Molly-Mae: Behind It All - Part 2
£2.99

Promotions apply when you purchase

These promotions will be applied to this item:

Some promotions may be combined; others are not eligible to be combined with other offers. For details, please see the Terms & Conditions associated with these promotions.

Sold by Amazon Media EU S.à r.l.. This price was set by the publisher.
Read with our free app
You've subscribed to ! We will pre-order your items within 24 hours of when they become available. When new books are released, we'll charge your default payment method for the lowest price available during the pre-order period.
Update your device or payment method, cancel individual pre-orders or your subscription at
Your Memberships and Subscriptions
Kindle app logo image

Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet or computer – no Kindle device required.

Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.

Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.

QR code to download the Kindle App

Follow the author

Laura Wilson
Follow
Something went wrong. Please try your request again later.

Stratton's War: A Gripping Historical Crime Thriller: DI Stratton 1 Kindle Edition

by Laura Wilson (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.1 out of 5 stars 112 ratings

London, June 1940. When the body of silent screen star Mabel Morgan is found impaled on railings in Fitzrovia, the coroner rules her death as suicide, but DI Ted Stratton of the CID is not convinced. Despite opposition from his superiors, he starts asking questions, and it becomes clear that Morgan's fatal fall from a high window may have been the work of one of Soho's most notorious gangsters.

MI5 agent Diana Calthrop, working with senior official Sir Neville Apse, is leading a covert operation when she discovers that her boss is involved in espionage. She must tread carefully - Apse is a powerful man, and she can't risk threatening the reputation of the Secret Service.

Only when Stratton's path crosses Diana's do they start to uncover the truth. But as they discover Morgan's connection with Apse and their mutual links to a criminal network and a secretive pro-fascist organisation, they begin to realise that the intrigues of the Secret Service are alarmingly similar to the machinations of war-torn London's underworld.

Read more
Previous slide of product details
  1. Print length
    468 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Quercus
  4. Publication date
    29 Nov. 2018
  5. File size
    749 KB
  6. Page Flip
    Enabled
  7. Word Wise
    Enabled
  8. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
Next slide of product details

Product description

Review

Stratton's War should certainly swell the ranks of Laura Wilson aficianados (CRIME TIME)

A breathtakingly good novel that weaves credible fiction onto fact, brilliantly evoking wartime London.' (HUDDERSFIELD DAILY EXAMINER)

Totally deserving of the 2008 Crime Writers Association / Ellis Peters Historical Award, it's well researched, well written and brilliantly plotted. (SAINSBURYS MAGAZINE)

A breathtakingly good novel that weaves credible fiction onto fact, brilliantly evoking wartime London. (HUDDERSFIELD DAILY EXAMINER)

Wilson has established a reputation for stylish psychological crime; the first in her series featuring decent copper Stratton is enriched with warmth and humour as well. (GUARDIAN)

About the Author

Laura Wilson was brought up in London and has degrees in English Literature from Somerville College, Oxford and UCL, London. She has worked briefly and ingloriously as a teacher, and more successfully as an editor of non-fiction books. She has written history books for children and is interested in history, particularly of the recent past, painting and sculpture, uninhabited buildings, underground structures, cemeteries and time capsules.

Her first novel A LITTLE DEATH was shortlisted for both the CWA Ellis Peters and the Anthony Award for Best Paperback Original. A THOUSAND LIES was shortlisted for the 2006 Duncan Lawrie Dagger. THE LOVER won the 2004 Prix du Polar Europeen for Best Crime Novel of the Year In Translation and was also shortlisted for the 2004 Gold Dagger and the Ellis Peters Award. In 2008, she won the Ellis Peters Award with her novel STRATTON'S WAR. She lives in Islington.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B07KGHB5D5
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Quercus (29 Nov. 2018)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 749 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 468 pages
  • Page numbers source ISBN ‏ : ‎ 0752884581
  • Customer reviews:
    4.1 out of 5 stars 112 ratings

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.
Laura Wilson

Laura Wilson

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.
Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Laura Wilson is the author of thirteen acclaimed psychological crime novels. Two of her novels have been shortlisted for the CWA Gold Dagger, and the first novel in her historical series, Stratton’s War, won the Ellis Peters Award. She is the Guardian’s crime fiction reviewer, and a member of Killer Women. www.laura-wilson.co.uk

Follow Laura on Twitter at @JamieCAuthor

Customer reviews

4.1 out of 5 stars
112 global ratings

Review this product

Share your thoughts with other customers
Write a customer review

Customers say

Customers find this book to be an excellent read with well-written content and believable characters. Moreover, they appreciate its intelligent approach, with one customer noting its well-researched background. However, the plot receives mixed reactions, with some finding it tells a good story while others consider it straightforward.

AI-generated from the text of customer reviews

Select to learn more

13 customers mention ‘Enjoyment’13 positive0 negative

Customers find the book to be an excellent and enjoyable read, with one customer noting it's particularly good for holiday reading.

"...This is an absorbing read though not without its flaws: the plot is complex but does rely on that crime-writer's perennial favourite: The Outrageous..." Read more

"...The novel is atmosphereic and a highly enjoyable read as a result. I would award 5 stars for this...." Read more

"Stratton's War by Laura Wilson was for me an excellent read which at the end I was totally addicted to the very edgy Detective Inspector Stratton..." Read more

"...as a student of history and social science, I thought that it was very good...." Read more

8 customers mention ‘Readability’8 positive0 negative

Customers find the book well written and easy to read.

"...In some ways it has old-fashioned values (in a good way): it's well-written, well-researched, has a good plot and characters - it's not `saying'..." Read more

"...That said this was a very good read and I have ordered two of her previous novels as well as pre-ordered her next...." Read more

"Brilliantly written,atmospheric story which combines an edge of the seat detective procedural with a human saga enacted in bomb torn London,..." Read more

"...I loved the war time setting and felt the author did well with making the reader feel as though they were back there in 1940...." Read more

7 customers mention ‘Character development’7 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the character development in the book, finding them believable, with one customer highlighting the interesting portrayal of Stratton and another noting the beautiful spy as a central character.

"...: it's well-written, well-researched, has a good plot and characters - it's not `saying' something, but tells a good story very well." Read more

"...Hugely atmospheric and full of very real fully fleshed out characters...." Read more

"...A beautiful spy is also a central character and the way different worlds become interwoven leads to an enjoyable story...." Read more

"...from the first page with the very vivid and sometimes eccentric characters within the pages and she also showed me a part of London's history in a..." Read more

3 customers mention ‘Intelligence’3 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the book's intelligence, with one noting its well-researched background.

"...it has old-fashioned values (in a good way): it's well-written, well-researched, has a good plot and characters - it's not `saying' something, but..." Read more

"Intriguing storyline. Ted Stratton comes across as an intelligent and personable character...." Read more

"Believable characters in a well researched background. The plot carries them and the reader along at a good pace...." Read more

16 customers mention ‘Plot’11 positive5 negative

Customers have mixed opinions about the plot of the book, with some finding it tells a good story and has a convincing creation of place, while others find it straightforward and uninteresting.

"After a slowish and slightly muddly start this settled into a thoroughly enjoyable read...." Read more

"...here of MI5, police and London underworld makes for an interesting story, and the double, intersecting plot lines of Ted Stratton and Diana Calthrop..." Read more

"...and the way different worlds become interwoven leads to an enjoyable story. And leaving you hoping to meet the characters again...." Read more

"...'s War by Laura Wilson as an excellent read which will has so many twists and turns you will not be able to guess what the final outcome will be." Read more

Top reviews from United Kingdom

  • Roman Clodia
    4.0 out of 5 stars Tells a good story very well
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 13 August 2013
    Verified Purchase
    Sometimes it's good to read something that is just a great piece of entertaining story-telling: no postmodern posturings, no elaborate subtexts, no deep allegories or meanings - and this fits the bill perfectly. Set in 1940 during the London Blitz, it combines a police procedural with the murky doings of MI5 as pro-Fascist groups try to keep America out of the war.

    Against this background, DI Ted Stratton (mercifully free of depression, a tragic backstory and/or alcoholism, with a fully-functioning marriage and a wandering eye for a girl's legs) is investigating a suspicious suicide and a murder. Alongside this is a second plot involving Diana Calthorp, a well brought up upper-class `gel' who finds excitement in war work - and an illicit affair. Of course, the two strands don't stay separate for long...

    This is an absorbing read though not without its flaws: the plot is complex but does rely on that crime-writer's perennial favourite: The Outrageous Coincidence (in this case, more than one). The pacing gets protracted, too, towards the end with the domestic doings of Ted's extended family taking up too much space, and with the loose ends of the plot taking far too long to get tied up.

    But despite these niggles this is a book which it's very easy to sink in to. In some ways it has old-fashioned values (in a good way): it's well-written, well-researched, has a good plot and characters - it's not `saying' something, but tells a good story very well.
    5 people found this helpful
    Helpful
     Report
  • Lellie
    5.0 out of 5 stars Most enjoyable
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 5 October 2015
    Verified Purchase
    After a slowish and slightly muddly start this settled into a thoroughly enjoyable read.
    Hugely atmospheric and full of very real fully fleshed out characters. I loved the fact that no truck was given to today's political correctness and the dialogue was spoken as it would have been in wartime Britain.
    I look forward very much to reading more in this series
    2 people found this helpful
    Helpful
     Report
  • Rob Kitchin
    3.0 out of 5 stars Enjoyable but has weaknesses
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 12 May 2012
    Verified Purchase
    Stratton's War is part of the burgeoning number of crime novels using the Second World War as its backdrop. The intersection here of MI5, police and London underworld makes for an interesting story, and the double, intersecting plot lines of Ted Stratton and Diana Calthrop is for the most part well constructed. Wilson has managed to capture the class divisions and social order of London, and the sensibilities and lives of those working and living in the city. The book recreates the tense, claustrophobic atmosphere of the time and portrays a strong sense of place. However, for all its positive attributes, there were a few things about the novel that undermined my reading experience a little. First, the character and role of Ted Stratton felt somewhat dislocated from his status, especially in the first half of the book where the way he acts and the role he plays seem incongruous. He effectively acts as a sergeant - out and about making enquiries, working for the most part as a lone detective. There is little to indicate he is a Detective Inspector in CID, where he would be running a large team, directing several others to do the kind of basic work he's doing. This status is also missing in his dealings with his brother in law - he lays out the law to hardened criminals, but is a meek as a mouse to his bullying family member. Second, the workings of the police are extremely simplified in terms of station organisation and dynamics. Several dozen people would be working out of a London city centre police station, but the impression given is just a handful do so. Third, there is a significant subplot that ultimately goes nowhere at all and is left hanging, and the coincidence with respect to a family member was unneeded and unlikely. Finally, the book is too long. Certainly a good fifty or more pages could be cut out, which would serve to increase the pace and dramatic tension. Overall, an entertaining read, but a little undermined by some flaws in the realism of character and context, and unnecessary length.
    3 people found this helpful
    Helpful
     Report
  • Dr David Mankin
    4.0 out of 5 stars Evocative of the period
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 12 June 2009
    Verified Purchase
    There is no doubt that Laura Wilson has an innate ability to bring to life in a highly evocative way the early war years in London (1940). Her attention to period detail is excellent. The novel is atmosphereic and a highly enjoyable read as a result. I would award 5 stars for this. However the plot is relatively straightforwarrd and lacks complexity; so I would award this 3 stars. In a couple of individual incidents (both concerning social mores) she signposts the eventual denouement which is a shame. I thought the final chapter was going to introduce a stunning twist. It doesn't, it acts as a cipher for one of the two principal characters to explain what has been revealed already. That said this was a very good read and I have ordered two of her previous novels as well as pre-ordered her next. The plot may be straighforward but I would still recommend this to anyone who wishes to immerse themselves in the period.
    4 people found this helpful
    Helpful
     Report
  • Tim Holt
    5.0 out of 5 stars Mystery, Murder and Intrigue
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 18 November 2014
    Verified Purchase
    Just in case it helps -Very strong language used. Set in war torn London, Laura Wilson's novel, in introducing Detective Inspector Ted Strattton, conjures up mystery, murder and intrigue. A beautiful spy is also a central character and the way different worlds become interwoven leads to an enjoyable story. And leaving you hoping to meet the characters again. Glad someone recommended Laura Wilson's books to me.
    3 people found this helpful
    Helpful
     Report

Top reviews from other countries

  • Casto
    4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent crime story from the Blitz
    Reviewed in the United States on 22 February 2013
    Verified Purchase
    Stratton's War combines perfectly the traditional detective story, in the shape of DI Stratton's quest for truth, and the spy novel, by following the experiences of Mrs. Diana Calthrop, British agent spying on homegrown fascism. The fact that Stratton's private world and work environment is so different from Mrs. Calthrop's, also gives depth to the story. Stratton's brought up on a farm in Devon, happily married to Jenny and father to 2 children. Diana Calthrop's unhappily married and from a rather posh world. I love the contrast between the two main characters. The plot is also good, as is the setting of London during the war.
    Report

Report an issue


Does this item contain inappropriate content?
Report
Do you believe that this item violates a copyright?
Report
Does this item contain quality or formatting issues?
Report