Tag: NetGalley

Book Review – Deception by Alan Parks @johnmurrays @AlanJParks #20BOS26

whatcathyreadnextLeave a comment

About the Book

New York, December 1941. Joseph Gunner, former soldier, is off the front lines and on the streets of New York, tasked with helping tip America into the Second World War.

Working for a section of the British Secret Service, Gunner spends his days covertly encouraging pro-war sentiment through planted news stories, radio broadcasts and even blackmail.

But when a honeytrap mission with a prominent US politician goes wrong and the young woman involved is found dead, Gunner realises he has a target on his back. Who silenced her? Who knew their plan? And who has betrayed Gunner?

As he investigates, Gunner is plunged into the secretive world of Nazis in America, the NYPD and the mobs of New York, as the body count quickly stacks up. With world events accelerating, Gunner finds himself in a race against time before he becomes the next victim. Soon, he’ll uncover a conspiracy that goes beyond what he thought was possible.

Format: Hardcover (352 pages) Publisher: John Murray Press
Publication date: 2nd July 2026 Genre: Historical Fiction, Thriller

Find Deception on Goodreads

Preorder/Purchase Deception from Bookshop.org [Disclosure: If you buy books linked to our site, we may earn a commission from Bookshop.org, whose fees support independent bookshops]

My Review

Alan Parks is a new-to-me author who I discovered when I happened to see Deception on NetGalley. As an avid reader of historical fiction, the fact it’s set in New York during WW2 really appealed to me. Parks is the author of the Harry McCoy series set in 1970s Glasgow and Deception is the second in a new series featuring former Glasgow detective Joseph Gunner, the first being Gunner which is now on my wishlist.

Wounded whilst serving on the front line in France and often needing to resort to morphine to keep pain at bay, Gunner has found himself in New York engaged in covert work aimed at bringing the United States into the war. Propaganda, false flag operations, whatever it takes. While his boss Nickerson wines and dines influential American figures, Gunner is involved in less salubrious activities designed to counteract pro-German sentiment, a surprising amount of which exists in certain areas of New York, as he discovers.

When several people who worked alongside Gunner in a ‘honeytrap’ operation die in suspicious circumstances, he’s determined to discover the people behind it but finds not everyone is so enthusiastic. His investigation brings him up against some shady and exceptionally ruthless individuals. However, he also finds allies. But is everyone exactly who they profess to be? And do we ever really know what someone is capable of?

I really enjoyed getting to know Gunner. He may be a streetwise Glaswegian but he’s a fish out of water in New York. He never really gets his head around the subway and is introduced to food he’s never heard of or tasted before like salami and spaghetti (yes, really). And the bright lights of New York are a contrast with the dark streets of Glasgow under the nightly blackouts.

There’s an interesting moral ambiguity about events in the book. For example, how do you weigh up the loss of hundreds of lives caused by a pro-German atrocity in the heart of New York against the millions of lives that might be saved if such an act shifts sentiment towards the United States joining the war? Those who know their history will be aware of the significance of the book being set in December 1941.

Deception is an enthralling, fast-paced historical thriller with moments of high drama and walk-on parts for real life figures. I’m hoping there will be more to come in the series.

I received an advance reader copy courtesy of John Murray Press via NetGalley. Deception is book 4 of my 20 Books of Summer.

In three words: Gripping, suspenseful, atmospheric
Try something similar: Nemesis by Rory Clements

About the Author

Alan Parks worked in the music industry for over twenty years before turning to crime writing.

His debut Bloody January was shortlisted for the Grand Prix de Littérature Policière, February’s Son was nominated for an Edgar Award, Bobby March Will Live Forever won the Edgar Award for Best Paperback Original, the Prix Mystère de la critique in the foreign fiction category, and was shortlisted for the Macavity Award for Best Mystery Novel and The April Dead was shortlisted for the McIlvanney Prize for Scottish Crime Book of the Year. The fifth Harry McCoy book, May God Forgive, was published in April 2022 and won the McIlvanney Prize for Scottish Crime Book of the Year 2022. It was also shortlisted for the 2023 CWA Ian Fleming Steel Dagger Award and longlisted for the 2023 Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year Award. The Harry McCoy series is optioned for television.

Alan was born in Scotland and attended The University of Glasgow where he was awarded a M.A. in Moral Philosophy. He still lives and works in the city as well as spending time in London. (Photo/bio: Agent website)

Connect with Alan
Website | X

Book Review – Prey by Graham Hurley #20BOS26 @HoZ_Books @Seasidepicture

whatcathyreadnext1 Comment

About the Book

1943. The war is turning against the Third Reich but the Luftwaffe are eagerly exploiting a lethal blind spot in the RAF’s Lancaster bombers with their innovative upward-firing cannon.

MI5’s Tam Moncrieff lobbies ceaselessly for a solution in the face of officials’ indifference. His quest sees him accompanying a bombing raid deep into Nazi Germany that will change the course of the war.

The target is the Nazis’ flagship city of Nuremberg. With bright moonlight and clear visibility, the conditions are perfect… for the enemy. The Luftwaffe are jubilant as they take out plane after plane.

With so many men dead or captured, can RAF Bomber Command overcome their darkest hour, when the predators have become the prey?

Format: Hardcover (400 pages) Publisher: Head of Zeus
Publication date: 2nd July 2026 Genre: Historical Fiction

Find Prey on Goodreads

Preorder/Purchase Prey from Bookshop.org [Disclosure: If you buy books linked to our site, we may earn a commission from Bookshop.org, whose fees support independent bookshops]

My Review

Prey is the eleventh book in the ‘Spoils of War’ collection. The books are designed to be read in any order or as standalones, although some characters appear in more than one book. Each book focuses on a particular aspect of the Spanish Civil War or Second World War – a time, a place, a campaign – weaving a fictional story around historical facts.

Like previous books, events unfold from the point of view of two main characters. In this case it’s Luftwaffe pilot Dieter Merz and MI5 officer Tam Montcrieff. (They first appeared together in Estocada, book three of the series.) Merz is one of the pilots who have perfected a tactic the Luftwaffe have named Schräge Musik which targets a blind spot on the Lancaster bombers that are carrying out devastating raids on German cities. The design flaw is not unknown to Bomber Command but they have dismissed making modifications that might counter it, even as air crew losses increase. Moncrieff becomes involved in attempts to overcome this, placing himself at risk in the process.

A secondary plot line involves Montcrieff investigating the circumstances surrounding the disappearance of a soldier, Jimmy Anderson, during the chaos of the retreat to Dunkirk. Ex-Royal Marine Tam, who carries a Beretta, is revealed as a bit of a ladies’ man. Perhaps it’s no coincidence that Sean Connery, the original cinematic embodiment of James Bond, was known in his teens as ‘Big Tam’. Having said that, Montcrieff is more of a pie and a pint man than a caviar and vodka martini one. However, he’s definitely shaken and stirred by some of his encounters during his investigation.

Graham Hurley can be relied upon to deliver thrillingly realistic and dramatic scenes. This time they include a dizzying flight through a narrow mountain pass and a night flight aboard a Lancaster bomber. There are sombre moments as well such as when Merz’s wife Beata witnesses firsthand the utter ruthlessness of the German war machine. Merz is no fanatical Nazi either. Surveying the ruined city of Augsburg he observes the change in its citizens from people with ‘heavy-bellied Bavarian swagger’ to people ‘shrunken and pale’ in thin winter coats. ‘These folk have been betrayed, Merz thought. By the regime, by Hitler’s reckless promises, by us.’ Other scenes that stick in my mind are Montcrieff’s gentle questioning of a soldier who has suffered a severe brain injury and the very personal motivation for a daring aerobatics display.

What I enjoy about this series is not just the exciting storylines but how much I learn about the history of the period along the way. I also love it when an author includes a ‘blink and you’ll miss it’ gift to the observant reader. There’s one in this book (at least it was in my ARC) – the name of an estate agent.

I received an advance reader copy courtesy of Head of Zeus via NetGalley. Prey is book 1 of my 20 Books of Summer 2026.

In three words: Compelling, dramatic, authentic
Try something similar: V2 by Robert Harris

About the Author

Graham Hurley is a documentary maker and a novelist. For the last two decades he’s written full-time, penning nearly fifty books. Two made the shortlist for the Theakston’s Old Peculiar Crime Novel of the Year, while Finisterre – the first in the Spoils of War collection – was shortlisted for the Wilbur Smith Adventure Writing Award. Graham lives in East Devon with his lovely wife, Lin.

Connect with Graham
Website | Instagram | X