September 1940. Britain stands alone against an imminent Nazi invasion. Handpicked groups of men, drawn from the restricted occupations form the covert Auxiliary Units. Their role; saboteurs and guerrilla fighters. Their motto, Terror by Night. With a life expectancy of two weeks, their identities are a closely guarded secret from all but the local senior policeman but once activated, that policeman will become the cell’s first victim.

Clement Wisdom, a humble vicar and leader of the East Sussex Auxiliary Unit, receives the invasion alert and assembles his team. Burdened with the tension between his faith and his patriotic duty, he sets out to eliminate the Police Inspector only to find him already murdered. While assisting Lewes Police, events take an ominous turn as one by one, members of Clement’s team are murdered. Priorities shift and every aspect of life is called into question when Clement becomes embroiled in the murky world of espionage where nothing is what it seems.

In Spite of All Terror is the first in a series of suspense thrillers that mix historical fact with crime fiction and superb characterisation.

Victoria Knox