The Secret War Trilogy

Three World War II novels of intrigue and romance inspired by real events—from an acclaimed British author who "skillfully blends fact with fiction" (Time Out London).

 

Early One Morning: In the Roaring Twenties, William Grover-Williams and Frenchman Robert Benoist were teammates and rivals on the Bugatti racing team. Locked in a fierce competition for the world championship, they also raced to win the heart of the gorgeous Eve Aubicq. Then the war changed everything—and nothing. As members of the British Special Operations Executive, Grover-Williams and Benoist dashed across France in support of the Resistance, but it wasn't just the Nazis they had to watch out for. Double agents were everywhere, and friendship—or love—was no guarantee of loyalty. Based on actual events, this is an epic narrative of friendship, rivalry, and fast cars in occupied France.


 


"Excellent." —The Daily Telegraph

 

The Blue Noon: Harry Cole's rakish charm has served him well from London's East End to Hong Kong and now to occupied France, where he's found the perfect cover—as the debonair Captain Mason of the British Special Operations Executive. Harry plans to wait out World War II and maybe make a little money in the meantime, until a beautiful French nurse convinces him to join the Resistance—just the kind of high-wire act he was born to perform. But the two lovers risk crossing the wrong person at every turn. By war's end, Harry is facing the one charge that even he might not be able to talk his way out of: treason. Ryan's "exciting yarn" is based on a true story (The Daily Telegraph).


 


"The Blue Noon grips from page one. Part intelligent thriller, part love story, it skillfully mixes real events and characters with fictional dialogue to create a novel that's damn near impossible to put down." —Time Out London

 

Night Crossing: In fall 1938 in Berlin, a British executive is stabbed to death and papers of "utmost importance" have gone missing. Inspector Cameron Ross of the Metropolitan Police is sent to assist in the murder investigation, but his real mission—as outlined by his father, Colonel Ross of the Secret Intelligence Service—is to find out what was in those documents. Ulrike Walter, a beautiful young violinist, knows more than she should. She may be engaged to a member of the Hitler Youth, but Ulrike and the British inspector have an undeniable chemistry. When war is declared a year later, Ulrike flees to England, where she is immediately jailed as an enemy alien. Her only chance for freedom is Cameron Ross.


 


"Ryan again deftly integrates a love story with thriller material and has patented a method combining invented characters with factual events." —The Sunday Times