The Inspiration behind the books

Special Operations Executive (SOE) officially formed on 22 July 1940, at the instigation of Prime Minister Winston Churchill, as a single organisation to conduct espionage, subversion, sabotage, and reconnaissance.  He directed Hugh Dalton, the Minister of Economic Warfare and newly appointed with the political responsibility for SOE, to "Go and set Europe ablaze". 

SOE recruited agents from all classes, backgrounds and occupations, and provided rigorous training that included map reading, demolitions, weapons, Morse code, fieldcraft, and close combat. 

In 1942, SOE began recruiting women as field agents. They trained alongside the men, (often being used as an example to spur the men on), and were deployed behind enemy lines as wireless operators ("pianists"), couriers, and circuit organisers. 

SOE sent 39 women into France alone, and all but 13 of these amazing women came back.  

Their stories are nothing short of heroic.

I'd written as far back as I can remember - mostly short stories just for fun, but when I found myself captivated by a BBC WW2 documentary, I followed one "what if..." after another until my first book emerged.

City of Spies was a labour of love.  I was fascinated by the role Portugal played in the war, the daring of the Special Operations Executive agents (especially the women), and became really invested in my own (fictitious) agents.  While my characters and novels are fiction, they are based, as much as possible, on the history of the time. 

I hope you enjoy reading about them as much as I enjoyed creating them! And don't worry - I'm currently working on the 3rd novel in the series.

In the meantime, please check out my Blake Mara series, the Dog Park Detectives, published by Simon & Schuster and available from all good retailers.

Represented by James Wills of Watson, Little.  

City of Spies and Resistance are published Bonnier Zaffre.