This was an impulse buy from my local used book store.  A murder takes place in the House of Lord and the Chief Inspector assisted by Phillip North, Conservative MP, try to solve the murder.  The case ends up involving Nazis, war crimes, Russian spies, wives (or not), a victim who may or may not be who everyone thought he was, drug addiction, suicide,  fraud and lawsuits, in essence a little bit of everything and the kitchen sink.  I actually had to keep checking on the dates, because it had a very “cold war” feel to it, however it is actually taking place in the 90s.  The book was published in 1994 and there are references to events in the 80s in the novel.

The author has written other books about MI5 and non-fiction spy and espionage works.  He is known as an expert in the intelligence field.   He previously worked as a police officer and was a conservative party MP.  He uses this insider’s view to give intimate details of the workings of parliament to his readers and this is really, in my mind ,the best part of the book.  The mystery is intricate and well laid out by I enjoyed all the background detail he provided.  An interesting political murder mystery read.