Murder and Masquerade

An explosive tale of conspiracy, betrayal and twisted loyalties in postwar London.

So you’re planning to tackle a nest of Nazis by yourself — except that you’ll be accompanied by a former SS general you loathe and distrust who could still be a devoted follower of the late lamented Führer …

Having survived an invasion and an occupation, Irish policeman and former resistance leader Brendan O’Connor now finds himself embarking on yet another impossible mission. It is London, 1946, and a fascist plot emerges that threatens Britain’s precarious democracy. In a race against time, O’Connor hunts the plotters who leave a trail of blood and treachery, finding an unlikely ally in the man he hates obsessively, his former SS boss, who has negotiated his immunity.

Murder and Masquerade is alternative history, a tale of ruthless killing, of betrayal and twisted schemes set in a battered London still rising from the ashes of occupation. But it is also a tale of loyalty, friendship — and a double-cross that forces O’Connor into the most difficult decision of his life. Ultimately it is only his bloody-minded determination that will prevent a return to the tyranny he fought so hard to defeat and that will finally deliver him justice.

 Murder and Masquerade is a dark, fast-paced alternative history thriller – perfect for fans of Robert Harris, Philip Kerr and wartime espionage fiction.

‘… intriguing and full of action’.  —  Heather Brown’

‘What a book — the research that has gone into this blows me away!’  —  Catherine Johnstone, former diplomat

‘Very much enjoyed this book … Brilliant characters and great use of circular plotting.’  —  Rena Ong, poet

Author Biography

Catherine McCullagh is a highly respected editor and author. She has worked as an editor and advisor on numerous military and Australian history books and has two published works to her name, Willingly into the Fray, a narrative history of the first 100 years of Australian Army nursing, and War Child, the true story of a woman who grew up in pre-war Germany, which she ghost-wrote for Annette Janic. Dancing with Deception is her first novel.
She completed a Bachelor of Arts (Asian Studies) at the Australian National University before joining the Army as a teacher and linguist. After a 20-year career she left the military to follow her other passion – military history.