The Unfortunate Englishman: A Joe Wilderness Novel (The Joe Wilderness Novels (2))

Branching off from his widely acclaimed Inspector Troy novels, John Lawton delivers The Unfortunate Englishman , a captivating, meticulously researched, and richly detailed historical thriller set during the height of the Cold War, starring East End Londoner turned spy Joe Wilderness. Having shot someone in what he believed was self-defense in the fog of 1963 Berlin, Wilderness finds himself locked up with little chance to escape. But an official pardon from Burne-Jones, a senior agent at MI6, means he is free to go—although forever in Burne-Jones's debt. His return to London is brief, when another assignment from Burne-Jones puts him into the line of danger again. His newest operation will take him back to Berlin, where he spent several years working the black market while employed by MI6 after the war, and which is now the dividing line between the West and the Soviets. Khrushchev and Kennedy are playing a game of chicken, gambling with the fate of millions of... A British agent is drawn to Berlin’s bridge of spies in this “superlative Cold War espionage story” from the author of the acclaimed Inspector Troy Novels ( The Seattle Times ). It’s the summer of 1961, and the inscrutable Khrushchev is developing plans for something that could change the course of the Cold War. As he and Kennedy gamble with the fate of millions of lives, Cockney East-Ender-turned-spy Joe Wilderness is thrust into the conflict. Enlisted by MI6 to set up shop in Berlin, Wilderness returns to the city where he spent his postwar years, where a former paramour is under threat, and where the dividing line between the West and the Soviets will soon be crossed. As the Russians start building the wall, two agents find themselves trapped on opposing sides: an unfortunate Englishman in the Lubyanka in Moscow, and a KGB operative in London’s Wormwood Scrubs. Now, Wilderness has a new mission: Swap the prisoners on Berlin’s bridge of spies. But, as a former black marketer, Wilderness is also working a personal angle—just to make it interesting, just to make it profitable, just to make it a little more dangerous. What can possibly go wrong? Named by the Daily Telegraph as one of “50 Crime Writers to Read before You Die,” John Lawton is “quite possibly the best historical novelist we have” ( The Philadelphia Inquirer ). “[The Joe Wilderness novels] are meticulously researched, tautly plotted, historical thrillers in the mold of . . . Alan Furst, Phillip Kerr, Eric Ambler, David Downing and Joseph Kanon.” — The Wall Street Journal “Rich, inventive, surprising, informed, bawdy, cynical, heartbreaking and hilarious. However much you know about postwar Berlin, Lawton will take you deeper into its people, conflicts and courage. . . . Spy fiction at its best.” — The Washington Post Having shot someone in what he believed was self-defense in the chaotic streets of postwar Berlin, East End Londoner turned spy Joe Wilderness finds himself locked up with little chance to escape. But an official pardon from Burne-Jones, a senior agent at MI6, means he is free to go. His return to London is brief, for another assignment from Burne-Jones puts him into the line of danger again. The operation will take him back to Berlin, where he spent several years working the black market after the war, the city now the dividing line between the West and the Soviets. Khrushchev and Kennedy are playing a game of chicken, gambling with the fate of millions of German lives. On August 13, 1961, barbed wire is laid down, separating the Soviet controlled sectors from the rest of the city. With an old paramour at threat in the divided city, and the inscrutable Khrushchev developing plans for something that could change the fate of the Cold War, Wilderness is thrust into matters well beyond his control. And meanwhile, MI6's new man in Moscow has to improvise some quite unusual techniques in order to get the information he needs . . Having shot someone in what he believed was self-defense 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 is free to goalthough forever in Burne-Jones s service. His newest operation will take him back to Berlin, which is now the dividing line between the West and the Soviets. A backstory of innocence and intrigue unravels, one in which Wilderness is in and out of Berlin and Vienna like a jack-in-the-box. When the Russians started building the Berlin wall in 1961, two unfortunate Englishmen were trapped on opposite sides. Geoffrey Masefield in the Lubyanka, and Bernard Alleyn (alias KGB Captain Leonid Liubimov) in Wormwood Scrubs. In 1965 there is a new plan. To exchange the prisoners, a swap upon Berlin's bridge of spies. But, as ever, Joe has something on the side, just to make it interesting, just to make it profitable. "The Unfortunate Englishman" is a thrilling tale of Khrushchev, Kennedy, a spy exchange . . . and ten thousand bottles of fine Bordeaux. What can possibly go wrong?" Directed by MI6 to Berlin in 1963 to negotiate a delicate prisoner exchange on either side of the wall, Joe Wilderness covertly plans to use the operation to make a little something extra on the side, with unexpected results.