Tightrope (Marian Sutro) - Softcover

Mawer's research and attention to period is unmatched, with the uneasy Cold War atmosphere seeping through the page * Mr Hyde * The closest thing to a female James Bond in English literature * Guardian * Mawer's period detail is perfect, and his prose impeccable -- Ian Sansom * Guardian * [Marian Sutro is a] completely compelling character. The period atmosphere is done with perfect pitch, and the narrative is as taut as the title * Tablet * Tightrope is the perfect title for this absorbing, flawlessly constructed and memorable novel * Choice * Mawer sensitively evokes the crushing normality of postwar Britain . . . intriguing, often lyrical * The Times * SUtro is a singular creation - a fascinating and compelling character and the account of how she becomes caught up in Cold War espionage is enthralling * Sunday Mirror * Dazzling * Daily Express * Simon Mawer is a true master of literary espionage . . . Tightrope is gripping stuff * Mail on Sunday * Mawer's evocation of poor, battered post-war London, still a drab city of thick and clammy fogs, is beautifully done. Likewise he handles his plot, moving back and forward in time, in masterly fashion . . . Mawer blows the dust off the history and makes it matter as you read. He is one of the most accomplished novelists today -- Allan Massie * Scotsman * Mawer is a skilful writer and this is a sophisticated, deviously constructed story of a woman who finds her true self in the distorting mirrors of the intelligence game -- Nick Rennison * Sunday Times * A compelling Cold War story -- Sebastian Shakespeare * Tatler *

Simon Mawer was born in 1948 in England, and spent his childhood there, in Cyprus and in Malta. He then moved to Italy, where he and his family lived for more than thirty years, and taught at the British International School in Rome. He and his wife currently live in Hastings. Simon Mawer is the author of several novels including the Man Booker shortlisted The Glass Room, The Girl Who Fell from the Sky and Tightrope.