Corpus: A gripping spy thriller (Tom Wilde, #1)

by Rory Clements

A gripping spy thriller for fans of ROBERT HARRIS and WILLIAM BOYD from award-winning Sunday Times bestseller Rory Clements and author of the 2018 CWA HISTORICAL DAGGER WINNER, NUCLEUS

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.

Praise for CORPUS

'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

Praise for RORY CLEMENTS

'Enjoyable, bloody and brutish' Guardian

'Sends a shiver down your spine' Daily Mail

'A colourful history lesson . . . exciting narrative twists' Sunday Telegraph

• ISBN10: 1785762613
• ISBN13: 9781785762611
• Publish Date: 26 January 2017 (first published 2 June 2016)
• Publish Status: Out of Print
• Out of Print: 18 March 2024
• Publish Country: GB
• Imprint: Zaffre
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 384
• Language: English

Reviews

[elysium]

Thomas Wilde is a history professor at Cambridge University who gets himself drawn into a murder investigation. When a young woman is found dead, Lydia Morris doesn’t believe her friend’s death was just an overdose. She thinks it was a murder. When parents of Lydia’s other friend are murdered, Wilde can’t but wonder if the deaths are somehow connected.

Meanwhile, King Edward VIII is determined to marry the American divorcee Wallis Simpson. Both are known Nazi sympathizers and the Nazis want to keep Edward on the throne. The whole country is divided; left or right.

This is my first Rory Clements book even though I’ve owned Martyr for some time… And I’m glad I finally read his book!

I loved Wilde. I mean history professor as the main character, what’s not to like? He’s bit of an outsider; American, widower, hasn’t been to war and isn’t a fan of Cambridge traditions or politics. He’s studied Francis Walsingham so he knows something about spies and espionage.
It was interesting to see what might have happened during the Abdication. Politicians and Nazis all wanting their best choice on the throne. Conspiracies and espionage everywhere.

I really enjoyed this and now I have to start reading those John Shakespeare books.