British author Lawton is one of the unsung heroes of espionage tales. Over the years, he has created an elegant grey universe of ordinary people lost in the winds of political change and intrigue that is reminiscent of John Le Carre at his best, but has seldom attracted equal attention. He has long been an expert bringing to life historical periods of the recent past in the 7 titles to date of his Inspector Troy series and in the process built an entrancing chronicle of post-Empire Britain, some minor characters of which return in this stand-alone novel in which John Holderness, a rascal-like black market entrepreneur is recruited into postwar MI6 and assigned to cold war Berlin. His story spans two decades into the 1960s and is a meticulous recreation of a fascinating era and city but also a gripping thriller with all the right ingredients and surprises.
A gripping, meticulously researched and richly detailed historical thriller moving from London during the Blitz, to divided post-war Berlin.
John Holderness, known to most as 'Wilderness', comes of age during World War II in Stepney, breaking in to houses with his grandfather.
After the war, Wilderness is recruited as MI5's resident 'cat burglar' and finds himself in Berlin, involved with schemes in the booming black market that put both him and his relationships in danger.
In 1963 it is a most unusual and lucrative request that persuades Wilderness to return - to smuggle someone under the Berlin Wall and out of East Germany. But this final scheme may prove to be one challenge too far...
