Member Reviews

I love this era and absolutely adore Rory Clements always thrilling and evocative of the time Thankyou so much

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Post war Britain, winter and temperatures plunging quicker than trust in a politician, Tom Wilde is reluctantly drawn back into the murky world of spycatchers. With atomic secrets at risk, MI5 about as watertight as a string vest and villains on the make there’s certainly no shortage of people out to stop him - on a permanent basis. Wrap up warm and enjoy a cracking read.

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I’m a big fan of Professor Tom Wilde, Oxford Professor and erstwhile spy. The war is now well and truly over and there is a new enemy for Tom to root out. Living a quiet life in Oxford with his young son whilst his wife, Lydia is training to be a doctor in London, Tom is shocked to find a dead visitor in his office- unfortunately the visitor, Everett,Glasspool, an old espionage colleague has been murdered.
Summoned to London to meet with Freya Bentall, MI5 chief, Tom is asked to investigate some men she suspects of being traitors and find out who killed Everett Glasspool who was one of her trusted agents.
As Tom becomes more involved he is led to a group of nuclear scientists one of whom is suspected of selling secrets to the enemy. Pursued by Russian assassins sent to silence those who suspect their sleeper agents, Tom is quickly drawn into a world where London gangsters are working hand in hand with traitorous spies to infiltrate the nuclear programme.
Not knowing whom to trust , Tom fears for his own life and that of his family.
This is a fast paced and well plotted espionage thriller which I thoroughly enjoyed. Tom is a great hero, never afraid to have a go but in keeping with his other profession, cerebral as well- a perfect combination.
I’ve enjoyed every book Rory Clements has written about him and am always excited when a new one comes out. I was so excited to get my hands on this new one and thoroughly recommend both ‘A Cold Wind From Moscow” as well as all the other books in this excellent series. Five stars from me! Don’t miss this when it is published in January.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for my advance copy.

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As usual in my reviews, I will not rehash the plot...

I've read all the previous "Tom Wilde" novels, and have enjoyed them all, so I was delighted to be invited to read this latest book. I was not disappointed...

This novel is set in 1947, and the Cold War is underway (quite literally as that really was the coldest UK winter for many a moon!)

It was good to revisit characters like Tom, Lydia, and Freya who we've met before. There are plenty of new characters to add to the mix - including some very unpleasant "baddies". This felt like a much darker book in many ways - there are quite a few deaths, and not knowing who exactly could be trusted added to the unsettling feeliing - a good thing in a "thriller" I think!

Looking forward to reading more in this excellent series!

My thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for an ARC. All opinions my own.

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Another excellent, and engrossing page-turner from Rory Clements, It is now 1947 and Tom Wilde now back in Cambridge wishes to maintain his hard-won civilian life, but ........ Stalin has sent his super-agent to bring chaos to his former ally, in order to protect his super-spy working at Harwell. And chaos, mystery, death all ensue. Saying more, apart from 'you must read this' would risk spoilers.

With thanks to NetGalley and Zaffre for an APC

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After a brief interlude writing about a Munich detective, Rory Clwements is thankfully back on more solid and fertile ground with another superb Tom Wilde spy thriller.

It is the time of the cold war in an England that is also freezing and the lecturer turned intelligence operator os tasked with uncovering a Soviet mole who threatens the security of the nation.

The writing is as taut as ever, the characters and plot credible and fascinating and the sense of time and place totally accurate and evocative.

What more can you ask for? A veritable treat.

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A new direction for this excellent series.

"A Cold Wind From Moscow" opens in February, 1947, and Britain is still recovering from the war. Food is in short supply, there are regular power cuts, and the coldest winter in years is upon them. Professor Tom Wilde continues to work at his Cambridge university, his spying days well behind him. But when a visitor is found dead, violently murdered in his rooms, he is quickly thrust back into the world of espionage.

But it's not the world of spying he knew previously - this is the start of a new war - a Cold War, where the rules are different. And when head of SIS, Freya Bentall asks him for one last favour - to track down a mole within MI5, he reluctantly takes up the mantle of spy once more. Before long he realises that former allies, the Russians, have turned their sights on Britain.

Swiftly the story turns to the fast-paced, desperate race against time that fans of this series love. Tom, the reluctant spy, seeks out the mole, but quickly sees the bigger picture, one of the emerging race for better atomic weapons, and those who are key to its development. Along the way he meets a colourful cast of characters, from the deeply suspicious fellow spies, to a flamboyant aristocratic artist, a Russian scientist willing to share secrets and a charismatic scientist by the name of Klaus Fuchs. And, of course, post-war Britain is beautifully rendered, with little details that perfectly capture the mood of the time. The author's research is impeccable, as usual.

There are more than a few throwbacks to the second Tom Wilde novel, "Nucleus", with characters and events forming the basis for what faces our hero this time around. Fans of the series will enjoy this, I think. The author also nicely inserts real-life people and locations into the story - as well as Klaus Fuchs, we visit the Harwell Campus, and there's even mention of Philby, Burgess and Maclean. Could this be a hint at the next Wilde book?

Fans of the series will love this latest Wilde adventure, as will fans of Simon Scarrow, Alex Gerlis and Charles Beaumont. Heartily recommended.

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