The House of Spies - Alexander Templeman spy thrillers, #1

Before the Great War, Britain fought its first secret battle.

In the spring of 1912, the nation appears calm and confident — yet beneath the surface a dangerous contest of secrets is already under way.

Alexander Templeman, a young and respectable London solicitor, has no interest in intrigue or espionage. But when a chance encounter places him in possession of information others are prepared to kill for, his world is abruptly and violently transformed.

Trapped in the Scottish Lowland hills, Templeman becomes the unwilling participant in a covert struggle against a brilliant and merciless adversary. With no experience of deception or pursuit, and no one he can fully trust, he must learn quickly — or die.

As Europe edges closer to catastrophe, the information he carries grows ever more dangerous, and the consequences of failure ever more profound.

Rich in period atmosphere and driven by suspense, The House of Spies is an old-fashioned espionage thriller in the tradition of The Thirty-Nine Steps — a story of courage, pursuit, and quiet heroism at the dawn of a new and perilous age.