Gavin Lyall crafted gripping thrillers known for their meticulous technical accuracy and sardonic wit. His narrative style, often in the first person, echoed the hard-boiled detective genre. Lyall was a versatile writer, transitioning between aviation thrillers, international crime stories, espionage novels, and semi-historical accounts of early British intelligence. His dedication to research infused his work with a unique authenticity and suspense.
Set against the backdrop of diverse battlefields, this volume of the Freedom's Battle trilogy delves into the harrowing experiences of warfare over the high seas, in Malta, and through desert confrontations, culminating in the struggle against Japan. The narrative offers intensely vivid accounts that capture the challenges faced by soldiers and the complexities of combat across different terrains, providing a comprehensive view of the multifaceted nature of war.
'Breathless suspense ... taut action ... manages to achieve depth as a novel without ever letting up its adventurous pace ... A grand book for every le Carre reader' The New York Times Book Review
Set in 1912, the earliest days of the present British Sceret Service. These four linked stories take the reader from Cork to Paris, Kiel to Budapest and the death-throes of the AustroHungarian Empire. By the author of "The Wrong Side of the Sky", "Venus with Pistol" and "Blame the Dead".
A thriller from the writer of "Blame the Dead", "Shooting Script", "Uncle Target", "Venus with Pistol", "Judas Country" and "Midnight Plus One".
The assassination attempt on the American president in London bore the hallmark of the KGB. But with Britain about to hold unilateral talks with the Russians over Berlin, why should Moscow Centre rock the boat? Major Harry Maxim smelled conspiracy. Trouble was, nobody wanted to believe him. So the Major goes hunting, taking with him his old mentor from Downing Street days, George Harbinger, and another colleague from former times, the not so old and much more attractive Agnes Algar, MIS. It's all highly unofficial. But that doesn't stop Maxim shooting and pistol-whipping his way from London to East Berlin via the Cotswolds, Eastbourne and Illinois, until he finally tracks down the Crocus List - a group of earnest patriots playing God and soldiers to open the country's eyes to the Russian menace...
Thriller - A novel which works up to beautiful tension and ingenuity in Vienna, reached via London, Amsterdam, Zurich and Venice.