Len Deighton was born in 1929 in London. He did his national service in the RAF, went to the Royal College of Art and designed many book jackets, including the original UK edition of Jack Kerouac's On the Road. The enormous success of his first spy novel, The IPCRESS File (1962), was repeated in a remarkable sequence of books over the following decades. These varied from historical fiction (Bomber, perhaps his greatest novel) to dystopian alternative fiction (SS-GB) and a number of brilliant non-fiction books on the Second World War (Fighter, Blitzkrieg and Blood, Tears and Folly). 
 
His spy novels chart the twists and turns of Britain and the Cold War in ways which now give them a unique flavour. They preserve a world in which Europe contains many dictatorships, in which the personal can be ruined by the ideological and where the horrors of the Second World War are buried under only a very thin layer of soil. Deighton's fascination with technology, his sense of humour and his brilliant evocation of time and place make him one of the key British espionage writers, alongside John Buchan, Eric Ambler, Ian Fleming and John Le Carré.

Len Deighton

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Michael McDowell

Discover the gothic horror phenomenon that is sweeping across Europe, with over 2 million copies sold 
 
'RIVETING, TERRIFYING...JUST ABSOLUTELY GREAT' STEPHEN KING 
 
A new era has begun for the Caskey family. 
 
Elinor’s relentless determination and the years of struggle are finally beginning to bear fruit: old hostilities have faded and the town is ripe for change. The conflict in Europe has brought new blood to Perdido, men arriving from far afield wanting to ingratiate themselves with the powerful family. 
 
But tangling with the Caskeys comes at a cost, and soon they must ask themselves how close is too close…

Blackwater IV: The War

The Blackwater Saga

The electrifying finale in the gothic horror saga that is sweeping across Europe, with over 2 million copies sold 
 
'RIVETING, TERRIFYING...JUST ABSOLUTELY GREAT' STEPHEN KING 
 
Even if the years weigh heavily on their shoulders, the Caskey family now enjoy wealth way beyond their wildest dreams. Parties, lavish receptions and social gatherings give a rhythm to their existence, their days spent in carefree abandonment. But the past is not forgotten and a dark presence looms over Perdido, its inhabitants and its rivers. 
 
The time of reckoning has come.

Blackwater VI: Rain

Discover the gothic horror phenomenon that is sweeping across Europe, with over 2 million copies sold 
 
'RIVETING, TERRIFYING...JUST ABSOLUTELY GREAT' STEPHEN KING 
 
As the dark and menacing waters of the local river submerge Perdido, a small town in the south of Alabama, the Caskeys - a family of rich landowners - must confront the tide of damage caused by the flood. Led by Mary-Love, the powerful matriarch, and by Oscar, her devoted son, the family must pick itself back up. But what they haven't anticipated is the sudden appearance of Elinor Dammert - a mysterious but seductive young woman with a troubling past. Her sole ambition appears to be to infiltrate the very heart of the Caskey clan... 
 
'Beyond any trace of a doubt, one of the absolutely best writers of horror' Peter Straub 
 
'One of the genre’s most underrated writers' Poppy Z. Brite

Blackwater I: The Flood

The third book in the gothic horror phenomenon that is sweeping across Europe, with over 1 million copies sold 
 
'RIVETING, TERRIFYING...JUST ABSOLUTELY GREAT' STEPHEN KING 
 
Perdido, 1928. Torn apart by the continuing tensions between Mary-Love and her daughter-in-law Elinor, the Caskey family must also confront other crises. As the economy plummets and relationships sour, something sinister is prowling the darkest recesses of the Caskey household. Patient, implacable, waiting to catch its next victim in its deadly web… 
 
 
The Blackwater Series titles have sold over one million copies, The Bookseller, July 2024

Blackwater III: The House

The fifth book in the gothic horror phenomenon that is sweeping across Europe, with over 2 million copies sold 
 
'RIVETING, TERRIFYING...JUST ABSOLUTELY GREAT' STEPHEN KING 
 
In Perdido, Alabama, the Caskey family have endured; some face death whilst others welcome new life. Unexpected alliances have formed, bitter conflict divides former friends. Hardened by years of experience, Miriam, now head of the family business, is relentless in her pursuit of wealth. And when she makes a surprising discovery beneath their lands, it is not just the Caskey family that benefits, but the whole town. 
 
But will this sudden fortune be enough to lay to rest the ghosts of the past? And how long before nature comes to reclaim its debt?

Blackwater V: The Fortune

The second book in the gothic horror phenomenon that is sweeping across Europe, with over 1 million copies sold 
 
'RIVETING, TERRIFYING...JUST ABSOLUTELY GREAT' STEPHEN KING 
 
Perdido, Alabama, has scarcely recovered from the floods that devasted the community. Now a scheme to build a levee is dogged by a series of mysterious events: unpredictable currents in the river, worrying disappearances. Meanwhile in the Caskey family, Marie-Love, the matriarch, continues her machinations against Elinor, her strange daughter in law. Plots, unholy alliances, sacrifices - in the struggle between them, nothing is off limits. In Perdido, the changes will be profound; the consequences irreversible. 
 
 
The Blackwater Series titles have sold over one million copies, The Bookseller, July 2024

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