The Traitor

By Sydney Horler

“War is coming—and that means our secret agents must get busy.”

August 1918. On his way to the Western Front, Captain Alan Clinton spends a night in Paris with a young Frenchwoman, Marie Roget. Seduced by Marie’s charms, Clinton discloses British military secrets – with disastrous consequences.
Seventeen years later. The central European state of Ronstadt is ruled by the ruthless dictator Kuhnreich, and Europe is inching towards another war. Clinton’s son Bobby travels to Europe as the political situation grows tenser, and seems dangerously close to repeating the sins of his father – leaving only his girlfriend to prove his innocence in a race against time.
This new edition of The Traitor gives contemporary readers a long overdue chance to rediscover an early thriller that is plotted with dash and verve – a novel that helps to explain the author’s phenomenal popularity in his own time.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press
• Release date: Nov 3, 2015
• ISBN: 9781464204982

Sydney Horler

SYDNEY HORLER (1888-1954) began his career as a journalist. During the First World War he worked as an official propagandist. From the 1920s until his death he was a prolific and popular author of thriller novels which were famously advertised under the slogan "Horler for excitement!"

Reviews for The Traitor

[dokfintong · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This is the first Sydney Horler I have attempted and the going is rough. I have read lots of books from this period but I find Mr. Horler's prose, and the way the story progresses, to be unusual. Mr. Horler's decision to disguise Hitler's Germany by using a fictitious country should have been explained in the introduction. As he is using England and France, why did he decide to cut our Germany? I received a review copy of "The Traitor" by Sydney Horler (British Library/Poisoned Pen) through NetGalley.com. It was first published in 1936 by Little Brown and Company.

[bemislibrary · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

War is a time when you need to know who your enemies are and who to trust. Author Sydney Horler weaves a tale of intrigue and espionage in England and Europe that begins just before the First World War. This story accurately reflects the historical period, has believable characters and intricate relationships. The surprising conclusion reveals the traitor to all. There was a tendency to overuse ellipsis and dashes throughout the book.

[welsh_eileen2 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Yet another excellent book from the British Library catalogue brought to us by Poisoned Pen Press.
This is an intriguing story set in Paris during the closing of the first world war and then years later.
A tale of secrets and betrayal.
A great read!
I was given a digital copy of this novel by the publisher via Netgalley in return for an honest unbiased review.