The information officer

Mark Mills's bestselling novels Amagansett and The Savage Garden have won him widespread acclaim for his singular brand of suspense. Weaving a haunting and atmospheric historical backdrop with a tense plot of murder and an unforgettable love story, he delivers another riveting tale in The Information Officer.Summer 1942: Malta, a small windswept island in the Mediterranean, has become the most bombed patch of earth on the planet, worse even than London during the Blitz. The Maltese, a fiercely independent people, withstand the relentless Axis air raids.Max Chadwick is the British officer charged with manipulating the news on Malta to bolster the population's fragile esprit de corps. This is all, besides a few broken-down fighter planes, that stands in the face of Nazi occupation and perhaps even victory--for Malta is the stepping-stone the Germans need between Europe and North Africa.When Max learns of the brutal murder of a young island woman--along with evidence that the crime was committed by a British officer--he knows that the Maltese loyalty to the war effort could be instantly shattered. As the clock ticks down toward all-out invasion, Max must investigate the murder--beyond the gaze of his superiors, friends, and even the woman he loves.Filled with remarkably poignant and atmospheric details of life under siege, and indelible characters who live and breathe, The Information Officer is a taut, transporting thriller--an enthralling novel told with exceptional skill and style.From the Hardcover edition.