New Thrillers Explore Post-War Tensions and Deception

Stephen Glover's latest novel, "Levin's War," is described as a tense and gripping thriller that delves into the complexities of post-World War II Britain. The story follows Daniel Levin and Robert Upton, former comrades who saved each other's lives during the war. Ten years later, their paths diverge significantly: Daniel embraces communism and grapples with his homosexuality while writing for the Daily Worker, while Robert becomes an ambitious figure at the Foreign Office, balancing a powerful mistress and an artist wife.

The narrative is propelled by two pivotal historical events: the Suez Crisis and the Hungarian uprising, both of which force the protagonists to confront their beliefs. The stakes escalate when MI5 encourages Robert to spy on Daniel, pushing their relationship to a breaking point. The novel is characterized as a "tense, moving, reexamination of a key moment in post-war history."

"The Shadows of Kensington Gore" by Ross Montgomery features Decima Stockingham, an octogenarian detective of the Edwardian era. Bored with typical cases, she finds renewed interest when a policeman is murdered, with initial suspicion falling on militant suffragettes. Due to her wheelchair-bound condition, the investigation falls to her young cockney sidekick, Stephen Pike, who navigates dangerous leads. The review praises Decima's acumen in unraveling the conspiracy behind the murder, calling the novel "terrific."

Antti Tuomainen's "The Fresh Cut" presents a black comedy set in rural Finland. Heikki Nevalainen, the proprietor of a failing sawmill, is coerced by a local gangster, Ismo Sippo, into disposing of his wife's body using the sawmill's equipment. The plan goes awry when the wife, Annaleena, survives the initial poisoning and seeks revenge. The novel is noted for its expert plotting and eccentric characters, including a Belgian wood buyer with a penchant for gastronomy, drawing comparisons to the Coen Brothers' film "Fargo."

"Revenge Plot" by Stephanie Wrobel centers on literary agent Claudia Conway, who is spending Christmas alone in a Catskill cabin when a car crashes nearby. The occupants, single father Arnie and his young son Theo, are taken in by Claudia. The situation takes a turn when Claudia discovers Arnie is an aspiring author carrying a manuscript, revealing the crash was not accidental. While the setup is described as familiar, the novel introduces a "cunning twist" that takes the story in an unexpected direction. The review calls it a "smart satire" but notes it is "let down by a poor ending."