soon receives a promising lead. Amy Strallen, who works in a Mayfair marriage bureau, was once close to this elusive figure. Her life is a world away from the machinations ofNazi sympathisers, yet when Hoste pays a visit to Amy's office, everything changes in a heartbeat.
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[The pub, on a cobbled street off Cheapside, would empty in the early evening as City people hurried home to beat the blackout](VintageDigital, 12 July 2018, ebook, 288 pages, copy from the publisher via NetGalley and voluntarily reviewed)
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This is my first time reading the author (who is not the famous actor in case you wondered). I rarely read spy fiction and havebeen known to say it's not my thing. I just may need to change my opinion. Ireally enjoyed this book. Mostly because it involves Nazi spies who unknowinglyreport Hitler's comings and goings to MI5 and not the Gestapo. The charactersare compelling and disturbing at times, especially Marita. Marita made my flesh crawl. She blindly believes in the Nazi cause and wants her spying to matter to Hitler and the Nazi's. I found the relationship between Jack and Marita's friend Amy compelling and terribly sad at times. This had all the hallmarks fora great, compelling read. I really enjoyed it and may give spy fiction another chance in future. I will definitely seek out the author's backlist.
