The Story
Spring 1941. The armies of the Reich are masters of Europe. Britain stands alone, dependent on her battered navy for survival, while Hitler’s submarines prey on the Atlantic convoys that are the country’s only lifeline.
Lieutenant Douglas Lindsay is among just a handful of men rescued when his ship is torpedoed in the Atlantic. Unable to free himself from the memories of that night and return to duty at sea, he becomes an interrogator with naval intelligence, questioning captured U-boat crews. He is convinced that the Germans have broken British naval codes, but he’s a lone voice, a damaged outsider, and his superiors begin to wonder: can he be trusted when so much at stake?
As the blitz reduces Britain’s cities to rubble and losses at sea mount, Lindsay becomes increasingly isolated and desperate. No one will believe him, not even his lover, Mary Henderson, who works at the very heart of intelligence establishment . Lindsay decides to risk all in one last throw of the dice, setting a trap for his prize captive – and nemesis – U-boat commander, Jürgen Mohr, the man who helped to send his ship to the bottom.
Review
“Pride of place for the best debut [thriller] of 2009 goes to Andrew Williams ……for a first novel, this is a stand out performance, and marks Williams out as a star of the future.”
Geoffrey Wansell, Daily Mail
- Short listed for CWA Ian Fleming Steel Dagger for Thriller of 2009
- Short listed for CWA Ellis Peters Historical Award for 2009
- Shots Magazine Historical Novel of 2009
- Daily Mail debut thriller of 2009