Corpus

1936. Europe is in turmoil. The Nazis have marched into the Rhineland. In Russia, Stalin has unleashed his Great Terror. Spain has erupted in civil war.

In Berlin, a young Englishwoman evades the Gestapo to deliver vital papers to a Jewish scientist. Within weeks, she is found dead, a silver syringe clutched in her fingers.

In an exclusive London club, a conspiracy is launched that threatens the very heart of government. When a renowned society couple with fascist leanings are found brutally murdered, a maverick Cambridge professor is drawn into a world of espionage he knows only from history books.

The deeper Thomas Wilde delves, the more he finds to link the murders with the girl with the silver syringe - and even more worryingly to the scandal surrounding the Abdication . . .

Set against the gathering drumbeat of war and moving from Berlin to Cambridge, from Whitehall to the Kent countryside, and from the Fens to the Aragon Front in Spain, this big canvas international thriller, like C J Sansom's Winter in Madrid, marks the beginning of a brilliant new direction for Rory Clements.

'Dramatic . . . pacy and assured . . . Well crafted, it has all the pleasures of an intriguing lead character, intricate plot and fascinating historical context' - Daily Mail

'Rory Clements's timely spy thriller set in the 1930s evokes a period of political polarisation, mistrust and simmering violence. Corpus is fast-paced and there are plenty of red herrings to keep you guessing. This is the first of a promising series and Wilde is a likeable hero' - The Times

'This clever novel, rich in deceptions and intrigue, shows the reach of Stalin and Hitler into every class of British society, threatening violence on horrific scale. Corpus is a standout historical novel and spy thriller' - Daily Express