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Darkest Hour
Darkest Hour
Nov 15, 2025 5:54 PM

Author:James Holland,Gordon Griffin

Darkest Hour

Readers of Robert Harris, Bernard Cornwell and Ken Follett will love this gripping, edge-of-your-seat wartime thriller from bestselling author and historian James Holland. Guaranteed to keep you turning the pages!

'Old-fashioned, testosterone-fuelled escapism and Tanner is a chiselled protagonist straight out of the pages of the old Commando comics' -- Mail on Sunday

'Sharpe for the Blitz years...a meaty, all action yarn!' -- Sunday Telegraph

'Holland is a superb historian who knows his stuff, and his descriptions of the action are terrific' -- Daily Telegraph

'Has the sure touch of someone who knows their subject and enjoys it' -- Daily Mail

'Very difficult to put down' -- ***** Reader review

'An amazing read' -- ***** Reader review

'An adventure from start to finish but with great historical facts thrown in' -- ***** Reader review

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Dunkirk, 1940: ONE MAN MUST STEM THE NAZI TIDE...

Sergeant Jack Tanner has been posted to a training company on the south-east coast of England where the mysterious deaths of two Polish refugees lead him to believe there has been foul play.

As the Germans launch their Blitzkrieg in Europe, the entire company are sent to join the battle to stop Hitler's drive across the Low Countries. Pitted against the die-hard Nazis of the SS 'Death's Head' Division and the great panzer commander, General Rommel himself, it is left to Tanner to get his men back to Allied lines.

But if they are to have any hope of surviving the mayhem of Dunkirk, Tanner must first deal with an enemy far more deadly than the Germans...

Jack Tanner's adventures continue in Blood of Honour.

Reviews

Old-fashioned, testosterone-fuelled escapism and Tanner is a chiselled protagonist straight out of the pages of the old Commando comics

—— Mail on Sunday

Sharpe for the Blitz years...a meaty, all action yarn!

—— Sunday Telegraph

Holland is a superb historian who knows his stuff, and his descriptions of the action are terrific

—— Daily Telegraph

Has the sure touch of someone who knows their subject and enjoys it

—— Daily Mail

This is a well-researched page-turner that keeps you hungry for more. An exciting tale full of historical details and action

—— Soldier magazine

Stella Gibbons’s gift is very special

—— Daily Express

Burgess's ambitious study of 20th-century history centers on the stormy relationship between an effete, popular novelist and a Faustian priest

—— Publishers Weekly

Each image of Sharon Olds' searing Stag's Leap brands itself on retina and heart - how will I ever forget the "Tiny Siren" found by accident in the washing machine?

—— Gerda Stevenson , Morning Star

The most powerful piece of writing I've encountered in decades... The raw emotion of break up transcends every known cliché thanks to her generosity of spirit and the awe-inspiring choreography of her language.

—— Laura George , Image Magazine

I read this poetry collection with my heart in my mouth.

—— Jamie Quatro , Guardian

I treasure this collection of poems: so beautiful, so personal, so revolutionary. Every time I return to this book I find a line, a stanza that I understand better, differently, appreciate just a little more.

—— Cherie Jones , Guardian

A devastating tale of subterfuge, poverty and privilege set in the cobbled streets of Victorian London.

—— Daily Record

Magnificent, bringing the Dickensian streets to grubby, teeming life

—— Eithne Farry , Daily Mail

Cements his reputation as an accomplished and challenging novelist… Though it takes place 130 years ago, the questions that The Streets poses about how, as a society and individuals, we tackle deprivation arguably remain just as pertinent

—— Peter Stanford , Independent

Quinn blends his history, his political concerns, his ideals, his plot and his characters elegantly, with a light hand and the pace of a thriller

—— Louisa Young , Daily Telegraph

Quinn’s most mature novel yet… His picture of poverty’s shaming, dehumanizing effect is powerful, and the recurrent call for pity heartfelt. Ms Eliot and Mr Dickens would surely approve

—— Holly Kyte , Sunday Telegraph

Anthony Quinn is a terrific storyteller. He has a thrilling knack for turning familiar periods of history into something surprising and often shocking, and for making the fortunes and misfortunes of his characters matter

—— Juliet Nicholson , Evening Standard

Displays the unsentimental yet powerful flair for romance that characterized his previous novel, Half of the Human Race. Perhaps most exciting of all, there is a sense that he is still writing within himself

—— Tom Cox , Sunday Times

Quinn brings the period in question vividly to life: his research is exemplary, and his subject absorbing

—— Lucy Scholes , Observer

All the ingredients of an upmarket page-turner

—— Max Davidson , Mail on Sunday

Ambitious, gripping and disturbingly well done

—— Kate Saunders , The Times

Beyond its splendid feel for the era’s chat and patter, the novel pits philanthropy and opportunism, ideals and selfishness, bracingly at odds

—— Boyd Tonkin , Independent

This novel is refreshingly different and contains a cornucopia of wonderful material and evocative descriptions

—— Good Book Guide

The best book I’ve read in ages… You have to read it.

—— Hilary Rose , The Times
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