The Big Thrill feature on Double Identity

By E.M. Powell

One could be forgiven for thinking that a happy-ever-after awaits Melisende des Pittones, ex-intelligence analyst with the French special forces in Alison Morton’s new espionage thriller, DOUBLE IDENTITY. When the novel opens, Mel has thrown in her job just three days previously to marry financial trader Gérard Rohlbert. She’s deeply in love, and a chic Parisian lifestyle beckons.

But this is a Morton thriller, which means hearts and flowers are not on the agenda. Mel’s dream turns to nightmare when she wakes up one morning to find Gérard murdered in bed beside her. Her horror deepens when Met Police detective Jeff McCracken accuses her of Gérard’s death. Mel must track down the real killer, even if that means being forced to work with the obnoxious McCracken.

As she delves into her fiancé’s past, Mel faces the shocking discovery of his secret life. To find the truth, she has to go undercover for the shadowy EIRS agency—and finds almost everybody around her is hiding a second self. Mel can trust nobody, and she’s in a race for her life to stop the killer before they come for her. It’s a slick and sophisticated action-packed read that grabs from the first page and doesn’t let go until the last.

While Morton is well known for her successful alternate history Roma Nova series of thrillers, DOUBLE IDENTITY is her first contemporary release. It’s quite a shift and one that was partly inspired by bestselling historical fiction writer Conn Iggulden. “He was reading Insurrectio (Roma Nova #7) for me,” she says. “He gave me a lovely endorsement, but also commented on what he called my knack for fast-plotting tension. He said he kept coming back to see what happened next.” Iggulden also suggested that Morton recast one of her alternative Roma Novan heroines as an agent for a contemporary real-life European organization and run the story as a crime thriller. “Who could resist such a challenge?” she says.

Read  the full article  in The Big Thrill (March 2021)… 

The Big Thrill is the monthly magazine of the International Thriller Writers

 

Alison Morton is the author of Roma Nova thrillers –  INCEPTIO, CARINA (novella), PERFIDITAS, SUCCESSIO,  AURELIA, NEXUS (novella), INSURRECTIO  and RETALIO,  and ROMA NOVA EXTRA, a collection of short stories.  Audiobooks are available for four of the series. Double Identity, a contemporary conspiracy, starts a new series of thrillers.

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