Hilary Manningham-Butler
5 primary works
Book 1
"I've been a scoundrel, a thief, a blackmailer and a whore, but never a murderer. Until now..."
The year is 1929. As the world teeters on the brink of a global recession, Bletchley Park plays host to a rather special event. MI5 is celebrating its twentieth anniversary and a select band of former and current employees are gathering at the private estate for a weekend of music, dance and heavy drinking. Among them is Sir Hilary Manningham-Butler, a middle aged woman whose entire adult life has been spent masquerading as a man. She doesn't know why she has been invited - it is many years since she left the secret service - but it is clear she is not the only one with things to hide. And when one of the other guests threatens to expose her secret, the consequences could prove disastrous for everyone.
The year is 1929. As the world teeters on the brink of a global recession, Bletchley Park plays host to a rather special event. MI5 is celebrating its twentieth anniversary and a select band of former and current employees are gathering at the private estate for a weekend of music, dance and heavy drinking. Among them is Sir Hilary Manningham-Butler, a middle aged woman whose entire adult life has been spent masquerading as a man. She doesn't know why she has been invited - it is many years since she left the secret service - but it is clear she is not the only one with things to hide. And when one of the other guests threatens to expose her secret, the consequences could prove disastrous for everyone.
Book 2
"You'll never get me up in one of those things. They're absolutely lethal."
Seville, 1931. Six months after the loss of the British airship the R101, a German Zeppelin is coming in to land in Southern Spain.
Hilary Manningham-Butler is an MI5 operative eking out a pitiful existence on the Rock of Gibraltar. The offer of a job in the Americas provides a potential lifeline but there are strings attached. First she must prove her mettle to her masters in London and that means stepping on board the Richthofen before the airship leaves Seville.
A cache of secret documents has been stolen from Scotland Yard and the files must be recovered if British security is not to be severely compromised. Hilary must put her life on the line to discover the identity of the thief. But as the airship makes its way across the Atlantic towards Brazil it becomes clear that nobody on board is quite what they seem. And there is no guarantee that any of them will reach Rio de Janeiro alive...
Seville, 1931. Six months after the loss of the British airship the R101, a German Zeppelin is coming in to land in Southern Spain.
Hilary Manningham-Butler is an MI5 operative eking out a pitiful existence on the Rock of Gibraltar. The offer of a job in the Americas provides a potential lifeline but there are strings attached. First she must prove her mettle to her masters in London and that means stepping on board the Richthofen before the airship leaves Seville.
A cache of secret documents has been stolen from Scotland Yard and the files must be recovered if British security is not to be severely compromised. Hilary must put her life on the line to discover the identity of the thief. But as the airship makes its way across the Atlantic towards Brazil it becomes clear that nobody on board is quite what they seem. And there is no guarantee that any of them will reach Rio de Janeiro alive...
Book 3
"Your predecessor was sitting in that chair when he shot himself. You can still see the blood stains on the wall behind you."
Central America, 1931. Hilary Manningham-Butler is settling into her new job as passport control officer at the British legation in Guatemala City. Her predecessor Giles Markham is dead, having embezzled a large sum of money from the office's visa receipts and then taken his own life. Freddie Reeves, a friend at the legation, believes there is more to his death than suicide. The weekend before he died, Markham spent some time at a remote coffee plantation in the north central highlands. Freddie knows the owner of the plantation and invites Hilary to accompany him there for the weekend, in the hope that she might be able to discover the truth. Hilary has no intention of getting involved, but when a house guest dies in suspicious circumstances it soon becomes clear that she will not be given the choice.
Central America, 1931. Hilary Manningham-Butler is settling into her new job as passport control officer at the British legation in Guatemala City. Her predecessor Giles Markham is dead, having embezzled a large sum of money from the office's visa receipts and then taken his own life. Freddie Reeves, a friend at the legation, believes there is more to his death than suicide. The weekend before he died, Markham spent some time at a remote coffee plantation in the north central highlands. Freddie knows the owner of the plantation and invites Hilary to accompany him there for the weekend, in the hope that she might be able to discover the truth. Hilary has no intention of getting involved, but when a house guest dies in suspicious circumstances it soon becomes clear that she will not be given the choice.
Book 4
Book 5
