Awards

• Winner of CWA Ellis Peters Historical Award 2012
• Winner of CWA Ellis Peters Historical Award 2012 (UK)
• Winner of CWA Ellis Peters Historical Award 2012.

Overview

1947. Threadbare London endures the bleakest, coldest winter for decades. Food rationing is worse than during the war. Coal supplies run out. The Thames freezes over. Against a background of black ice, blackouts and the black market, agent Peter Cotton is seconded to Operation Sea-snake. MI5 is in the grip of civil war; MI6 is riddled with traitors. Unsure who to trust - or even who is pulling the strings - Cotton, ever the outsider, must protect an atomic scientist caught up in a vicious homophobic witch-hunt, limit the damage caused by a bully-boy MP, rely on a rent-boy informer and, despite the murderous attentions of a couple of Glasgow razor boys, embark on a ruthless hunt of his own.

Full Product Details

9781848544857

Table of Contents

Reviews

'Confirms Aly Monroe's genius for creating such tension that, while nothing much happens, you don't want things to stop not happening. She's commercial writing's rarest beast - a gloriously defiant individualist' -- Daily Telegraph 'Monroe is terrific at evoking this world' -- Guardian 'Monroe creates the atmosphere of the time brilliantly ... an original novel and its people and places are so well described that I was gripped from start to finish' -- Literary Review 'A wonderfully atmospheric book' -- Euro Crime 'Once again, Monroe's research is spot on and she paints her supporting cast with so many shades of grey that it makes a John Le Carre novel look positively straightforward. This is wonderfully atmospheric' -- Shots Magazine 'Dodgy underhand dealings, political manipulations as well as a labyrinth of twists and turns... Definitely an author to watch' -- Falcata Times 'Riveting stuff' -- The Times 'The stately pace and avuncular tone belie Monroe's capacity to generate tension and momentum from the most innocuous of incidents, and the political context deliberately foreshadows more famous incidents in the cold-war years ahead, as former allies - Britain, Russia and the US - jockey for position in the post-war years' -- Irish Times 'The Peter Cotton series is getting better and better and in Icelight the internecine squabbling of the security services is a prequel to the real-life problems during the Cold Ware. I'm really looking forward to the next book' -- Crime Scraps 'The Peter Cotton series by Aly Monroe is proving to be absolutely unmissable' -- Good Book Guide Praise for the Peter Cotton series:'Splendid ... enlightening and engaging' -- The Times 'Clever and fascinating ... Reminded me of Graham Greene' -- Guardian 'Impressive ... The next can't come too soon' -- Financial Times 'A natural storyteller ... a cracking atmosphere' -- Mail on Sunday 'it is easy to see why Aly Monroe is fast establishing a large fan base' -- www.reviewingtheevidence.com

'Confirms Aly Monroe's genius for creating such tension that, while nothing much happens, you don't want things to stop not happening. She's commercial writing's rarest beast - a gloriously defiant individualist' -- Daily Telegraph 'Monroe is terrific at evoking this world' -- Guardian 'Monroe creates the atmosphere of the time brilliantly ... an original novel and its people and places are so well described that I was gripped from start to finish' -- Literary Review 'A wonderfully atmospheric book' -- Euro Crime 'Once again, Monroe's research is spot on and she paints her supporting cast with so many shades of grey that it makes a John Le Carre novel look positively straightforward. This is wonderfully atmospheric' -- Shots Magazine 'Dodgy underhand dealings, political manipulations as well as a labyrinth of twists and turns... Definitely an author to watch' -- Falcata Times 'Riveting stuff' -- The Times 'The stately pace and avuncular tone belie Monroe's capacity to generate tension and momentum from the most innocuous of incidents, and the political context deliberately foreshadows more famous incidents in the cold-war years ahead, as former allies - Britain, Russia and the US - jockey for position in the post-war years' -- Irish Times 'The Peter Cotton series is getting better and better and in Icelight the internecine squabbling of the security services is a prequel to the real-life problems during the Cold Ware. I'm really looking forward to the next book' -- Crime Scraps Praise for the Peter Cotton series:'Splendid ... enlightening and engaging' -- The Times 'Clever and fascinating ... Reminded me of Graham Greene' -- Guardian 'Impressive ... The next can't come too soon' -- Financial Times 'A natural storyteller ... a cracking atmosphere' -- Mail on Sunday

'Confirms Aly Monroe's genius for creating such tension that, while nothing much happens, you don't want things to stop not happening. She's commercial writing's rarest beast - a gloriously defiant individualist' -- Daily Telegraph 'Monroe is terrific at evoking this world' -- Guardian 'Monroe creates the atmosphere of the time brilliantly ... an original novel and its people and places are so well described that I was gripped from start to finish' -- Literary Review 'A wonderfully atmospheric book' -- Euro Crime 'Once again, Monroe's research is spot on and she paints her supporting cast with so many shades of grey that it makes a John Le Carre novel look positively straightforward. This is wonderfully atmospheric' -- Shots Magazine 'Dodgy underhand dealings, political manipulations as well as a labyrinth of twists and turns... Definitely an author to watch' -- Falcata Times 'Riveting stuff' -- The Times 'The stately pace and avuncular tone belie Monroe's capacity to generate tension and momentum from the most innocuous of incidents, and the political context deliberately foreshadows more famous incidents in the cold-war years ahead, as former allies - Britain, Russia and the US - jockey for position in the post-war years' -- Irish Times Praise for the Peter Cotton series:'Splendid ... enlightening and engaging' -- The Times 'Clever and fascinating ... Reminded me of Graham Greene' -- Guardian 'Impressive ... The next can't come too soon' -- Financial Times 'A natural storyteller ... a cracking atmosphere' -- Mail on Sunday

'Confirms Aly Monroe's genius for creating such tension that, while nothing much happens, you don't want things to stop not happening. She's commercial writing's rarest beast - a gloriously defiant individualist' -- Daily Telegraph 'Monroe is terrific at evoking this world' -- Guardian 'Monroe conjures up an atmosphere as thick as the fog in grim, austere post-war London' -- Mail on Sunday 'Monroe creates the atmosphere of the time brilliantly ... an original novel and its people and places are so well described that I was gripped from start to finish' -- Literary Review 'A wonderfully atmospheric book' -- Euro Crime 'Once again, Monroe's research is spot on and she paints her supporting cast with so many shades of grey that it makes a John Le Carre novel look positively straightforward. This is wonderfully atmospheric' -- Shots Magazine 'Dodgy underhand dealings, political manipulations as well as a labyrinth of twists and turns... Definitely an author to watch' -- Falcata Times 'Riveting stuff' -- The Times 'The stately pace and avuncular tone belie Monroe's capacity to generate tension and momentum from the most innocuous of incidents, and the political context deliberately foreshadows more famous incidents in the cold-war years ahead, as former allies - Britain, Russia and the US - jockey for position in the post-war years' -- Irish Times 'MI5 is in the grip of civil war; MI6 is riddled with traitors ... Monroe conjures up a world of murder and double dealing' -- Good Book Guide 'The Peter Cotton series is getting better and better and in Icelight the internecine squabbling of the security services is a prequel to the real-life problems during the Cold Ware. I'm really looking forward to the next book' -- Crime Scraps 'This spy novel is set in London in 1947. The atmosphere of that time is superbly evoked so that the hardships that the British lived through then are clearly described and almost tangible ... absolutely fascinating' -- Mystery People 'The Peter Cotton series by Aly Monroe is proving to be absolutely unmissable' -- Good Book Guide Praise for the Peter Cotton series:'Splendid ... enlightening and engaging' -- The Times 'Clever and fascinating ... Reminded me of Graham Greene' -- Guardian 'Impressive ... The next can't come too soon' -- Financial Times 'A natural storyteller ... a cracking atmosphere' -- Mail on Sunday 'it is easy to see why Aly Monroe is fast establishing a large fan base' -- www.reviewingtheevidence.com 'A cracking political thriller ... a rattling good read' -- Historical Novels Review

Author Information

Aly Monroe was born and educated in England. Trained in linguistics, she has lived abroad - mostly in Spain - and speaks several languages. She is married and has three children. The first two books in the Peter Cotton series, Maze of Cadiz and Washington Shadow are also available from John Murray. You can find out more about Peter Cotton and Aly Monroe via her website, www.alymonroe.com or at www.johnmurray.co.uk, through her official facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/Monroe.Aly, and you can follow her on Twitter at www.twitter.com/monroe_aly.

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