{"title":"Books by Michael Russell","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"9781408715857","title":"The City Underground","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eIreland 1941. A German spy escapes from Mountjoy Prison, clearly with inside help. Yet no one wants to catch him.\u003c\/b\u003e When the head of Garda Special Branch sends Inspector Stefan Gillespie to find out why, it must be in secret. But he meets a web of deceit in which the past's dark shadows loom over the lies of the present. Alone, except for an alcoholic private detective and a woman who could betray him to the IRA, Stefan embarks on a journey that drags him into a plot to attack British interests in Ireland and an attempt on the life of the IRA Chief-of-Staff by his own men. Crossing into war-torn Northern Ireland, he is suddenly unprotected, a rogue policeman to the Royal Ulster Constabulary, a dangerous spy to the IRA.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePraise for Michael Russell\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'Complex but compelling . . . utterly vivid and convincing' \u003ci\u003eIndependent on Sunday\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'A superb, atmospheric thriller' \u003ci\u003eIrish Independent\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'A thriller to keep you guessing and gasping' \u003ci\u003eDaily Mail\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'Atmospheric' \u003ci\u003eSunday Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43173477286066,"sku":"9781408715857","price":9.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781408715857.jpg?v=1786019749"},{"product_id":"9781472130402","title":"The City Under Siege","description":"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e1941, and Detective Inspector Stefan Gillespie is ferrying documents between Dublin and war-torn London. When Ireland's greatest actor is arrested in Soho, after the brutal murder of a gay man, Stefan extricates him from an embarrassing situation. But suddenly he is looking at a series of murders, stretching across Britain and Ireland. The deaths were never investigated deeply as dead queers are nobody's priority. And there are reasons to look away now. The Soho victim was a police informant, spying on Nationalist friends and the killer is probably a British soldier. But an identical murder in Malta makes investigation essential.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eMalta, at the heart of the Mediterranean war, is under siege by German and Italian bombers. Rumours that a British soldier murdered a Maltese teenager can't go unchallenged without damaging loyalty to Britain. Now Britain will cooperate with Ireland to find the killer and Stefan is sent to Malta. The British believe the killer is an Irishman; that's the result they want. And they'd like Stefan to give it to them. But in the dark streets of Valletta there are threats deadlier than German bombs...\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePraise for Michael Russell\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'Complex but compelling . . . utterly vivid and convincing' \u003ci\u003eIndependent on Sunday\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'A superb, atmospheric thriller' \u003ci\u003eIrish Independent\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'A thriller to keep you guessing and gasping' \u003ci\u003eDaily Mail\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'Atmospheric' \u003ci\u003eSunday Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43204473815218,"sku":"9781472130402","price":8.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781472130402.jpg?v=1786020631"},{"product_id":"9781408715895","title":"The City of God","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eItaly, 1943. \u003c\/b\u003eIrish detective Stefan Gillespie leaves the chaos of Nazi-occupied Rome for neutral Switzerland on a mission his government knows nothing about.  Waiting for a late-night connection in Zurich he sees a train that shouldn't be there. The train's SS guards, who shouldn't be there either, beat him to within an inch of his life. But Stefan's perilous journey begins in Rome with the barbaric murder of an idealistic young Irish priest. The Eternal City is a place of vengeance, duplicity and betrayal that has even infected the City of God itself, the Vatican. In a war that is everywhere, not even neutrals, can escape the surrounding darkness.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003ePraise for Michael Russell\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'In \u003cb\u003eThe City of God\u003c\/b\u003e, Michael Russell again captures wartime Europe's uncertainties through his richly drawn Garda inspector Stefan Gillespie' \u003ci\u003eIrish Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'Complex but compelling . . . utterly vivid and convincing' \u003ci\u003eIndependent on Sunday\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'A superb, atmospheric thriller' \u003ci\u003eIrish Independent\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'A thriller to keep you guessing and gasping' \u003ci\u003eDaily Mail\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'Atmospheric' \u003ci\u003eSunday Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43605616656562,"sku":"9781408715895","price":9.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781408715895_70d759a2-526a-4f21-ba46-9cd517abcac4.jpg?v=1786019751"},{"product_id":"9781408720035","title":"The Dead City","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003e\"Extraordinary stuff wonderfully executed...  another top-class novel, a brilliant addition to this series, an outstanding read.\"\u003c\/b\u003e - \u003c\/i\u003eAmazon reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn this dead city, the vultures are circling...\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBerlin 1944. The beginning of the end for Nazi Germany. And the beginning of a dark journey for Garda detective Stefan Gillespie as he makes his way through war-ravaged Europe to the German capital. He carries secret instructions for the Irish ambassador, who is clinging on in the growing chaos - even though it's time to get out.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBombs fall and bodies fill the streets. People starve. The true horrors of Nazi terror are everywhere now... and the Russians are coming. As Stefan searches for an Irishman trapped in Berlin who has betrayed his country and his friends, who cares if people are murdered along the way? And Stefan has to ask himself if saving one life matters in this devastation.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAnd if it does, is it worth him risking his own?\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003ePraise for Michael Russell:\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'Michael Russell again captures wartime Europe's uncertainties through his richly drawn Garda inspector Stefan Gillespie'\u003c\/b\u003e - \u003ci\u003eIrish Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e'Complex but compelling . . . utterly vivid and convincing'\u003c\/b\u003e - \u003ci\u003eIndependent on Sunday\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'A superb, atmospheric thriller'\u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003e - Irish Independent\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e'A thriller to keep you guessing and gasping'\u003c\/b\u003e - \u003ci\u003eDaily Mail\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e'Atmospheric' \u003c\/b\u003e- \u003ci\u003eSunday Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44581800280242,"sku":"9781408720035","price":15.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781408720035_4811285c-be82-493d-a4a4-73ea21a3b0fc.jpg?v=1786019924"},{"product_id":"9781408720028","title":"The Dead City","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003e\"Extraordinary stuff wonderfully executed...  another top-class novel, a brilliant addition to this series, an outstanding read.\" \u003c\/b\u003e- \u003c\/i\u003eAmazon reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn this dead city, the vultures are circling...\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBerlin 1944. \u003c\/b\u003eThe beginning of the end for Nazi Germany. And the beginning of a dark journey for Garda detective Stefan Gillespie as he makes his way through war-ravaged Europe to the German capital. He carries secret instructions for the Irish ambassador, who is clinging on in the growing chaos - even though it's time to get out.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBombs fall and bodies fill the streets. People starve. The true horrors of Nazi terror are everywhere now... and the Russians are coming. As Stefan searches for an Irishman trapped in Berlin who has betrayed his country and his friends, who cares if people are murdered along the way? And Stefan has to ask himself if saving one life matters in this devastation. \u003cb\u003eAnd if it does, is it worth him risking his own?\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003ePraise for Michael Russell:\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e'In The City of God, Michael Russell again captures wartime Europe's uncertainties through his richly drawn Garda inspector Stefan Gillespie' \u003c\/b\u003e- \u003ci\u003eIrish Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e'Complex but compelling . . . utterly vivid and convincing' \u003c\/b\u003e- \u003ci\u003eIndependent on Sunday\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e'A superb, atmospheric thriller'\u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003e - Irish Independent\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e'A thriller to keep you guessing and gasping' \u003c\/b\u003e- \u003ci\u003eDaily Mail\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e'Atmospheric' \u003c\/b\u003e- \u003ci\u003eSunday Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":55205855199605,"sku":"9781408720028","price":9.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781408720028_6e534ab1-dfa7-4962-a5c2-15114673e1fb.jpg?v=1786019922"},{"product_id":"9781472121974","title":"The City of Lies","description":"\u003cp\u003eDublin 1940. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAn IRA attack leaves two guards dead on the streets of Dublin. Two days later, a battle between warring gangs erupts at a race meeting, and on Ireland's east coast the cremated bodies of a wealthy family of five are found in their shuttered, burned-out villa. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eDispatched from Special Branch to investigate, Detective Inspector Stefan Gillespie soon finds himself caught in a web of Irish, British and German Intelligence - all playing against each other, all watching each other, and all plagued by rogue operators they can't quite control, as the certainty grows that Hitler is about to invade England. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAnd then, Stephen is sent to Berlin on a sensitive mission. His journey home becomes a dangerous pursuit in which no one can be trusted and the information he carries puts his life on the line.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56300099764597,"sku":"9781472121974","price":10.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781472121974_a4b9e8ae-8453-4323-8444-79c159f127dc.jpg?v=1786020428"},{"product_id":"9781472121912","title":"The City in Darkness","description":"\u003cp\u003eChristmas 1939. In Europe the Phoney War hides carnage to come. In Ireland Detective Inspector Stefan Gillespie keeps tabs on Irishmen joining the British Forces. It's unpleasant work, but when an IRA raid on a military arsenal sends Garda Special Branch in search of guns and explosives, Stefan is soon convinced his boss, Superintendent Terry Gregory, is working for the IRA.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e At home for Christmas, Stefan is abruptly called to Laragh, an isolated mountain town. A postman has disappeared, believed killed, and Laragh's Guards are hiding something. Stefan is the nearest Special Branch detective, yet is he only there because Gregory wants him out of the way?\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Laragh is close to the lake where Stefan's wife Maeve drowned years earlier, and when events expose a connection between the missing postman and her death, Stefan realises it wasn't an accident, but murder. And it will be a difficult, dangerous journey where Stefan has to finally confront the ghosts of the past not only in the mountains of Wicklow, but in Spain in the aftermath of its bloody Civil War, before he can return to Dublin to find the truth.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56300481675637,"sku":"9781472121912","price":10.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781472121912_fdb7c9b1-647e-414e-93c7-dac1c54eb5d5.jpg?v=1786020428"},{"product_id":"9781472130341","title":"The City in Flames","description":"\u003cbr\u003e1940. A woman lands on the Scottish coast from a German flying boat and goes to ground, hunted by British Intelligence.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eSuspended from the Irish police for reasons he won't explain, Detective Inspector Stefan Gillespie is working on his father's farm in Wicklow. One day he vanishes, leaving no sign of where he is heading - or why. Even in rural Ireland, rumours of assassination and Nazi spies fill the air, leaving Stefan's father to wonder whether he is in terrible danger.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eMeanwhile in London, Stefan is undercover, working in a pub: The Bedford Arms in Camden. Run by an alcoholic, bankrupt landlord, it's a wartime refuge for the Irish in London. And while the city shakes under the Blitz, Stefan falls into a romance with Vera Kennedy, an Irishwoman who has her own dark secrets to hide.\u003cbr\u003eBut behind closed doors, a different war is being fought, and Stefan has more work than pulling pints on his hands. The Bedford Arms hides some unexpected dangers. The drunken landlord is not as witless as he seems, and Stefan's mission is under perilous threat.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWhen Vera disappears, he discovers that the Nazis were far closer to home than he thought. As he embarks on a journey to trace Vera from London to Ireland, Stefan will have to decide where his true loyalties lie.","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56301082116469,"sku":"9781472130341","price":10.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781472130341_1a53b15c-359a-4ebd-a2d5-d60bd62ee75e.jpg?v=1786020630"},{"product_id":"9781408720066","title":"The City in Year Zero","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eNothing thrived here, but something grew...\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eGermany, 1945. Year Zero. \u003c\/b\u003eThe war is at an end. When Ireland's ambassador to the Third Reich finally leaves the war-torn country, Garda detective Stefan Gillespie makes his way home under the watchful eye of British Intelligence, who are searching for some of the Irish citizens Ireland doesn't want back. The usual dirty business. But suddenly Stefan is drawn into a murder inquiry. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Unexpectedly arriving in a town he knew in his youth, on visits to his German relatives, Stefan feels compelled to help his cousin Annaliese and her hostile daughter Krista. Maybe it's nostalgia for first love, or for a time of peace, or maybe he just wants to do something that feels clean. But the past is a dangerous place to return to...\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eA darkness still hangs over Germany, and Stefan Gillespie is walking right into it.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003ePraise for Michael Russell:\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e'Complex but compelling . . . utterly vivid and convincing'\u003c\/b\u003e - \u003ci\u003eIndependent on Sunday\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e'A superb, atmospheric thriller'\u003c\/b\u003e - \u003ci\u003eIrish Independent\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e'A thriller to keep you guessing and gasping'\u003c\/b\u003e - \u003ci\u003eDaily Mail\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e'Atmospheric'\u003c\/b\u003e - \u003ci\u003eSunday Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56368831758709,"sku":"9781408720066","price":9.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781408720066_da5e7efa-3bdb-44c9-80e3-41ce267fdefc.jpg?v=1786019924"},{"product_id":"city-of-shadows-pb","title":"The City of Shadows","description":"Longlisted for the CWA John Creasy New Blood Dagger Award 2013 and shortlisted for CWA Endeavour Historical Dagger Award 2014‘She looked up at the terraced house, with the closed shutters and the big room at the end of the long unlit corridor where the man who smiled too much did his work. She climbed the steps and knocked on the door…’Dublin 1934: Detective Stefan Gillespie arrests a German doctor and encounters Hannah Rosen desperate to find her friend Susan, a Jewish woman who had become involved with a priest, and has now disappeared.When the bodies of a man and woman are found buried in the Dublin mountains, it becomes clear that this case is about more than a missing person. Stefan and Hannah trace the evidence all the way across Europe to Danzig.In a strange city where the Nazi Party are gaining power, Stefan and Hannah are inching closer to the truth and soon find themselves in grave danger…","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57490135843189,"sku":"9781847563460","price":9.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781847563460.jpg?v=1786442023"},{"product_id":"the-city-of-strangers","title":"The City of Strangers","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe SUNDAY TIMES top 20 bestseller!\u003c\/p\u003e          \u003cp\u003eShortlisted for the CWA Endeavour Historical Dagger Award\u003c\/p\u003e          \u003cp\u003eNew York, 1939: A city of hope. A city of opportunity. A city hiding dark secrets …\u003c\/p\u003e          \u003cp\u003eA brutal murder in an affluent suburb of Dublin and the unexplained death of an Irish diplomat in Manhattan…\u003cbr\u003eGarda Sergeant Stefan Gillespie is sent to America to bring a killer to justice, but his mission soon becomes part of an increasingly personal struggle. A chance encounter with an old friend draws him deep into a chilling network of conspiracy, espionage and terror with disturbing connections to home. He becomes more involved than he should in an Irish woman’s bid for freedom from the clutches of the Manhattan underworld, and discovers that the war that is looming in Europe is already being played out here on the streets, with deadly consequences.\u003cbr\u003eIn this time when people must make a stand for what they believe in, the stakes for Stefan Gillespie, and everything he holds dear, couldn’t be higher.\u003cbr\u003eThis thrilling, elegant and hugely atmospheric novel will keep you reading late into the night.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57490136891765,"sku":"9781847563477","price":9.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781847563477.jpg?v=1786442024"}],"url":"https:\/\/backstory.london\/collections\/author-michael-russell.oembed","provider":"Backstory","version":"1.0","type":"link"}