House of the Hanged
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3.8 • 5 Ratings
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- £6.99
Publisher Description
From the No. 1 bestseller and author of Richard & Judy pick The Savage Garden: a riveting tale of passion and murder set on the French Riviera in the 1930s for fans of Carlos Ruiz Zafon and Jed Rubenfeld
France, 1935: At the poor man’s end of the Riviera sits Le Rayol, a haven for artists, expatriates and refugees. Here, a world away from the rumblings of a continent heading towards war, Tom Nash has rebuilt his life after a turbulent career in the Secret Intelligence Service.
His past, though, is less willing to leave him behind. When a midnight intruder tries to kill him, Tom knows it is just a matter of time before another assassination attempt is made.
Gathered at Le Rayol for the summer months are all those he holds most dear, including his beloved goddaughter Lucy. Reluctantly, Tom comes to believe that one of them must have betrayed him. If he is to live, Tom must draw his enemy out, but at what cost to himself and the people he loves…?
Reviews
‘Mills has once again delivered an evocatively well-written and researched mystery which ticks all the suspense boxes’ Daily Mail
‘[A] mesmerising new novel … his best work in an already accomplished career’ Barry Forshaw, Independent
‘Mark Mills writes beautifully … very enjoyable’ Literary Review
‘An absorbing thriller and atmospheric plot twister’ Woman & Home
‘A sumptuously stylish mystery’ Easy Living
‘A riveting, creepy tale’ City A.M
'Outstandingly good … beautifully written, cleverly plotted and highly recommended' Literary Review on The Information Officer
'A forgotten corner of World War II rediscovered and expertly revealed to us. Fascinating and shrewdly compelling – Mark Mills does it again' William Boyd on The Information Officer
'A compelling, vividly rendered slow burn of a book which culminates in an electrifying climax' Guardian on The Information Officer
'An intriguing puzzle, elegantly written…a pleasure to read…beautifully captured' Sunday Telegraph on The Savage Garden
About the author
Mark Mills graduated from Cambridge University in 1986. He has lived in both Italy and France, and has written for the screen. His first novel, The Whaleboat House, won the 2004 Crime Writers’ Association Award for Best Novel by a debut author. His second, The Savage Garden, received stunning reviews and was a No. 1 bestseller. His third, The Information Officer, was shortlisted for the 2009 CWA Ellis Peters Historical Award. He lives in Oxford with his wife and two children.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Set in 1935, Mills's genial suspense novel stars Tom Nash, a former SIS operative haunted by his past, particularly a tragic encounter involving his lover, Irina Bibikov, in Russia in 1919. Now a writer, Nash is enjoying a well-heeled expatriate life on the French Riviera, surrounded by a large supporting cast, including his longtime spymaster, Leonard Pike; Pike's 20-something daughter and Nash's goddaughter, Lucy; and White Russian migr s Yevgeny and Fanya Martynov, who run a Paris art gallery. An unsuccessful attempt on Nash's life jolts him out of this idyll, forcing him to resuscitate his spy skills and question the loyalty of those around him. The undercurrent of threat to Nash, coupled with the harbingers of the coming war in Europe, is at odds with the lovely foreground setting, as if Mills (Amagansett) can't decide whether he's writing a historical soap opera or a thriller. Pleasing prose and convincing period detail compensate only in part for a sluggish plot.
