The Assassin's Mark - David Ebsworth

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Résumé :
September 1938. Spain's Civil War has been raging for two years, the outcome still in the balance. But rebel General Franco is so confident of winning that he has opened up battlefield tourism along the country's north coast. Jack Telford, a left-wing reporter, finds himself with an eccentric group of touristson one of the War Route's yellow Chrysler buses. Driven by his passion for peace, Telford attempts to uncover the hidden truths beneath the conflict. But Jack must contend first with his own gullibility, the tragic death of a fellow passenger, capture by Republican guerrilleros, a final showdown at Spain's most holy shrine and the possibility that he has been badly betrayed. Betrayed and in serious danger.

Biographie:
David Ebsworth is the pen name of writer Dave McCall, a former negotiator for Britain's Transport & General Workers' Union. He was born in Liverpool but has lived in Wrexham, North Wales, with his wife Ann since 1981. Following his retirement, Dave began to write historical fiction in 2009 and has subsequently published five novels: political thrillers dealing with the 1745 Jacobite rebellion, the 1879 Anglo-Zulu War, the Battle of Waterloo, warlord rivalry in sixth century Britain, and the Spanish Civil War. This sixth book, 'Until the Curtain Falls' returns to that same Spanish conflict, following the story of journalist Jack Telford who, as it happens, is also the main protagonist in a separate novella, 'The Lisbon Labyrinth'. Each of Dave's novels have been critically acclaimed by the Historical Novel Society and been awarded the coveted B.R.A.G. Medallion for independent authors. His work-in-progress is a series of a further nine novellas, covering the years from 1911 until 1919 and the lives of a Liverpudlian-Welsh family embroiled in the Suffragette movement....

This exciting story is flawlessly presented; most certainly there are noticeable shades of Agatha Christie, and even, I think, generous helpings of Graham Greene, but there is also the undeniable talent of an author who not only loves his craft, but whose own distinct writing skill is evident in every word. Jo Barton, jaffareadstoo.blogsport.co.uk // This book made me want to dig a bit more into the history of the Spanish Civil War. It's hard for me to imagine what it must have been like for the Spaniards after forty years of living this way. This book, as all good historical fiction does, helps put that in perspective for me. David Ebsworth paints such an appealing picture of Spain's northern Basque country, and Spanish cooking, that it drove my husband to start researching a trip to Spain. Peggy Chittum, my-book-diary.blogspot.com.es // This book is written to an excellent standard and won't disappoint. It is easy to read and hard to put down, yet if you're looking for something simple to skim this might not be for you, It is thought provoking and expansive in fact and fiction. - Joe McMullan, migmag.co.uk (affiliated with Lancaster University // The characters are so incredibly vivid - there are characters you adore, others that annoy you and all of these are so expertly devised that you simply cannot help but miss them all when you finish the book, and you will finish it; this is not a novel you will be able to put down. - Rachel Malone, historicalnovelsociety.org