Estocada: A gripping World War II thriller

By Graham Hurley

'Historical fiction of a high order' The Times

1937. Flying for the infamous Condor Legion over the battlefields of Spain's civil war, Merz has been able to unleash the fearsome potential of the Luftwaffe's newest weapon against his opponents. In Dieter's hands, the Messerschmitt Bf-109 is as graceful as a matador's killing strike: la estocada.

Scotsman and ex-marine Tam Moncrieff is recruited by a nameless intelligence agency in London to go to Germany and sound out Hitler's resolve. Does he really intend to invade Czechoslovakia? Do his generals support him? Can the march to war be stopped?

As duty collides with conscience, fate will bring both men together. In a world wedded to violence and ambition, desperate steps must be taken. To avoid war a killing strike is needed.

The question is, who is the matador, who is the bull?

Estocada is part of the SPOILS OF WAR Collection, a thrilling, beguiling blend of fact and fiction born of some of the most tragic, suspenseful, and action-packed events of World War II. From the mind of highly acclaimed thriller author GRAHAM HURLEY, this blockbuster non-chronological collection allows the reader to explore Hurley's masterful storytelling in any order, with compelling recurring characters whose fragmented lives mirror the war that shattered the globe.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Head of Zeus
• Release date: May 31, 2018
• ISBN: 9781784977887

Graham Hurley

Graham Hurley is a documentary maker and a novelist. For the last two decades he's written full-time, penning nearly fifty books. Two made the short list for the Theakston's Old Peculiar Crime Novel of the Year, while Finisterre – the first in the Spoils of War collection – was shortlisted for the Wilbur Smith Adventure Writing Award. Graham lives in East Devon with his lovely wife, Lin. Follow Graham at grahamhurley.co.uk

Reviews for Estocada

[edwardsgt · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Very clever blending of fiction with fact, covering the period of Hitler's build-up to the invasion of the Sudentenland and then Czechoslavakia in 1938, through the eyes of a Scot and German fighter pilot. Only surprising slip I thought I noticed, was to say Chamberlain flew to Munich with British Airways,. However, I subsequently discovered British Airways, pre-dated British Overseas Airways (BOAC) which was the name adopted in 1939!