A LIVERTON local’s latest foray into fiction is a classic tale of cat and mouse.

‘Stracandra Island’, by Graham Roy Swift, is set at the height of WW2. The novel deals in cloak and dagger and an MI5 officer is right in the thick of it.

The powers that be have called upon MI5 officer Henry Maynard to spearhead their latest counter-espionage effort; the task assigned to him has two objectives: root out an informant who has been reporting on the RAF’s top-secret radar technology and uncover the identity of a spy who has been observing the development of Britain’s first fighter jet – the Meteor.

Ensuring that the clandestine operations of the British Government stay just that, clandestine, is crucial to the war effort thus there is no room for error and Henry must succeed – no matter the cost.

Achieving this end will be no easy feat, for those loyal to the German cause will stop at nothing to fulfil the Führer’s plans: no method, however ruthless, is off the table if it means staying one step ahead.

‘Stracandra Island’ is a thrilling read underpinned by a factual basis and accentuated by accurate use of terms, abbreviations and colloquialisms common to the 1940s and is, ultimately, a tried and true spy story oozing with intrigue and steeped in tension.

Residing in Liverton with wife Kathleen, this is not ex-RAF man Graham’s first foray into fiction: having previously published two fiction books and most recently a non-fiction title on the history of transport.

Graham’s latest book is available at Westcountry Books or online via Amazon