The Poisoned Rock‘Robert Daws is an exciting addition to the canon of 20th century crime writers.’Peter James. International bestselling author of the Insp Roy Grace series.With only five weeks to go before the end of her secondment to the Royal Gibraltar Police Force, D.S. Tamara Sullivan is enjoying life on the Rock. With one murder investigation successfully under their belts, Sullivan and her … belts, Sullivan and her commanding officer, Chief Inspector Gus Broderick, settle down to regular police work under the sunny Mediterranean skies.
In London, the British Government has declassified a large number of top secret files regarding British Military Intelligence operations during World War Two. One file, concerning espionage operations on Gibraltar, has been smuggled out of the U.K. to Spain. It contains information that will draw Sullivan and Broderick into the dark and treacherous world of wartime Gibraltar. A place where saboteurs and espionage plots abounded. Where double and triple agents from Britain, Germany and Spain were at war in a treacherous and deadly game of undercover operations.
As the summer heat reaches its zenith in Gibraltar Town, a film crew has arrived on the Rock to shoot a movie about one of the most enigmatic and legendary spies of the war years – ‘The Queen of Diamonds’. Starring Hollywood A-lister Julia Novacs and produced by local born film maker, Gabriel Isolde, it is the talk of the Rock.
It is only a matter of time before past and present collide and a dangerous battle begins to conceal the truth about the Rock’s poisonous wartime history. Detectives Sullivan and Broderick become caught in a tangled web of intrigue and murder that will once again test their skills and working relationship to the very limit.
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The Poisoned Rock…
is the second Sullivan and Broderick murder mystery by actor and broadcaster Robert Daws.
‘During the early years of WW2, the Allies possessed not a single spot of ground
in Western Europe, except for the Gibraltar fortress. As General Eisenhower
noted – Gib was the key to the Mediterranean. And yet Gibraltar was an intelligence nightmare.
German and Spanish agents spied relentlessly on every move that was made on the Rock. It was a stage on which one of WW2’s most absorbing intelligence battles was played out.’
British Security Service, MI5
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The setting of the Rock of Ga;barta en hansed the story
Since I love English mysteries, this was great, while giving me a look at someplace I didn’t really know anything about. Throw in a little history and suspense, it kept me up all night to finish.
Very interesting and original. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
This was an interesting mystery in an unusual place: Gibraltar. This led to unusual places and unusual arrangements with the immediate next door neighbor Spain. I will pursue other books in the series
Learning more about life in Gibraltar and the espionage of the war years and the political relationship with Spain amidst a rapidly unfolding muddle of events which only come together at the end, after many red hearings is, for me, s great read.
Great plot with a surprise ending
Great read compelling
loved how it connected the characters for a 50 year span.
Good book. Couldn’t wait to get the next one in the series.
This was a fun read! Kept me on my toes until near the end, and incorporated information from multiple eras.
Good read with good characters
I’m a big fan of this series set on the Rock of Gilbraltar and I can’t wait until the fourth in the series comes available on Kindle! Great characters and excellent storytelling!
Set in Gibraltar, an investigative piece with murder -using the past with World War II and spies to follow the twists and turns of an excellent plot in the present. I never guessed the correct murderer and was stunned when the story unfolded – Really good!
Good police story with an historical perspective.
I’d actually rate this book a 3.5-star book, but had enjoyed it nearly as much as the first in the series. The mystery in both this and the first book are just fairly good, but the unique characters and the setting of Gibraltar, plus the caliber and professionalism of the writing, elevate the books to quite above average and makes reading them a distinct pleasure. I’ll read more by this author, and hope this series continues, expands, and becomes a BritBox mystery tv series, too.