William Catesby – serie

A thrilling SOE spy novel by a former special forces officer who is 'poised to inherit the mantle of John le Carré''Edward Wilson seems poised to inherit the mantle of John le Carré' Irish Independent'More George Smiley than James Bond, Catesby will delight those readers looking for less blood and more intelligence in their spy thrillers' Publishers WeeklyCambridge, 1941. A teenage William Catesby leaves his studies to join the war effort.Parachuted into Occupied France as an SOE officer, he witnesses remarkable feats of bravery during theFrench Resistance.Yet he is also privy to infighting and betrayal - some of the Maquisards are more concerned with controlling the peace than fighting the war. Double agents and informers abound, and with torture a certainty if he is taken, Catesby knows there is no one he can trust.Passed from safe house to safe house, with the Abwehr on his tail, he is drawn towards Lyon, a city of backstreets and blind alleys. His mission is simple: thwart an act of treachery that could shape the future of France.'Edward Wilson's excellent Portrait of the Spy as a Young Man draws on his own special forces training'Independent'Engaging . . . Dynamic . . . Wilson's fascination is as much with how the spy betrays himself as with howhe manipulates others' The TimesPraise for Edward Wilson: 'Stylistically sophisticated . . . Wilson knows how to hold the reader's attention' W.G. Sebald'A reader is really privileged to come across something like this' Alan Sillitoe'All too often, amid the glitzy gadgetry of the spy thriller, all the fast cars and sexual adventures, we lose sight of the essential seriousness of what is at stake. John le Carré reminds us, often, and so does Edward Wilson' Independent

A spy thriller that will change your view of the Cold War forever, by a former special forces officer who is 'poised to inherit the mantle of John le Carré' 'Edward Wilson seems poised to inherit the mantle of John le Carré' Irish Independent'More George Smiley than James Bond, Catesby will delight those readers looking for less blood and more intelligence in their spy thrillers' Publishers WeeklyAugust, 1956. A generation of British spies is haunted by the ghosts of friends turned traitor.Whitehall spymaster Henry Bone has long held Butterfly to be the Holy Grail of Cold War Intelligence. His brain is an archive of deadly secrets - he can identify each and every traitor spy as well as the serving British agents who helped them. And now Bone learns that Butterfly plans to defect to the Americans. Unless Bone gets to him first.William Catesby, a spy with his reputation in tatters, is pressured into posing as a defector in order to track down Butterfly. His quest leads him from Berlin, through a shower of Molotov cocktails in Budapest, to dinner alone with the East German espionage legend Mischa Wolf.'A gripping Cold War story centred on a Berlin seething with agents and counterspies' Mail on Sunday'Smart, finely written' Publishers Weekly Starred Review'All you could want in a spy thriller' Oliver JamesPraise for Edward Wilson:'Stylistically sophisticated . . . Wilson knows how to hold the reader's attention' W.G. Sebald'A reader is really privileged to come across something like this' Alan Sillitoe

The brilliant opening novel of the Catesby series, by a former special forces officer and 'the thinking person's John le Carre''Edward Wilson seems poised to inherit the mantle of John le Carré' Irish Independent'More George Smiley than James Bond, Catesby will delight those readers looking for less blood and more intelligence in their spy thrillers' Publishers WeeklyLondon, 1956. The height of the Cold War.On the face of it, Kit Fournier is a senior diplomat at the US embassy in Grosvenor Square. But that's not the full story. He is also CIA Chief of Station.With the nuclear arms race looming large, Kit goes undercover to meet with his KGB counterpart to pass on secret information about British spies. In a world where truth means deception and love means honey trap, sexual blackmail and personal betrayal are essential skills.As the H-bomb apocalypse hangs over London, Kit Fournier faces a crisis of the soul. The unveiling of his own dark personal secrets will prove more deadly than any of his coded dispatches.'A glorious, seething broth of historical fact and old-fashioned spy story' The Times'A sophisticated, convincing novel that shows governments and their secret services as cynically exploitative and utterly ruthless' Sunday TelegraphPraise for Edward Wilson:'Stylistically sophisticated . . . Wilson knows how to hold the reader's attention' W.G. Sebald'A reader is really privileged to come across something like this' Alan Sillitoe

A brilliant Cuban Missile Crisis spy thriller by a former special forces officer who is 'poised to inherit the mantle of John le Carré''Edward Wilson seems poised to inherit the mantle of John le Carré' Irish Independent'More George Smiley than James Bond, Catesby will delight those readers looking for less blood and more intelligence in their spy thrillers' Publishers WeeklyOctober, 1962. If the Cuban gamble goes wrong and war breaks out, Britain will cease to exist.Whitehall dispatches a secret envoy to defuse the confrontation. Spawned in the bleak poverty of an East Anglian fishing port, Catesby is a spy with an anti-establishment chip on his shoulder. He loves his country, but despises the class who run it.Though he is loathed by the Americans for his left-wing sympathies, Catesby is sent to Havana and Washington to make clandestine contacts. London has authorised Catesby to offer Moscow a secret deal to break the deadlock.But before it can be sealed, he meets the Midnight Swimmer, who has a chilling message for Washington.'An intellectually commanding thriller' Independent'An excellent spy novel . . . belongs on the bookshelf alongside similarly unsettling works by le Carré, Alan Furst and Eric Ambler' Huffington PostPraise for Edward Wilson: 'Stylistically sophisticated . . . Wilson knows how to hold the reader's attention' W.G. Sebald'A reader is really privileged to come across something like this' Alan Sillitoe'All too often, amid the glitzy gadgetry of the spy thriller, all the fast cars and sexual adventures, we lose sight of the essential seriousness of what is at stake. John le Carré reminds us, often, and so does Edward Wilson' Independent

A captivating spy thriller taking the reader from 60s sex scandals to the Vietnam War, by a former special forces officer who is 'poised to inherit the mantle of John le Carre''Edward Wilson seems poised to inherit the mantle of John le Carré' Irish Independent'More George Smiley than James Bond, Catesby will delight those readers looking for less blood and more intelligence in their spy thrillers' Publishers WeeklyLondon, 1957. Lady Somers is beautiful, rich and the first woman to head up the Ministry of Defence. She also has something to hide.Catesby's job is to uncover her story and bury it forever. His quest leads him through the sex scandals of Swinging-Sixties London and then on to Moscow, where a shocking message changes everything.His next mission is a desperate hunt through the war-torn jungles of Southeast Asia, where he finally makes a heart-breaking discovery that is as personal as it is political. It's a secret that Catesby may not live to share.'Espionage and geopolitical history rewritten by Evelyn Waugh' Sunday Times'We attempt to second-guess both Catesby and his crafty creator, and are soundly outfoxed at every turn' Barry Forshaw, Independent'This cynically complex plot is laid over perfectly described settings, from London to Moscow to Vietnam. Wilson's characters and their consciences come alive to lend the book its power' Kirkus ReviewsPraise for Edward Wilson: 'Stylistically sophisticated . . . Wilson knows how to hold the reader's attention' W.G. Sebald'A reader is really privileged to come across something like this' Alan Sillitoe'All too often, amid the glitzy gadgetry of the spy thriller, all the fast cars and sexual adventures, we lose sight of the essential seriousness of what is at stake. John le Carré reminds us, often, and so does Edward Wilson' Independent

A brilliant, eye-opening espionage thriller by a former special forces officer 'now at the forefront of spy writing''Edward Wilson seems poised to inherit the mantle of John le Carré' Irish Independent'More George Smiley than James Bond, Catesby will delight those readers looking for less blood and more intelligence in their spy thrillers' Publishers WeeklyApril, 1982. The British prime minister and the Argentine president are both clinging to power.Downing Street, having ignored alarm bells coming from the South Atlantic, finds itself in a full-blown crisis when Argentina invades the remote and forgotten British territory of the Falklands Islands.Catesby is dispatched urgently to prevent Argentina from obtaining more lethal Exocet missiles, by fair means or foul. From Patagonia to Paris, from Chevening to the White House, he plays a deadly game of diplomatic cat and mouse, determined to avert the loss of life.The clock is ticking. Diplomats and statesmen race for a last-minute settlement while the weapons of war are primed and aimed.'Absolutely fascinating' Literary Review'Gets nearer to the truth of what happened in the Falklands War than any of the standard histories. Highly recommended' Clive Ponting'A classic of the genre . . . as good as espionage thriller writing gets' NB Magazine'A stunning and ingenious book' Crime ReviewPraise for Edward Wilson:'Stylistically sophisticated . . . Wilson knows how to hold the reader's attention' W.G. Sebald'A reader is really privileged to come across something like this' Alan Sillitoe'All too often, amid the glitzy gadgetry of the spy thriller, all the fast cars and sexual adventures, we lose sight of the essential seriousness of what is at stake. John le Carré reminds us, often, and so does Edward Wilson' Independent

A gripping espionage thriller about an establishment plot to take control of 1970s Britain, by a writer who is 'poised to inherit the mantle of John le Carre''Edward Wilson seems poised to inherit the mantle of John le Carré' Irish Independent'More George Smiley than James Bond, Catesby will delight those readers looking for less blood and more intelligence in their spy thrillers' Publishers WeeklyMarch, 1976. A secret plot unfolds on both sides of the Atlantic to remove the British prime minister from power.1947: As a hungry Britain freezes through a harsh winter, a young cabinet minister makes a deal with Moscow, trading jet engines for grain and wood.1951: William Catesby executes a Nazi war criminal in the ruins of a U-boat bunker. The German turns out be a CIA asset.Both men have made powerful enemies in Washington, and their fates become entwined as one rises through MI6 and the other to Downing Street. Now the ghosts of the past are returning to haunt them. A coup d'état is imminent, and only Catesby stands in its way.'A fantastic read' Culture Matters'Le Carré fans will find a lot to like' Publishers Weekly'The best espionage story you'll read this year or any other' Crime ReviewPraise for Edward Wilson: 'Stylistically sophisticated . . . Wilson knows how to hold the reader's attention' W.G. Sebald'A reader is really privileged to come across something like this' Alan Sillitoe'All too often, amid the glitzy gadgetry of the spy thriller, all the fast cars and sexual adventures, we lose sight of the essential seriousness of what is at stake. John le Carré reminds us, often, and so does Edward Wilson' Independent

"A compelling slice of mid-century espionage that expertly blends history with possibility. All comparisons that will inevitably be made with le Carré are entirely apt" Tim Glister'Edward Wilson seems poised to inherit the mantle of John le Carré' Irish Independent1949: William Catesby returns to London in disgrace, accused of murdering a 'double-dipper' the Americans believed to be one of their own. His left-wing sympathies have him singled out as a traitor.Henry Bone throws him a lifeline, sending him to Marseille, ostensibly to report on dockers' strikes and keep tabs on the errant wife of a British diplomat. But there's a catch. For his cover story, he's demobbed from the service and tricked out as a writer researching a book on the Resistance.In Marseille, Catesby is caught in a deadly vice between the CIA and the mafia, who are colluding to fuel the war in Indochina. Swept eastwards to Laos himself, he remains uncertain of the true purpose behind his mission, though he has his suspicions: Bone has murder on his mind, and the target is a former comrade from Catesby's SOE days. The question is, which one.