ALPHABET HOUSE

In the tradition of Alan Furst, the international bestselling author delivers his first stand-alone novel, a psychological thriller set in World War II Nazi Germany and 1970s England. British pilots James Teasdale and Bryan Young have been chosen to conduct a special photo-reconnaissance mission near Dresden, Germany. Intelligence believes the Nazis are building new factories that could turn the tide of the war. When their plane is shot down, the pilots know they will be executed if captured. Wounded and bleeding, they manage to jump on a passing train, narrowly escaping capture, but they are not out of trouble yet as they discover they have boarded a carriage full of injured SS men being evacuated from the Eastern Front. In a moment of desperation they throw two patients off the train and take their places, but their act is too convincing and they end up in the Alphabet House, a mental hospital located far behind enemy lines, where German doctors subject their patients to daily rounds of shock treatments and experimental drugs. Their only hope is to fake insanity and their friendship and courage are put to the ultimate test. A novel packed with historical interest and an air of urgency. 531pp, paperback.