Product Description

The haunting new stand-alone novel from the author of Dark
Fire.
1940: The Spanish Civil War is over, and Madrid lies ruined, its people
starving, while the Germans continue their relentless march through Europe.
Britain now stands alone while General Franco considers whether to abandon
neutrality and enter the war.
Into this uncertain world comes Harry Brett: a traumatised veteran of
Dunkirk turned reluctant spy for the British Secret Service. Sent to gain
the confidence of old schoolfriend Sandy Forsyth, now a shady Madrid
businessman, Harry finds himself involved in a dangerous game - and
surrounded by memories. Meanwhile Sandy's girlfriend, ex-Red Cross nurse
Barbara Clare, is engaged on a secret mission of her own - to find her
former lover Bernie Piper, a passionate Communist in the International
Brigades, who vanished on the bloody battlefields of the Jarama.
In a vivid and haunting depiction of wartime Spain, Winter in Madrid is an
intimate and compelling tale which offers a remarkable sense of history
unfolding, and the profound impact of impossible choices.
`Sansom adroitly draws the disparate strands of his ambitious saga
together. His non-pareil evocations of time and place anchor his characters
with satisfying precision' - Independent.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #497 in Books
• Published on: 2006-10-06
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 200 pages

Daily Telegraph
`...the novel, Sansom's third, is thoroughly researched,
convincingly evocative and solidly entertaining.'

Guardian
'a tense, literate page-turner, full of twists, authentic detail
and real pathos, a superb achievement'

Guardian
'CJ Sansom's real strength lies in an almost uncanny ability to
create a sense of time and place...utterly fascinating'

Customer Reviews

stodgy and disappointing
Having an interest in the Spanish civil war and liking crime novels, i thought this would be just right, but found it all wrong.Yet another book that relies, in the plot, on improbable coincidences that feel like a deception, an easy way out. Life in postwar Madrid does not seem real, although it may be well-researched. The writing is overblown - too many adjectives, too many unnecessary awkward details: (his eyes went flickering over the desk...)and the characters talk in a kind of brief-encounter-speak, which soon palls. Worst of all, there is no real pace in the book, or drive to find out what is going to happen next to the uninteresting characters. The reviews quoted on the cover are baffling, and just show that you shouldn't believe everything you read in the newspapers...

Magnificent and moving
After two days of compulsive reading I have just finished this book, one of the best I have read in a long time. Sansom's clever portrail of his main characters during a difficult and bloody time in Madrid is gritty, thoughy-provoking and utterly believable. He manages to weave together an exceptional plotline with brilliant narrative and credible characters, set in the run up to and also during the second world war, with great flair and ease. His account of conditions in Madrid is historically accurate and really draws the reader in, whilst the strong characters guide you thorugh the intriguing story. At times I simply could not put this book down, and having finished it, my mind it still reeling at the outcome and thinking about the characters. All in all this was a great read, thrilling, romantic, historical and tear-jerking. I cannot recommend it enough.

Gripping from start to finish!
A superb thriller, I have been absolutely riveted by it, totally gripped and intrigued throughout this story.
Would highly recommend it if you're after an interesting, moving and suspenseful tale.

Set against the backdrop of the aftermath of the Spanish Civil War, Sansom tells a brilliant tale of three former school acquaintances, Sandy and Bernie and Harry, and what has happened to them during and after the SC War.
The action takes place mainly in Madrid, which has been devastated by the conflict and the aftermath, many of the people destitute and cities ravaged. Harry is recruited by the British government to find out more about the current activities in Spain of Sandy, who is now with Barbara, Bernie's former love. Bernie is now missing presumed killed in fighting during the War as part of the International Brigades.

There are many fascinating and believable characters whose fates I grew to really care about, not only the lead ones but also those depicted working at the British Embassy in Madrid at the time, and I felt that the story was really fitted neatly into the historical context by Sansom. It evokes a tangible feeling of place and time that the reader can enter. The novel stirs many emotions, pain and anger, love, hate, horror and hope. It is thrilling right until the final page of the epilogue as we discover the fate of each character. Look forward to reading more by Sansom.