I am the most enormous fan of this author’s Tudor mysteries which doesn’t mean to say I didn’t thoroughly enjoy this, I was just a little surprised it was written by the same man. It is not a page-turner but a demanding read. It takes time to digest all the history and alertness to untangle the fictional plot. Beautifully crafted, covering the period 1931-1940 in Spain (the civil war and the beginning of Franco’s regime) it follows the fortunes of three young men and then leaps to 1947 and the involved tale’s conclusion. The history and atmosphere are first rate.
A special 10th anniversary edition of the standalone bestseller, Winter in Madrid, by the author of the much-loved Shardlake series, C. J. Sansom. 1940: The Spanish Civil War is over, and Madrid lies ruined, its people starving, while the Germans continue their relentless march through Europe. Britain now stands alone while General Franco considers whether to abandon neutrality and enter the war. Into this uncertain world comes Harry Brett: a traumatized veteran of Dunkirk turned reluctant spy for the British Secret Service. Sent to gain the confidence of old school friend Sandy Forsyth, now a shady Madrid businessman, Harry finds himself involved in a dangerous game – and surrounded by memories. Meanwhile Sandy's girlfriend, ex-Red Cross nurse Barbara Clare, is engaged in a secret mission of her own – to find her former lover Bernie Piper, a passionate Communist in the International Brigades, who vanished on the bloody battlefields of the Jarama. In a vivid and haunting depiction of wartime Spain, Winter in Madrid by C. J. Sansom is an intimate and compelling tale which offers a remarkable sense of history unfolding, and the profound impact of impossible choices.
