Synopses & Reviews
London, June 1940. When the body of silent screen star Mabel Morgan is found impaled on a wrought-iron fence, the coroner rules her death as suicide. Detective Ted Stratton is not convinced and suspects that Morgans fatal fall may have been the work of one of Sohos most notorious gangsters.
Meanwhile, MI5 agent Diana Calthrop is leading a covert operation when she discovers that her boss is involved in espionage. Only when Strattons path crosses Dianas does the pair start to uncover the truth. And soon they also begin to realize they like each other a little too much. . . .
Review
“Laura Wilson is an exceptional talent, and The Innocent Spy showcases her numerous gifts. Beautifully written, stunningly plotted, filled with characters we feel we know, yet set in an era that we might not know quite as well as we think. A terrific police procedural, a mesmerizing historical novel -- few writers working today can deliver this kind one-two punch.”
- Laura Lippman, New York Times bestselling author of What the Dead Know
"Outstanding . . . Wilson convincingly evokes what it was like to sleep in a bomb shelter or stumble through shattered London streets in the dark. The characters are convincing, too, especially Ted and Diana in their tentative, unwilling attraction to each other."
- Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"Kicks off this new series with memorable portraits of witheringly evasive Forbes-James, based in part on Charles Knight, the real spymaster behind Ian Fleming's M, and family man Stratton, the sort of relative readers would all welcome into their homes."
- Kirkus Reviews
“Brilliant . . . this promises to be an exceptional series. Highly recommended.”
- The Spectator (UK)
“A compelling and wonderfully atmospheric murder mystery.”
- Robert Goddard, author of Into the Blue
“No one does wartime London better than Laura Wilson. Add vivid characters, nail-biting dilemmas, and murder to the mix, and the result is a crime novel with both guts and heart.”
- Andrew Taylor, author of An Unpardonable Crime
“Rightly praised for its evocation of place and period. Everything sounds authentic.”
- The Times (UK)
“Atmospheric and exciting . . . a great book.”
- The Observer (UK)
Synopsis
A compelling and wonderfully atmospheric murder mystery (Robert Goddard), this is the first in an exciting new series of crime novels from celebrated author Wilson.
About the Author
Laura Wilson is the crime fiction reviewer for the Guardian. Her first novel, A Little Death, was shortlisted for both the CWA Historical Dagger and the Anthony Award for Best Paperback Original; The Lover was shortlisted for two Daggers and won the Prix du Polar Européen du Point. She lives in London, where she is hard at work on the next Ted Stratton thriller.