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Smoke and Embers
Brief Description
1950. Chief Inspector Troy learns that his sergeant has been conducting an affair with the known mistress of infamous London racketeer Otto Ohnherz. Troy is immediately intrigued by the mysterious origins of Ohnherz's second-in-command, Jay Fabian, who is a major contributor to all three British political...
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August 2026
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Smoke and Embers
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The newest literary spy thriller from a master of the genre explores swapped identities in the aftermath of the Holocaust.
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Description
1950. Chief Inspector Troy learns that his sergeant has been conducting an affair with the known mistress of infamous London racketeer Otto Ohnherz. Troy is immediately intrigued by the mysterious origins of Ohnherz's second-in-command, Jay Fabian, who is a major contributor to all three British political parties and claims to have survived the concentration camps, yet lacks any identification beyond his word. Why would a refugee be trying to buy influence?
So begins a novel of swapped identities in the aftermath of World War II and the Holocaust, each chapter adding a new layer of intrigue.
With a twisting plotline, crackling dialogue and the return of beloved characters, Smoke and Embers is an exciting new addition to John Lawton's masterful canon of Cold War thrillers.
Book Details
INFORMATION
ISBN: 9781804710920
Publisher: Atlantic Books
Format: Paperback / softback
Date Published: 07 May 2026
Country: United Kingdom
Imprint: Grove Press
Edition: Main
Audience: General / adult
DIMENSIONS
Width: 129.0mm
Height: 198.0mm
Weight: 0g
Pages: 384
About the Author
John Lawton has written eight Inspector Troy thrillers, three previous Joe Wilderness novels, a standalonenovel and a volume of history. His Inspector Troy novels have been named best books of the year by the NewYork Times, Los Angeles Times and New York Times Book Review. He lives in Derbyshire, England.
Also by John Lawton
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The Unfortunate Englishman
A thrilling portrait of 1960s Berlin and Khrushchev's Moscow, centring around the exchange of two spies— a Russian working for the KGB, and an unfortunate Englishman. Having shot someone in the chaos of 1963 Berlin, Wilderness finds himself locked up with little chance of escape. But an official pardon through his father-in-law, Burne-Jones, a senior agent at MI6, means he...Paperback$2300Elsewhere:$2499Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
Moscow Exile
Charlotte is a British expatriate who has recently settled in Washington, D.C. with her second husband, but enviable dinner parties aren't the only thing she is planning. Meanwhile, Charlie Leigh-Hunt has been posted to Washington as a replacement for Guy Burgess, last seen disappearing around the corner and into the Soviet Union. Charlie is surprised to cross paths with Charlotte,...Paperback$2799Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks -
Smoke and Embers
1950. Chief Inspector Troy learns that his sergeant has been conducting an affair with the known mistress of infamous London racketeer Otto Ohnherz. Troy is immediately intrigued by the mysterious origins of Ohnherz's second-in-command, Jay Fabian, who is a major contributor to all three British political parties and claims to have survived the concentration camps, yet lacks any identification beyond...Hardback$4500Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks -
Moscow Exile
From "quite possibly the best historical novelist we have" (Philadelphia Inquirer), the fourth Joe Wilderness spy thriller, moving from Red Scare-era Washington, D.C. to a KGB prison near Moscow's Kremlin. In Moscow Exile, John Lawton departs from his usual stomping grounds of England and Germany to jump across the Atlantic to Washington, D.C., in the fragile postwar period where the...Paperback$3799Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks -
Then We Take Berlin
John Holderness, known to the women in his life as 'Wilderness', comes of age during World War II in Stepney, East London, breaking into houses with his grandfather. After the war, Wilderness is recruited as MI5's resident 'cat burglar' and finds himself in Berlin, involved with schemes in the booming black market that put both him and his relationships in...PaperbackSold Out -
Hammer to Fall
It's London, the swinging sixties, and by rights MI6 spy Joe Wilderness should be having as good a time as James Bond. But alas, in the wake of an embarrassing disaster for MI6, Wilderness has been posted to remote northern Finland in a cultural exchange program to promote Britain abroad. Bored by his work, with nothing to spy on, Wilderness...PaperbackSold Out -
A Little White Death
A Little White Death is set in an England on the verge of explosion, while Inspector Troy is engaged in a personal battle against ill-health. During his medical leave, Scotland Yard files charges against an acquaintance of his—a hedonistic doctor with a penchant for voyeurism and young women. These women are entangled in affairs with a senior official at the...PaperbackSold Out
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