About the Book
The third Joe Wilderness spy thriller from a master of the genre, moving from icy Finland to tumultuous Cold War Prague, Hammer to Fall is a tale of vodka smuggling and a legendary female Red Army general who is playing a dangerous game
It's London, the swinging sixties, and by all rights MI6 spy Joe Wilderness should be having as good a time as James Bond. But alas, his postings are more grim than glamorous. Luckily, Wilderness has a knack for doing well for himself even in the most unpromising postings, though this has gotten him into hot water in the past. A coffee-smuggling gig in divided Berlin was a steady money-maker but things went pear-shaped when he had to smuggle a spy back to the KGB instead. In the wake of what became an embarrassing disaster for MI6, Wilderness is reprimanded with a posting to remote northern Finland, under the guise of a cultural exchange program to promote Britain abroad. Bored by his work, with nothing to spy on, Wilderness finds another way to make money, this time by smuggling vodka across the rather porous border into the USSR. He strikes a deal with his old KGB pal Kostya, who explains to him there is, no joke, a vodka shortage in the Soviet Union, following a grain famine caused by Khrushchev's new agricultural policies. But there is something fishy about why Kostya has suddenly turned up in Finland--and MI6 intelligence from London points to a connection to the mining of cobalt in the region, a critical component in the casing of the atomic bomb. Wilderness's posting is getting more interesting by the minute, but more dangerous too.
Moving from the no-man's-land of Cold War Finland to the wild days of the Prague Spring, and populated by old friends (including Inspector Troy) and old enemies alike, Hammer to Fall is a gripping tale of deception and skullduggery, of art and politics, a page-turning story of the always riveting life of the British spy.
About the Author :
John Lawton has written eight previous Inspector Troy thrillers, two novels starring Joe Wilderness, one standalone novel, and a volume of history. His novels have been named Best Books of the Year by the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, and New York Times Book Review. He lives in England and Italy.
Review :
Praise for Hammer to Fall: Named a Best Book of the Year by Deadly Pleasures Mystery Magazine
"A witty, melancholy, first-class work."--Tom Nolan, Wall Street Journal
"Hammer to Fall continues the saga of Joe Wilderness, a roguish and immensely appealing combination of MI6 agent and sometime smuggler . . . This terrifically written and well-paced balancing act between the absurd and the deadly serious has some especially droll subplots."--Adam Woog, Seattle Times
"An entertaining read, with an intelligent backdrop of cold-war geopolitics."--Financial Times
"In this third Joe Wilderness spy thriller, John Lawton's MI6 protagonist is on the move from Germany to Finland. Not your typical James Bond-style spy, Wilderness' postings get more interesting by the minute. He ends up in Czechoslovakia just before the Soviets send in tanks to quash the 1968 Prague Spring uprising. Lawton is a master of the genre, and his writing is not only historically accurate, but also rich, ribald, cynical, informed, inventive, and hilarious."--Christian Science Monitor
"A rich cacciucco of a novel, almost a menu degustation of politics, class, history (the Prague Spring of 1968), and impressive spy 'tradecraft, ' with a gripping climax on a famous bridge of spies in Berlin, and it is all written with a knowing wit by an author in total command of his historical research. Fans of vintage British thrillers (surely there are some out there) will spot the homages made to Gavin Lyall, John Le Carré, and Len Deighton."--Deadly Pleasures Mystery Magazine
"John Lawton's British detective fiction has reached the height of being predictably stirring, powerfully written, and cleverly knit together in terms of both plot and the painful personal wounds of World War II . . . The final scenes lead dramatically to a high-tension Cold War quandary that promises more to come in this entertaining series."--New York Journal of Books
"John Lawton infuses Hammer to Fall with ironic, dispassionate humor . . . Wilderness is a lightning rod for trouble and danger--and his sardonic, deadpan approach to life's vicissitudes adds to the pleasure of reading Hammer to Fall."--Criminal Element
"From Berlin, surviving on airlift support, to Finland, England, and ultimately, Prague in the spring of 1968, MI6 spy Joe Holderness, aka Wilderness, gets into and out of a number of compelling spots of trouble in this installment of his story . . . By turns witty, erudite, and exciting and supporting a host of interesting characters, imaginary and historical . . . Not one sour note. A terrific thriller: fun, satisfying, and humane."--Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
"Lawton scores another hit with his third Joe Wilderness novel . . . Terrific writing, a complex plot with a twist ending, and a roguish lead will have readers eagerly awaiting his next adventure."--Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"Lawton does a brilliant job of incorporating backstory here, deepening our understanding of and feelings for rule-breaking Joe, who cares more for people than governments, while delivering a jaw-dropping finale that will leave readers palpitating for more."--Booklist (starred review)
"A delight. Lawton's ongoing recreation of Cold War chicanery is one of the great pleasures of modern spy fiction."--Mick Herron
Praise for John Lawton:
"Meticulously researched, tautly plotted, historical thrillers in the mold of World War II and Cold War fiction by novelists like Alan Furst, Philip Kerr, Eric Ambler, David Downing and Joseph Kanon."--Wall Street Journal
"Wickedly seductive entertainment . . . John Lawton is creating some of our finest, and some of our most enjoyably ambiguous historical fiction."--Washington Post
"Lawton's gift for memorable atmosphere and characters, intelligent plotting and wry prose put him solidly at the top of anyone's A-list of contemporary spy novelists."--Seattle Times
"[Lawton] is a master of creating a feeling of time and place, of amalgamating true-life events into his imaginative plot, of bringing every character, real or fictitious, major or minor, vividly to life."--Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
"Intricate plotting, colorful characters, and a brilliant prose style put Lawton in the front rank of historical thriller writers."--Publishers Weekly
"Constantly entertaining . . . The spying is well mixed with humor."--Times (UK)
"Lawton's books contain such a wealth of period detail, character depiction, and background information that they are lifted out of any category. Every word is enriched by the author's sophistication and irreverent intelligence, by his meticulous research and his wit."--Literary Review
