LoveReading Says
Skilfully plotted against the events of history with beautifully observed characters, this dynamic and powerful novel focuses on the 1942 Dieppe Raid. The Spoils of War Collection is one of my favourites, it isn’t in chronological order and the focus isn’t always the same characters, so calling it a collection is perfect. Knowing that the events of the war took place, then stepping into such a well-written story heightens emotions. I knew what happened in the Dieppe Raid, yet felt as though I was reading about it for the first time. As usual we meet a number of characters (Schultz is a particular favourite of mine). We see them in epic and intimate moments, the writing ensures it is all too easy to believe the words that come out of their mouths and their behaviour. Author Graham Hurley successfully breaks down the barriers between good and evil, and even right and wrong, proving humanity and individuals more than capable of all actions, sometimes within breaths of each other. He weaves fact and fiction into the most incredibly taut story, and there were points when I wanted to read through my fingers. This joins the collection of stories that we want to shout about as a LoveReading Star Book, and Book of the Month. The Blood of Others brilliantly slips into the Spoils of War Collection, it has must-read stamped all over it.
Liz Robinson
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The Blood of Others Synopsis
The new blockbuster thriller from Graham Hurley, The Blood of Others is part of the SPOILS OF WAR Collection, a thrilling, beguiling blend of fact and fiction born of some of the most tragic, suspenseful, and action-packed events of World War II.
Dieppe, August 1942. A catastrophe no headline dared admit.
Plans are underway for the boldest raid yet on Nazi-occupied France. Over six thousand men will storm ashore to take the port of Dieppe. Lives will change in an instant – both on the beaches and in distant capitals.
Annie Wrenne, working at Lord Mountbatten's cloak-and-dagger Combined Operations headquarters, is privy to the top secret plans for the daring cross-Channel raid.
Young Canadian journalist George Hogan, protege of influential Lord Beaverbrook, faces a crucial assignment that will test him to breaking point.
And Abwehr intelligence officer Wilhelm Schultz is baiting a trap to lure thousands of Allied troops to their deaths…
Three lives linked by Operation Jubilee: the Dieppe Raid, 19 August 1942. Over six thousand men will storm the heavily defended French beaches.
Less than half of them will make it back alive.
The blockbuster SPOILS OF WAR non-chronological collection features compelling recurring characters whose fragmented lives mirror the war that shattered the globe. For fans of Philip Kerr and Robert Harris.
About This Edition
| ISBN: |
9781801108492 |
| Publication date: |
1st February 2024 |
| Author: |
Graham Hurley |
| Publisher: |
Head of Zeus -- an Aries Book an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing PLC |
| Format: |
Paperback |
| Pagination: |
381 pages |
| Series: |
Spoils of War |
| Primary Genre |
Espionage and Spy Thriller
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| Other Genres: |
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| Recommendations: |
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Graham Hurley Press Reviews
REVIEWS FOR GRAHAM HURLEY
'Tense, absorbing and faultlessly plotted, this thoughtful thriller weaves it all together' Sunday Times Crime Club (Star Pick)
'Hurley brings an almost noirlike sensibility to the surprising finale' Booklist
'So well-written you can smell the sweat and taste the fear' Peter May
'Beautifully constructed, the result is compelling and richly entertaining' Daily Mail
About Graham Hurley
Graham Hurley is the author of the acclaimed Faraday and Winter crime novels and an award-winning TV documentary maker. Two of the critically lauded series have been shortlisted for the Theakston's Old Peculier Award for Best Crime Novel. His thriller Finisterre, set in 1944, was shortlisted for the Wilbur Smith Adventure Writing Prize. Follow Graham at grahamhurley.co.uk
Maxim Jakubowski's view on JOE FARADAY...
The investigations of a Portsmouth cop and a fascinating look into crime on the British coast. If you like Ian Rankin’s Rebus, this should be your next step. NO LOVELIER DEATH is the 9th book in the Faraday series.
A Q & A with Graham Hurley
Who’s your favourite author?
The Alan Furst of The Polish Officer and The World at Night.
Where do you live? And why?
Portsmouth. Because so many people ask me why.
What’s the greatest influence on your writing?
Lin Rowden.
What is your philosophy for life?
Check the tide tables and watch for eddies.
Have you had any formal tuition in creative writing? If so, where and what? Did you find it useful?
BA/MA Cambridge University (English – no help at all). No formal tuition in creative writing except a pathological nosiness and a fascination with story. Profound doubts about collective literary endeavour. Why? Because, in the end, writing is a solitary business.
Did you always want to be an author? If not, what did you originally want to be and when and why did you change your mind?
Yes. And like most authors, I’m not sure why. But – emphatically – yes.
Who do you most admire and why?
My mum (seriously). Because she’s never failed to make the very best of an occasionally dodgy hand. Huge fortitude.
What jobs did you have before you started writing?
Ice cream salesman, deckchair attendant, lifeguard, prep school teacher (scripture and cricket), Radio Victory reporter, TV promotion scriptwriter, TV researcher, TV documentary director/producer, Oz TV cop series writer.
If your house was burning down what would you save?
Lin Rowden, the cats, a framed photo of the Otter estuary, me.
What do you do when you are not writing? How do you relax? What are your hobbies?
Sailing, cycling, nosing around, tussling with French, dreaming of the day Tony Blair resigns.
More About Graham Hurley
