The Secret War Trilogy Series

Three World War II novels of intrigue and romance inspired by real events—from an acclaimed British author who “skillfully blends fact with fiction” (Time Out London).   Early One Morning: In the Roaring Twenties, William Grover-Williams and Frenchman Robert Benoist were teammates and rivals on the Bugatti racing team. Locked in a fierce competition for the world championship, they also raced to win the heart of the gorgeous Eve Aubicq. Then the war changed everything—and nothing. As members of the British Special Operations Executive, Grover-Williams and Benoist dashed across France in support of the Resistance, but it wasn’t just the Nazis they had to watch out for. Double agents were everywhere, and friendship—or love—was no guarantee of loyalty. Based on actual events, this is an epic narrative of friendship, rivalry, and fast cars in occupied France.   “Excellent.” —The Daily Telegraph   The Blue Noon: Harry Cole’s rakish charm has served him well from London’s East End to Hong Kong and now to occupied France, where he’s found the perfect cover—as the debonair Captain Mason of the British Special Operations Executive. Harry plans to wait out World War II and maybe make a little money in the meantime, until a beautiful French nurse convinces him to join the Resistance—just the kind of high-wire act he was born to perform. But the two lovers risk crossing the wrong person at every turn. By war’s end, Harry is facing the one charge that even he might not be able to talk his way out of: treason. Ryan’s “exciting yarn” is based on a true story (The Daily Telegraph).   “The Blue Noon grips from page one. Part intelligent thriller, part love story, it skillfully mixes real events and characters with fictional dialogue to create a novel that’s damn near impossible to put down.” —Time Out London   Night Crossing: In fall 1938 in Berlin, a British executive is stabbed to death and papers of “utmost importance” have gone missing. Inspector Cameron Ross of the Metropolitan Police is sent to assist in the murder investigation, but his real mission—as outlined by his father, Colonel Ross of the Secret Intelligence Service—is to find out what was in those documents. Ulrike Walter, a beautiful young violinist, knows more than she should. She may be engaged to a member of the Hitler Youth, but Ulrike and the British inspector have an undeniable chemistry. When war is declared a year later, Ulrike flees to England, where she is immediately jailed as an enemy alien. Her only chance for freedom is Cameron Ross.   “Ryan again deftly integrates a love story with thriller material and has patented a method combining invented characters with factual events.” —The Sunday Times

A “damn near irresistible” novel of friendship, fast cars, and spying for the Resistance in occupied France—based on a true story (Time Out London).  On a crisp autumn night in the twenty-first century, a car is pulled from the depths of an Austrian lake. A skeleton grips the wheel. Finally, an answer: William Grover-Williams, the premier English race-car driver of his generation and a hero of the French Resistance, met his end at the bottom of a mountain lake. Or did he? In the Roaring Twenties, Grover-Williams and Frenchman Robert Benoist were teammates and rivals on the Bugatti racing team. Locked in a fierce competition for the world championship, they also raced to win the heart of the gorgeous Eve Aubicq. Then the war changed everything—and nothing. As members of the British Special Operations Executive, Grover-Williams and Benoist dashed across France in support of the Resistance, but it wasn’t just the Nazis they had to watch out for. Double agents were everywhere, and friendship—or love, for that matter—was no guarantee of loyalty. Every morning, Will, Robert, and Eve had to look in the mirror and ask: Whom can I trust today? The wrong answer might just have spelled their doom. Early One Morning is the 1st book in the Secret War Trilogy, which also includes Blue Noon and Night Crossing.   

The true story of England’s worst traitor is the backbone of this thrilling novel about love and deception behind enemy lines Harry Cole’s rakish charm carries him all the way from London’s East End to Hong Kong, where he chauffeurs a local colonel—when he’s not bedding the man’s wife. With the Imperial Japanese Army about to spoil the fun, Harry quits the East, settling in France just before the Nazis take over. His timing might need a little work, but he’s found the perfect cover—as the debonair Captain Mason of the British Special Operations Executive, Harry plans to stay out of the way until the war is over, and maybe make a little money in the meantime. It’s all going perfectly until a beautiful French nurse convinces Harry to stick his neck out for what is right. He finds that aiding the Resistance is just the kind of high-wire act he was born to perform, and with Odile’s support he grows bolder and more creative than ever. But the two lovers are operating in a den of deception, and risk crossing the wrong person at every turn. Sure enough, by war’s end Harry Cole is facing the one charge that even he might not be able to talk his way out of: treason. Blue Noon is the 2nd book in the Secret War Trilogy, which also includes Early One Morning and Night Crossing.  

Love of country and love for a beautiful woman collide in this gripping World War II story inspired by real events In the fall of 1938, a British executive is stabbed to death in an alley off Unter den Linden, Berlin’s most famous boulevard. Missing from the crime scene and from Ronald Draper’s hotel room are the papers of “utmost importance” that he claimed to be bringing home to England. Inspector Cameron Ross of the Metropolitan Police is sent over to assist in the murder investigation, but his real mission—as outlined by his father, Colonel Ross of the Secret Intelligence Service—is to find out what was in those documents. Ross’s inquiries go nowhere until he meets Ulrike Walter, a beautiful young violinist who knows more than she should. Ulrike may be engaged to a member of the Hitler Youth, but she and the British inspector have a chemistry that cannot be denied. A year later, war is declared and Ulrike flees Germany for England, where she is immediately jailed as an enemy alien. Her only chance for freedom is Cameron Ross, a man torn between his commitment to family and country and his feelings for a woman he hardly knows.  Night Crossing is the 3rd book in the Secret War Trilogy, which also includes Early One Morning and Blue Noon.