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Ireland 1941. A German spy escapes from Mountjoy Prison, clearly with inside help. Yet no one wants to catch him. When the head of Garda Special Branch sends Inspector Stefan Gillespie to find out why, it must be in secret. But he meets a web of deceit in which the past's dark shadows loom over the lies of the present. Alone, except for an alcoholic private detective and a woman who could betray him to the IRA, Stefan embarks on a journey that drags him into a plot to attack British interests in Ireland and an attempt on the life of the IRA Chief-of-Staff by his own men. Crossing into war-torn Northern Ireland, he is suddenly unprotected, a rogue policeman to the Royal Ulster Constabulary, a dangerous spy to the IRA.
Praise for Michael Russell'Complex but compelling . . . utterly vivid and convincing'
Independent on Sunday'A superb, atmospheric thriller'
Irish Independent
About the author
After a successful career as a television writer and producer, working on such series as A Touch of Frost, Midsomer Murders and Between the Lines, Michael Russell decided to write what he had always wanted to: books.
Michael's Stefan Gillespie historical crime fiction series takes a sideways look at the Second World War through Irish eyes, and explores unexpected corners of the conflict, such as Danzig, New York and Franco's Spain. The first two Stefan Gillespie novels, The City of Shadows and The City of Strangers were both shortlisted for Crime Writers' Association awards.
Michael lives with his family in West Wicklow, in Ireland, not a million miles from Stefan Gillespie's home.
Summary
Ireland 1941. A German spy escapes from Mountjoy Prison with an ease that convinces the head of Garda Special Branch he had inside help. The spy is protected not only by the IRA but those meant to catch him. Special Branch is told to stay out of it. But when Stefan Gillespie's boss sends him to investigate anyway, he is thrown together with an untrustworthy, alcoholic private detective and a woman IRA courier full of hatred for the Irish police. This web of deceit and betrayal is only the beginning. The trail through Ireland starts with an IRA plot to attack British interests and ends with Stefan trying to save the IRA Chief-of-Staff from his own men. In war-torn Northern Ireland, abandoned by Special Branch in Dublin, Stefan finds himself a rogue policeman to the Royal Ulster Constabulary, and a spy to the IRA.
Praise for Michael Russell
'Complex but compelling . . . utterly vivid and convincing' Independent on Sunday
'A superb, atmospheric thriller' Irish Independent
'A thriller to keep you guessing and gasping' Daily Mail
'Atmospheric' Sunday Times
Foreword
The next book in the Stefan Gillespie WWII series, German spies in 1941 Ireland and murder and espionage in the Vatican in 1943 German-occupied Rome
