Author:Andrew Rosenheim
Autumn 1941: most of the world is at war. America is hovering on the brink.
Special Agent James Nessheim is stuck in Hollywood, working as an adviser to a studio making pro-FBI movies.
And then one his key informants, Japanese-American Billy Osaka, asks to see him urgently. But before they can meet, Osaka vanishes.
Nessheim’s search for Osaka takes him to a Mob-run gambling club, through the dense streets of LA’s Little Tokyo, from the seamy San Pedro docks to the hill-top ranch of a Communist sympathiser.
As Nessheim begins to unravel Osaka’s deadly secrets, he uncovers a chilling conspiracy to push America into the war.
But other people are looking for Osaka too, and are prepared to kill anyone who gets in their way. A lethal race is on.
A thrilling storyline and vivid descriptions
—— Publishers Weekly (starred review)Andrew Rosenheim’s The Informant is a stylish, ingenious thriller. This is compelling and intelligent fiction, laden with tension and suspense.
—— Jim Crace, author of this year's Booker long-listed novel, HarvestAn elegant story . . . [it is] laced with fine period detail, awareness of the institutional duplicity of Hoover’s FBI and a fine ear for dialogue
—— Daily MailThe ghosts of Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler loom large here, as do the classic films Chinatown and Casablanca, lending Rosenheim’s prose a velvety texture.
—— Kirkus ReviewsAndrew Rosenheim’s The Informant is a wonderfully intelligent and beautifully written historical thriller — I can’t wait for the next installment in the series!
—— Max Byrd, author of The Paris Deadline and California ThrillerRosenheim was hailed by the Independent as the 'successor to Frederick Forsyth' and this is certainly a cool thriller, almost noir-like, shady and uncertain . . . The prose is taut and muscular, masculine even. It holds your attention and it's easy to turn the page.
—— Oxford MailWise and insightful
—— Sunday ExpressA hit, we think!
—— Simon Mayo BookclubImpressive and poignant ... moving and rewarding
—— Woman and HomePoignant ... stays long in the memory
—— ChoiceI wouldn't be surprised if this was the biggest hardback debut of the year
—— Alexandra Hemingsley, Radio Two Arts ShowThis centenary year, so many more female writers have chosen The Great War as their central theme ...there is WAKE by Anna Hope, chronicling the lives of women battling with postwar loss ...I welcome these, and more, for their stories and the history lessons they incorporate
—— Arifa Akbar, The IndependentPoignant and powerful, it's a must-read.
—— Fabulous MagazineAnna Hope reveals a tragic connection between three women living i 1920s London in her impressive debut
—— Good Housekeeping MagazineHope weaves her three characters’ workaday narratives together, building scenes that wear their research lightly …The women’s lives come at us in a present-tense narration that keeps the book easy to read, letting the characters’ thoughts bob to the surface of the text in italics, as if in a nod towards the modernism that was brewing in that very period.
—— IndependentA very simple book which elicits very complicated emotions ...luscious, impressive, moving.
—— Julia KingsfordIt's an unusual story, told well and written delicately. The women and the world they inhabit are beautifully drawn. It tells us that life can continue to be lived even after terrible loss.
—— RONAN BENNETT, Whitbread award-winning author and creator of Channel Four’s ‘Top Boy’Hope’s unblinking prose is reminiscent of Vera Brittain’s classic memoir “Testament of Youth” in its depiction of the social and emotional fallout, particularly on women, of the Great War.
—— New York TimesWake is a staggeringly good first novel, packed with soulful insight, universal emotions and those intimate small details which add more depth and meaning to a picture than the brutal sweep of a broad brush.
—— Lancashire Evening PostIt’s hard for me to believe that this amazing, touching book is a debut novel. Absolutely recommend and already on the run for a spot in my top 10.
—— www.thebooksmugglers.comIt is a powerful read; you can almost see the endless mud of the trenches, and sense the fear of those young men.
—— pagesandteablog.wordpress.comAnna Hope wove her spell and managed to conjure up an intriguing tale, quite rich with emotion that held me entranced until the last page. I can’t wait to see what she does next.
—— lynnsbooks.wordpress.comWake is a brilliant debut novel, deeply moving, well-plotted and engrossing.
—— http://ourbookreviewsonline.blogspot.co.ukThis is such a brilliant book; one that is both beautifully written and emotionally involving, with a fascinating plot and wonderful characters who pluck at your heartstrings on every page.
—— http://bookssnob.wordpress.comI have no doubt that Wake is going to be included in my Top Ten books of 2014, I know that it's only January, but this is a book that has had a huge effect on me.
—— randomthingsthroughmyletterbox.blogspot.co.ukThe only regret I have is that I didn’t read this book sooner. WAKE is luxury. Pure luxury.
—— http://missmoretalks.wordpress.comShe manages to capture every single detail, every emotion and every sound.
—— http://lauraslittlebookblog.blogspot.co.ukWake is that rare and beautiful thing: a first novel that sings with such power and grace that it lifts itself effortlessly from the pack. Powerful, passionate, compassionate, it marks the rising of a new star in the literary firmament. Anna Hope is here to stay.
—— M.C. Scott - Author of Rome and chair of the Historical Writers AssociationIntricately researched and beautifully written, with the kind of restrained yet emotional prose one expects from a seasoned author. Its characters, too, have a depth and quiet tragedy one rarely finds in debut fiction. In this centenary year commemorating the outbreak of war, there've been many novels about the conflict:Wake is without doubt one of the best.
—— Hannah Beckerman - Huffington PostA masterclass in historical fiction
—— ObserverImpressive ... A heart-breaking tale of grief and guilt
—— Psychologies Magazine[Abrams is] good on the squirm-inducing detail of physical discomforts and injuries
—— Siobhan Murphy , MetroThough Fobbit is a satire…its value lies more in the fact that it’s a very detailed, very informative portrait of the madness in Iraq in the early years of the American occupation. The sights and sounds are adroitly rendered, the damnable heat skilfully rendered in text. There are times when you can almost smell the gore on the concrete
—— Jonathan O'Brien , Sunday Business PostAn enjoyable and alternative take on war
—— UK Regional Press Syndication