The Post-War Trilogy Series

In this Cold War spy thriller based on actual case files, a beautiful young woman is willing to do whatever it takes to bring her sister home In the darkest days of World War II, Laura McGill and her sister, Diana, were willing to go behind enemy lines on behalf of Britain’s Special Operations Executive. They knew the risks and were willing to take them for king and country. What they did not expect was that their government would forget all about them once the war was over. It is the spring of 1948, four years since Diana disappeared inside occupied France, and Laura is sick of being ignored—so sick that she is willing to kidnap the head clerk of the SOE at gunpoint in order to learn the name of the spy who ran her sister’s last mission. The name she gets, James Hadley Webb, will take Laura to Berlin, a divided city on the verge of being cut off from the Western world. Webb is on the front lines of a new kind of war, a shadow war of influence and intrigue—and losing. Laura’s arrival, unwelcome as it is, may be just what Webb needs to turn things around—and stop his agents from dying. Dying Day is the 3rd book in the Post-War Trilogy, which also includes After Midnight and Last Sunrise.

The real history of World War II’s most daring fighter squadron is the inspiration for this riveting novel of adventure and romance in the Far East Three years after the liberation of Singapore, transport pilot Lee Crane is finally ready to leave. The Berlin airlift is on, and there’s decent money to be made if you possess both your own plane and a practiced disregard for safety. One last drink with his Indo-Air fly buddies at the Long Bar in Raffles hotel and Crane is gone. Then he sees her: the tall, beautiful redhead he had every reason to believe was dead. If Elsa is alive—and still angry, judging by the sock to the jaw she greets him with—what else might Crane have gotten wrong about the past? In 1941, Lee Crane was a Flying Tiger, one of dozens of American pilots recruited to join the Chinese Air Force in the fight against the Japanese. Wild in the air and on the ground, the Tigers broke hearts all over Burma, and Crane was no different—until he fell in love with a stunning Anglo-Indian widow. But in the chaos of war, Crane lost track of the woman of his dreams, and spent the next seven years convincing himself it wasn’t meant to be. Now a chance encounter with another long-lost beauty has him ready to plunge back into the past, praying he will come up with a different answer this time. The Last Sunrise is the 2nd book in the Post-War Trilogy, which also includes After Midnight and Dying Day.

A daughter’s quest to find the father she never knew exposes deadly intrigue within the Italian Resistance in this spellbinding novel of World War II On the occasion of his only daughter’s first birthday, Australian bomber pilot Bill Carr writes her a letter. Later that day, he takes off on a mission over the mountains of Northern Italy and is never heard from again. Twenty years later, Lindy Carr arrives in Italy to find out what happened to her father. Her guide is Jack Kirby, a daredevil motorcycle racer and pilot who flew Mosquito fighters in the war and spent time among the Italian partisans. Jack knows the region where Bill Carr vanished like his own backyard, and the farther he and Lindy push into the mountains, the more convinced he becomes that he knows something about the fatal flight in question as well. What Jack and Lindy uncover in the picturesque Italian Alps is a secret so earth shattering it will change both their lives forever. After Midnight is the 1st book in the Post-War Trilogy, which also includes Last Sunrise and Dying Day.   

Three post–World War II adventure novels inspired by real events—from an acclaimed British author who “skillfully blends fact with fiction” (Time Out London).   After Midnight: Ryan’s novel, based on a true story, begins with a letter from Australian bomber pilot Bill Carr to his daughter on her first birthday in 1944. That same day, he takes off on a mission over the mountains of Northern Italy and is never heard from again. Twenty years later, Lindy Carr arrives in Italy to find out what happened to her father. Her guide is Jack Kirby, a daredevil motorcycle racer and pilot who flew Mosquito fighters in the war and spent time among the Italian partisans. What Jack and Lindy uncover in the Italian Alps will change both their lives forever.   “Ryan’s mastery of 1940s detail and his ability to discover intriguing but unvisited byways of the war can be taken for granted; but the more recent storyline shows him equally adept at handling a 1960s setting.” —The Sunday Times   The Last Sunrise: The real history of World War II’s most daring fighter squadron is the inspiration for this riveting novel of adventure and romance in the Far East. In 1941, Lee Crane was a Flying Tiger, one of dozens of American pilots recruited to join the Chinese Air Force in the fight against the Japanese. Wild in the air and on the ground, the Tigers broke hearts all over Burma, and Crane was no different—until he fell in love with a stunning Anglo-Indian widow. But in the chaos of war, Crane lost track of the woman of his dreams, and spent the next seven years convincing himself it wasn’t meant to be. Now a chance encounter with another long-lost beauty has him ready to plunge back into the past, praying he will come up with a different answer this time.   “The flying scenes are brilliantly handled. Ryan’s research is impressive. . . . Bold and successful.” —The Sunday Times   Dying Day: In this Cold War spy thriller based on actual case files, a woman is willing to do whatever it takes to bring her sister home. In the darkest days of World War II, Laura McGill and her sister, Diana, ventured behind enemy lines on behalf of Britain’s Special Operations Executive. Now it is 1948, four years since Diana disappeared inside occupied France, and Laura has reached a point of desperation that leads her to kidnap the head clerk of the SOE at gunpoint to learn the name of the spy who ran her sister’s last mission. That spy, James Hadley Webb, will take Laura to the divided city of Berlin, where he is waging a shadow war of influence and intrigue—and losing. Laura’s arrival may be just what Webb needs to stop his agents from dying.   “Thrilling post war espionage action.” —Tatler