A riotous ride through alternate history where Churchill died in 1941 and the world followed a very different path to our own after England and Germany sign a peace treaty. There is now a Cold War between the two countries, Adolf Hitler is about to be dethroned by the treacherous head of the SS who wants the world conflict to be triggered again and a lone British assassin with a touch of James Bond and Tarantino embarks on a dizzy mission to decide the fate of the world. Sinister scientists in secret bunkers up to no good, beautiful female resistance heroines being hunted down and a breathless race against time. A dazzling cocktail of pulp thrills for the modern age. You can almost see the movie - in 3D of course...
It is the mid-1950s. Britain and Germany have signed a peace treaty. Germany controls Europe and Britain has kept her empire which now includes Israel. A covert war is being fought by the respective secret service agencies. Churchill has been assassinated and Eden is PM. Our hero is a British agent. Where to start with this romp? I suppose if I tell you it was a runner up for the Terry Pratchett prize last year that will give you some idea as to its inventive nature. Its alternative history with crazy chases and escapes and much, much more. Well written, very smart and hugely enjoyable, this is quality pulpy fun.
'I don't like killing, but I'm good at it. Murder isn't so bad from a distance, just shapes popping up in my scope. Close-up work though - a garrotte around a target's neck or a knife in their heart - it's not for me. Too much empathy, that's my problem. Usually. But not today. Today is different...' The year is 1955 and something is very wrong with the world. It is fourteen years since Churchill died and the Second World War ended. In occupied Europe, Britain fights a cold war against a nuclear-armed Nazi Germany. In Berlin the Gestapo is on the trail of a beautiful young resistance fighter, and the head of the SS is plotting to dispose of an ailing Adolf Hitler and restart the war against Britain and her empire. Meanwhile, in a secret bunker hidden deep beneath the German countryside, scientists are experimenting with a force far beyond their understanding. Into this arena steps a nameless British assassin, on the run from a sinister cabal within his own government, and planning a private war against the Nazis. And now the fate of the world rests on a single kill in the morning...
'Superbly researched, scarily plausible, and with a great narrative drive - A Kill in the Morning is a cracking counterfactual, and a terrific debut.' STEPHEN BAXTER
Author
About Graeme Shimmin
Graeme Shimmin was born in Manchester, and studied Physics at Durham University. His successful consultancy career enabled him to retire at 35 to an island off Donegal and start writing. He has since returned to Manchester and completed an MA in Creative Writing. The inspiration for A Kill in the Morning came from Robert Harris' alternate history novel, Fatherland, and a passion for classic spy fiction. To find out more, and read his spy-themed short stories and book and movie reviews, visit www.graemeshimmin.com.
