Chris Nickson pays a tribute to the women who served in the armed forces of England during World War II. Cathy Marsden is a policewoman, seconded to the Special Investigation Branch in Leeds. Her knowledge of her "patch" and her empathy for the people who live there become turning points as the SIB search for a spy who has turned the gangs of the city to his ends.

This is a very enjoyable police procedural and historical mystery. I look forward to more Marsden stories.

Born and bred in Leeds, Sergeant Cathy Marsden has had to fight prejudice to achieve her rank and now in 1941 she is seconded to a special unit looking at war-related crime. She is surprised when her brother turns up sent from London to hunt an enemy agent believed to be planning sabotage in the city.
I am a big fan of Nickson's writings because they are based in Leeds (and also because he tells a good tale). Here the historical focus has moved to the 1940s and the sense of a city on the brink is palpable. There are lots of references to both the geography of Leeds and also to reality of wartime life but at its heart this is just a strong thriller. I hope that Nickson continues with this series as it is nice to have a female protagonist.

I loved the way that real life historical detail is used in this well researched and evocative book. The Special Investigation Branch, the XX Committee, and the Avro "shadow factory" were all very real. The latter was disguised to look like the landscape when seen from the air. Fake animals were literally moved by hand each day, to fool the German bombers.

There were very few women police in Leeds at this time, even in a force that would include special constables and men brought out of retirement.

In our first introduction to Sgt Cathy Marsden, she immediately impresses. She's been given a tip-off by a woman about the whereabouts of a criminal. But as she and her colleagues get ready to arrest the suspect, she spots a familiar face entering the room. It's her brother. He's now in the Security Service, in a different city.

There's a fascinating dynamic between the siblings. Daniel is immediately dismissive of her position and Cathy bristles.

Daniel has been sent to brief SIB on intelligence about a spy believed to be heading to Leeds. It's a real needle in a haystack search as they have barely no intelligence on who he is, where he's likely to be, and his mission.

Cathy has worked hard to win the respect of her squad and plays a key role in the search.

The cat and mouse pursuit is very gripping. The relationships are very well drawn. We cheer for Cathy when she scores successes, in the face of hostility from one or two senior colleagues. She is fighting more than a war: she's also fighting misogyny.

She's also a relatable heroine, trying to snag nylons from the Americans, if we can mix our metaphors, and concerned about more things "going on the ration".

I look forward to reading more of her exploits.

In my reading experience, there is no living writer so closely associated with one place than Chris Nickson. Phil Rickson had his Welsh Marches, Robert B Parker had his Boston, Colin Dexter had his Oxford and Christopher Fowler had his (peculiar) London. Sadly, Time has borne those four sons away, but Nickson’s Leeds is now rediscovered in the first of a new series.

It is February 1941. Cathy Marsden is a Sergeant in the Leeds police, but has been seconded to the Special Investigations Bureau, a unit recently set up to investigate black marketeers and other criminals looking to make money out of the war. She is astonished when her older brother, Daniel, turns up at the office. As far as she was aware he was humdrum civil servant in London, pushing pens and folders of documents from one desk to another. Like her, however, he has been seconded, but to another top secret intelligence service, and he is in Leeds to track down a dangerous Dutch double agent called Jan Minuit.

Although I have read and enjoyed them all, Nickson’s Leeds novels tend to have a similar plot, which is basically a manhunt. This enables the author’s creations from Simon Westow to Tom Harper (who gets a brief mention here) to pound the streets of the city in search of a villain. The technical aspect of this is not complicated, as it enables Nickson to put his unparalleled knowledge of the topography to good use. He is clearly in tune with a kind of of geopsychology, which enables readers to follow the footsteps of his characters across the decades, so that thoroughfares like Briggate, The Headrow and Kirkgate become as familiar as our own back yards.

If Minuit is bent on sabotage, Leeds has two prime targets for an agent of The Third Reich. One is pretty much in the open. The Kirkstall iron foundry has been producing components for military vehicles since WW1 and is hard to disguise. The Avro factory at Yeadon, however has been covered in camouflage and disguised – from the air – as open country. This ‘shadow factory’ is working day and night to produce Lancaster bombers, as well as the less celebrated (but equally vital) Anson.

Nickson has a well-established style. It is propulsive. Short sentences. A sense of urgency. Genuine narrative drive.

“Cathy turned off the ring road and started up Wheatwood Lane.The daylight was lasting longer, barely a stretch of dusk on the horizon. Ahead of her, the hill rose steeply, fields on either side, farmland.No chance to go more than a few yards.The road was filled with police cars, a pair of ambulances and the black coroner’s van.,”

“Monday dawned sour with threatening clouds, the colour of old bruises. The air was thick and damp. Yesterday’s promise of spring had vanished like a magician’s illusion. Instead, the rain felt that it like might begin at any time. At least it would deter the Luftwaffe.”

There is a thrilling conclusion to the team’s pursuit of Jan Minuit, and it is Cathy’s resilience and strength which eventually brings the spy/saboteur to his knees. Chris Nickson’s skill lies in his ability to convince us that we are standing beside his characters and sharing their world. In this case, it is Cathy Marsden’s wartime Leeds, with its rationing and privation, its fear that clear nighttime skies will be a gift to the Luftwaffe, and the ever present fear in the hearts of local women that their father, husband, brother, son or boyfriend will be the next name on the mounting list of casualties.

Nickson also reminds us that the horrors of WW1 cast a long shadow. Cathy’s father, once a strapping Yorkshire lad, was gassed in the trenches, and over thirty years later is a wreckage of a man, struggling with the essentials of existence – such as breathing. No Precious Truth will be published by Severn House on 1st April.

February 1941 Leeds. The SIB (Special Investigation Branch) which includes on secondment Cathy Marsden, becomes involved via XX Committee and her brother Dan in tracing an escaped double agent, Dutch Jan Minuit. He is known to be in Leeds and is prepared to cause major damage to Leeds infrastructure.
An entertaining and well-written historical mystery/thriller with its cast of interesting characters. A good start to this new series.
An ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Often when I read a book set during WWII, I imagine myself as the heroine of an exciting yet dangerous espionage operation, looking glamorous while I take it on. Nickson offers readers a different take – ordinary Cathy Marsden, seconded from the Leeds police department to serve in the SIB or Special Operations Bureau. SIB was part of the military police. As the book opens, Cathy’s unit is joined by her brother Dan, presently working in London in the XX Committee, a part of MI5. XX tried to turn German spies in England into counter agents, feeding disinformation back to Germany.

As part of the XX unit there’s plenty Dan cannot share with Cathy’s unit, but what he can share is that there’s a spy who escaped and it believed to be in Leeds. The man, Henry Minuit, had been such a smooth operator he was able to fool the Brits interviewing him, and catching him before he causes some kind of damage is now a top priority. Dan has been chosen for this operation because he’s from Leeds and knows the town, making finding Minuit more likely.

The SIB unit in Leeds is made up of former police, like Cathy, and they behave very much like police though their remit may be different. Their interrogation methods are more thorough. The consequences of being a traitor during wartime: death. The squad is operating on a razor’s edge, with only minimal discernible help from Dan.

The book is made memorable both by Cathy’s ordinariness, as she worries about foods and other things going “on the ration,” and lives with her parents, frequently spending nights with them in their backyard air raid shelter. She dresses comfortably, not fashionably, and because she was a beat cop, she knows Leeds like the back of her hand, something that comes in handy.

It’s also memorable because the enigmatic Dan and the phlegmatic Cathy are not entirely comfortable with one another. They learn through the book to work together and to reach an understanding, but it feels real – it’s not a fairytale change in their relationship, it’s a realistic one. Their parents are delighted to have Dan home though he’s rarely there and their mother is a born worrier.

This book also illustrates the knife’s edge of worry most women operated under during the war: where were their husbands, sweethearts, brothers and sons? Not only did most not know the answer, they also didn’t know how safe their loved ones were. Communication was by letter and not always reliable. And it was always slow.

I have read many, many books set during the war and this book took on the more day to day aspects of war. It’s not set in London, but in Leeds, a place not blitzed as London was but bombed all the same. Part of Cathy’s duties are serving as an air raid warden one night a week. I liked all this detail.

The book meanders a bit as the search for Henry Minuit intensifies. I liked the book for a different take on the war, one I think that showed what it was like for many all over Britain, but the narrative could have been a bit more rocket powered. However, I thought Cathy was a wonderful character and I’m glad I met her.

This book had everything suspense and intrigue also the bombing.

Cathy has been seconded to the Specialist Investigation Bureau she lives with her parents and her boyfriend Tom is in the army. Her brother Dan appears from London who works for MI5 he is trying to track down a spy called Minuit. We see how Dan & Cathy work together with the rest of the team to find the spy will they find him.

I liked the story how it could be tense at times and scary it flowed and was written well. A good start to a new series.

Thank you Netgalley for the arc. This is a WII story following a woman character who is an investigator, it was something I didn’t know occurred. However I found myself a lot of the time looking up words used to better understand. It was not what I expected as it was labeled thriller, it more historical fiction. I would recommend it to friends that like historical fiction and strong women lead.

Spies and traitors!

Leeds during World War II, police sergeant Cathy Marsden has been seconded to Special Investigations Branch seeking criminal gangs and deserters. Now espionage is added—a whole new game.
They’ve been joined by an MI5 operative desperately seeking an escaped German agent who’s been passing himself off as a Dutchman. A man the MI5 committee, the Twenty or XX, had hoped to turn. The MI5 agent is Cathy’s brother Daniel.
The only woman amongst a few men, most accept her, except for one recalcitrant colleague. Cathy has proved herself time and again, able to question people, including women, who have little time for the authorities. Many know her from her time on the beat, and take heed.
The group comes close to catching the agent Jan Minuit. He’s joined forces with the head of a criminal gang. The criminal’s motive is straight up money, now he’s a traitor.
Cathy has a close encounter with Minuit, and an even closer one that had me on the edge of my seat.
Leeds during the bliz was not a great place to be. The population is at the beginning of the war, on the edge of rationing. Large scale black market racketeering, liquor production and stolen goods is rife.
This latest story from Nickson gives us glimpses into the strength of character, even the criminals, of the people of the author’s beloved city.

A Severn House ARC via NetGalley.
Many thanks to the author and publisher.
(Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.)

Thank you, @NetGalley and Chris Nickson for the ARC of this book. I’ve read many a WWII novel, but none covering the Double Cross program. I can recall taking a course where we learned a lot about the program, but that was over 20 years ago, and I’d forgotten a lot. The level of suspense was just right in this tale, keeping me motivated to find out if they’d catch the traitor in time. I’m glad I read this on my kindle, too, because there was a lot of new British slang for me, with bumf being my favorite! Bonus points to Chris for adding an Edna as a minor character (there just aren’t a lot of us out there!). I wanted to know more about the siblings—did Tom make it back from North Africa? What happened to Dan’s MI5 career? Did Elizabeth really dump him? Is there a sequel coming? Enjoyable read; being published this week (I think).

The first in a new WWII historical crime procedural series, introducing Sergeant Cathy Marsden. It is February 1941 and Germany is continuing to bomb the cities of England even though the Battle of Britain is over and invasion has been averted. In Leeds Cathy Marsden has been seconded from the police force to the Special Investigation Branch ‘SIB’ as they need a female on the team. A clever and intuitive young woman she has an attitude which her boss likes and appreciates.

Briefly, Cathy’s brother Dan arrives from London and, admitting he is a member of a covert unit in MI5, links up with the SIB team looking for a Dutch double agent in Leeds, who has escaped custody. They need to track him down before he causes considerable damage to an important building. With time running out and stolen explosives missing we follow the team as the elusive spy keeps turning up and then vanishing.

Cathy is a great character, she’s a dedicated and intelligent woman who has risen to a position unusual for a woman at this time. I really warmed to her and look forward to reading more. The author has clearly done a lot of research and this added to the authenticity. This is a somber read at times with an uncompromising conclusion but it is wartime! A well paced and interesting first outing for Cathy Marsden and one I enjoyed.

I was disappointed when Chris Nickson ended his Tom Harper mystery series. Yes, it was time for that end since the plot didn't take time in an eternal now, but integrated political and cultural events across the lives of the characters. Harper, and the other characters, got older, experienced new limitations as they aged, and—just weren't immortal. Still, it was hard to see the end of Harper's career.

So I've been missing Tom Harper, and he's gone, but now Nickson has introduced me to a new central character situated in a very different time period. The new Cathy Marsden series is, like the Harper series, set in Leeds, but it's set a generation and a half of so after the Harper series, during WWII.

Marsden, as Nickson presents her, is one of the women who became involved in policing in England rather early on, and she's been moved from the usual women's work of neighborhood patrols and non-violent crime to the Special Investigations Branch (SIB), which was created during the war. Nickson notes in his afterword that Leeds didn't actually have an SIB during the war, but England did have relatively new SIBs then.

The characters are people I'm looking forward to spending more time with. There's Marsden herself, who is brave and deeply principled. There's the SIB team she works with that are smart, cooperative, and, for the most part, respectful. We meet some of her earlier colleagues from her time with the police department. And we meet her brother Dan, a sort of wunderkind who left Leeds for London as early as he could. He's been working in the "civil service" as far as his family knows. But when Dan shows up in Leeds in order to work with the SIB team, we learn that he's working with MI5, the UK's counter-intelligence and security agency. This agency was formed in 1909, but is still relatively new and a bit understaffed. Dan has an opportunity to burnish his "golden boy" image if he can find an escaped German spy, but this is difficult work and he's ridden with anxiety about the impact this case could have on his career.

Marsden and Dan are an interesting study in contrasts. Both have risen above the usual expectations for people with their working class roots. Marsden has steadily worked her way up the ranks despite facing the hostility that was directed at women in law enforcement. She's reached a point where (most of) the men she works with see her as an equal and treat her with respect. Dan has risen higher, but is still proving himself and may continue to rise—or fall.

If you enjoy historical mysteries, this is definitely a new series you should check out. My summary above gives a lot of space to Dam, but Marsden is *the* central character, and she's going to be an interesting woman to spend time with.

I received a free electronic review copy of this title from the publisher via NetGalley; the opinions are my own.

War changes everything.

It turns young men and women into soldiers and sometimes their partners into widows and widowers. War shatters bodies and minds in its wake. It completely changes the familiar landscape into rubble. There are no safety zones both physically and emotionally.

And nothing proves that more than World War II itself. Chris Nickson is a favorite author because he has been blessed with an uncanny ability to feel the pulse of his characters no matter what genre he ensues. Nickson allows us to experience the dark hidden corners filled with the creeking sounds of being unsure, regretful, fearful, and sometimes even wearied by the sins of the past one tries to keep hidden.

Nickson's lead character, Sergeant Cathy Marsden, is floating in a sea of identity. She's certainly a daughter and a sister because of genetics, but she's caught up in the winds of what role she is to play in society. She's become one of the few women in the Leeds' police department among a league of men. It's World War II where the majority of men have been sent to the front. An opportunity avails itself for Cathy to join the Special Investigation Branch (SIB). And it is here that Cathy will rise to the occasion.

The war has brought Cathy's brother home. Dan has left London and arrived in Leeds. He's a special agent for the MI5. His mission is to locate an escaped double agent. The UK implemented German spies to work on their behalf. But this particular agent turned on his original assignment. He is now headed to Leeds where ghost factories were set up for the war effort. This agent has bad intentions and dynamite in his hands. Cathy must step it up and now run with the big dogs.

Chris Nickson is a crackerjack of a researcherand it shows in No Precious Truth. He gives us a panoramic view of Leeds in 1941 when the Germans were in the midst of their blitz campaign. Personal safety was at the core while dedicated men and women put themselves in danger for the UK and its Allies. There was also a willingness of the common people to pass along information to the powers that be. Nameless individuals who stepped up and made all the difference in the world. Bravo, Chris Nickson, another fine one once again.

Ireceived a copy of this book through NetGalley for an honest review. My thanks to Severn House and to the talented Chris Nickson for the opportunity.

Thank you Severn House for this arc.

World War II is “the time to be” in books right now and I’ve read plenty of books using this time frame. What drew my attention to this one is the fact that the lead character in this (I presume it will be a) series is a woman.

One thing I have to get off my chest is how the book starts with an abundance of sentence fragments. Paragraphs and paragraphs of sentence fragments. Fragments here. Fragments there. Annoying fragments everywhere. Eventually this lessens but it drove me batty for a long time. I kind of like learning new words and phrases and I wondered at the lack of Leeds dialect for the characters. Every now and then we get an owt or nowt and some words are used that I guessed at before usage clarified it for me but I wish this had been a stronger part of the book.

The plot is not anything new but it’s competently done and makes sense. Along with finding the spy, there are other issues that arise as the team tries to track down the Dutchman. I had to occasionally stop and remind myself who some of the secondary and tertiary characters and subplots were but eventually most of them circled back around and tied into the main story.

While it’s probably the reality of doing something like this, the time and shoe leather spent going all over Leeds, showing the spy’s picture, checking possible leads, and following up on clues only to miss catching the man again and again got a little dull. I guess I’m used to a tight hour and three quarters thriller movie. Real police detective work is, at times, … boring.

Where the book shines is in how well Cathy knows her city and especially in how she can read people. I also enjoyed meeting her bestie who is now doing war work as well as Cathy’s salt-of-the-earth parents. The friction between Cathy and her hotshot brother Dan only shows up every now and then but in the end, Cathy realizes that at least she understands her brother more now even if they’ll never be close. Also well done is the shock that Cathy goes through at the end and her realization that what happened will likely mark her for life.

I will certainly look at future entries in this series but have to be honest and give this one a B-/C+

An intriguing start to a new series. Sergeant Cathy Marsden is in the unusual position as a law enforcement officer in 1941 Leeds. She's got enough on her plate with the problem of possible German spies in the city but then her brother Dan turns up and enlists her help as he's meant to be doubling the Germans back against Germany. This has good atmospherics for the city and the period. I liked the relationship between the siblings. It's not as c0mplex as some WWII mysteries but it's a good beginning. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. Looking forward to more.

The author writes mainly about the Leeds area in West Yorkshire, covering various centuries. He has currently five series published, this is the first book to feature Cathy Marsden.
Set in Leeds in 1941 Cathy is a police sergeant who has been seconded to S.I.B ( Special Investigation Branch ), mainly for her local knowledge, as the men in the squad come from various areas of the U.K. but not locally. The S.I.B. was formed to go after big crimes that involve the Army. Deserters and criminal gangs.
Cathy lives at home in a council house, with her parents. Her brother Daniel who moved away to London, suddenly appears in the S.I.B. office. He tells Cathy and her colleagues that a German spy has escaped and they believe he is going to target Kirkstall Forge or a factory manufacturing aeroplanes in Yeadon. Daniel has been sent to find him.
Cathy has never had a good relationship with her brother. She has managed to prove herself to her colleagues both in the police and S.I.B. and she does not want Daniel talking down to her.
They soon realise that the spy is getting help and they need to apprehend him quickly. The spy is very resourceful and Cathy will find herself in great danger.
Very well researched as usual by the author, who also finds time to be a musician and a music journalist. Well written, exciting and you are there in wartime Leeds with the bombing raids, Anderson shelters, rationing and barrage balloons. Very much recommended.

I don't read historical fiction very often, and it's novels like No Precious Truth that make me wonder why. Chris Nickson has researched this novel really thoroughly and I found it fascinating to read about and consider the impact of World War II from.a different angle - that of the police.

It was rare for women to be police officers in 1940, when No Precious Truth is set, so I loved being introduced to Cathy Marsden. She has overcome many obstacles to get to where we see her in the novel, and she's intelligent and determined, as well as incredibly compassionate, both to her family and friends and the members of the public that she encounters in her work. Her relationship with Dan has an interesting dynamic and I enjoyed following it as the story progressed.

As a resident of Leeds, I found Chris Nickson's references to very specific geographical locations really helpful. They give No Precious Truth a very clear sense of place and being able to picture exactly where the characters were walking took me right to the scenes as if I were there myself.

No Precious Truth is a cat and mouse chase, and as the story gathers pace, the importance of finding Minuit and the people connected to him becomes much clearer. There is a definite sense of tension, which is heightened by the threat of an attack on the city, and I was really invested in this search the whole way through the novel.

I believe that No Precious Truth is the beginning of a series, so I'm intrigued to see where the author takes Cathy as the series continues.

A competent and entertaining mystery.

I was drawn to this book because I wasn't aware women were police officers in the 1940s. Sergeant Cathy Marsden has been seconded to a special investigative team that track down deserters, and then her brother turns up needing help in his official capacity as MI5 agent. What ensues is part mystery, part thriller as the team try to track down an escaped German spy.

Although there wasn't anything especially groundbreaking in this book, I enjoyed it. I liked Cathy as a character and her uneasy relationship with her brother was well done. The mystery was engaging and kept me reading, and I liked the Leeds setting - it made a nice change from London. I'd be very happy to read more about these characters so if this is a series (which is hints it is) then I'll probably pick up the next book.

3.5*

I thought this was going to be a very good book. A few of my favorite mystery series take place in the period of the first and second world war. Among other things, the Brighton series by Elly Griffiths.

But this story was disappointing. I stopped reading around 65%. The story regarding the war, how people lived then, sheltered from the bombs, ... I found very interesting. But the mystery part did not appeal to me. The story jumped from one subject to another. I had to go back regularly because I had lost the story. But maybe I had too many expectations. Very unfortunate.

A one star rating mean I didn't finish the book.

I really enjoyed reading this first book in a planned series featuring Police Sergeant Cathy Marsden, a member of the Special Investigation Branch in Leeds during the Second World War.
The mix of crime, spies, everyday life in the war and my home town of Leeds meant that once I had picked it up, I couldn't put it down as I wanted to know what was going to happen next. Cathy herself is an appealing character, but I was also interested in her family and friends, not just her work colleagues at the Special Investigation Branch.
Looking forward to the next in the series.