Knight of Swords

by Ian Breckon

Overview

Adventure, mystery and romance in the mountains of north Italy over the dying months of WWII.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781906964122
Publisher:	Old Street Publishing, Ltd
Publication date:	03/01/2010
Pages:	280
Product dimensions:	5.10(w) x 7.70(h) x 0.90(d)
Age Range:	14 Years

About the Author

Ian Breckon was born in 1970. He began to write while teaching English in Italy. He has recently returned to England and now lives in Bath where he is at work on his second novel, a murder mystery set on the French Riviera in the 1920s.

Editorial Reviews

Breckon's lopsided but promising debut is thick with menacing atmosphere and begins as British army captain Francis Brookes, accused of treason by the anti-Fascist partisans he's been working with in 1944 Italy, prepares to be executed. Things go awry, however, and Brookes escapes with his lover, a young partisan he immediately accidentally kills. Wracked with remorse and pain, Brookes sets off and gets shot in the back, awakening as the guest—or perhaps prisoner—of the baron of Castelmantia's family, who have taken him in after finding him near dead in the woods. As Brookes recovers and observes more of the family's situation in their ancient, crumbling castle, it becomes clear that they are hiding many secrets, and their lives—and Brookes's—are at stake. There's a strong sense of foreboding and tension as Breckon teases out the truth about what's going on at the castle, but the home stretch is an unpolished, creaky mess of twist after twist, with a supremely off-putting big reveal. It's an unfortunate conclusion to an otherwise alluring novel. (June)

Publishers Weekly

Praise for Knight of Swords

"Laced with a touch of the gothic, this thoroughly enjoyable historical mystery provides plenty of surprising plot turns and will appeal to readers who enjoyed Ian McEwan's early novels." —Library Journal

Praise for Knight of Swords

"Thick with menacing atmosphere." —Publishers Weekly

"A story of multiple deceptions and concealed identities that unfolds like a pack of cards . . . A space filled with intrigue and potential danger, with hints of Kafka or Mervyn Peake. Mysterious, beguiling, playful, yet making perfect sense." —Gerard Woodward, author of I'll Go To Bed at Noon

"An exciting and lyrical new voice in fiction. Breckon's work is thought provoking and intelligent. He is one to watch." —Mo Hayder, author of Birdman and Tokyo

From the Publisher