The Age of Treachery: Duncan Forrester Mystery 1

by Gavin Scott

Overview

It is the winter of 1946, and after years of war, ex-Special Operations Executive agent Duncan Forrester is back at his Oxford college as a junior Ancient History Fellow. But his peace is shattered when a much-disliked Fellow is found dead in the quad, stabbed and pushed from an upper window. A don is suspected and arrested for the murder, but Forrester is not convinced of his friend’s guilt. On the hunt for the true killer, he finds himself plunged into a mystery involving lost Viking sagas, Satanic rituals and wartime espionage.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781783297801
Publisher:	Titan
Publication date:	04/12/2016
Series:	Duncan Forrester Mystery
Pages:	352
Product dimensions:	5.10(w) x 8.10(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Gavin Scott is a British Hollywood screenwriter who spent twenty years as a radio and television reporter for BBC and ITN, and has worked in film and television with Steven Spielberg and George Lucas. His films include Small Soldiers and The Borrowers; among his television series are The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles and War and Peace: his next project is Dunkirk for Working Title. He lives in California.

Editorial Reviews

"References to J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis ground this book firmly in the postwar period in Oxford. Forrester has to cast aside his PTSD and rely on the skills developed from his espionage experience to ferret out the culprit and motive. A dashing new hero has been born; recommend for readers of Jack Higgins and Joseph Kanon." - Library Journal starred review

"vivid...non-stop action... promising postwar series" - Booklist

“‘Gavin Scott’s debut offers a lively mix of espionage, post-war Oxford college politics, a classic murder mystery situation (the body is surrounded by unmarked snow) and a dizzying supporting cast of characters which includes Ian Fleming, C.S. Lewis, Thor Heyerdahl and even the young Margaret Thatcher.” - MARTIN EDWARDS


“A wonderful book that opens so many intriguing doors into Britain’s recent past.” - TERRY JONES (Monty Python)

“Hugely entertaining: An intelligent, fast moving whodunit set in the depths of a post-war winter. Packed with satisfying twists and turns as the plot moves from snow bound Oxford to Berlin and on to Norway, Fans of Morse will love it! Intelligently plotted and elegantly written, it will delight mystery fans.” - MARK OLDFIELD, bestselling author of THE SENTINEL


“A wonderful historical setting; Gavin Scott brilliantly captures this unsettled time. The writing is elegant throughout and the character of Forrester is most appealing. A most enjoyable read.” - MAUREEN JENNINGS, bestselling author of THE MURDOCH MYSTERIES


“A suspenseful murder mystery that holds the reader’s interest to the last page. This one is a page turner.” - MICHAEL KURLAND, author of THE INFERNAL DEVICE

“A prime example of how to write compelling mystery fiction” - Rising Shadow

 “Packed with historical detail and people, and with a satisfyingly complex series of mysteries to solve” - The Crime Review

 “A fun summer read” - Retrenders

“A complex novel of suspense...blends actual historical characters with his fictional ones exceptionally well.” -  Historical Novel Society

 “At times, reading his (Scott’s) descriptions of the European cityscape, in particular, I kept flashing on scenes from Carol Reed’s The Third Man.” - Blog Critics

"an intriguing, memorable, page turner. " - Atomic Moo

From the Publisher

2016-01-31
Screenwriter Scott's debut novel welcomes an Oxford don home from World War II with the spectacle of a colleague disliked by him and everyone else dead beneath his best friend's lodgings. You'd think you couldn't get much further from the ravages of war than Barnard College at Oxford, where Duncan Forrester has returned in 1946 as junior research fellow in archaeology. But some things haven't changed, like Forrester's infatuation with Margaret Clark, the beautiful librarian married to his old friend Gordon. Enmities can run equally deep even when they're not fueled by national divisions, as Forrester realizes when Gordon tells him that Margaret's taken up with shallow, ambitious David Lyall, who holds the Priestley Latin Fellowship. And despite the smaller scale, the college proves home to its own violent outburst when David is found stabbed to death beneath Gordon's window, through which he seems to have been ejected with force. DI Alec Barber, of the Oxford Constabulary, wastes no time arresting Gordon, and Forrester, his logical counterarguments having no more effect than his emotional testimonials on behalf of his friend, realizes that the only way he can save Gordon is to prove who really did kill his rival. The trail of clues leads surprisingly from Barnard to Germany and Norway, where Forrester seeks the truth of David's wartime service as a commando who was betrayed to the Nazis and more information about his claims to have discovered a unique Old Norse manuscript. These trips provide more scenery and romance than enlightenment; it's not till Forrester is back in Oxford that a casual observation directs him to the truth. The culprit is forgettable; the murder method, ingenious but wildly implausible; and the parade of real-life cameos, from J.R.R. Tolkien to Ian Fleming, increasingly tiresome. Even so, Forrester is excellent company, and fans will surely want to read his further adventures.

Kirkus Reviews