On Wednesday July 8, Ealing-based author Alex Gerlis will be launching his second novel at The Pitshanger Bookshop.
The Swiss Spy, comes after Gerlis' debut thriller The Best Of Our Spies, which has sold nearly 30,000 copes since being published in 2011.
Extracts of The Swiss Spy will be read at the launch by actor Philip Jackson. Drinks and refreshments will be provided at the event, and signed copies of the book will be available.
The Swiss Spy is set against the backdrop of the top-secret Nazi plans to invade the Soviet Union. The story explores life inside the ever-present danger of wartime Europe.
Gerlis said: "I left the BBC in 2011 after 27 years there as a journalist and decided to pursue my ambition to be a novelist.
"I have always been interested in the Second World War and I feel that it provides enormous scope for a novelist, not least because of the human drama and the scope for dealing with real and well-documented events.
"In 1994 I covered the 50th anniversary of D-Day for the BBC and that gave me the original idea for the plot of what became - many years later - The Best of Our Spies.
"I realised that I felt confident about taking a big historical event and weaving an espionage thriller around it. With The Swiss Spy I use Operation Barbarossa, the Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union in June 1941.
"I am now writing my third novel, which will be set in Austria in the period 1944-45."
The event starts at 7pm. Space is limited, so book in advance if you would like to go to the launch.
The Pitshanger Bookshop, 141 Pitshanger Lane, Ealing, W5 1RH - 020 8991 8131
