The Blitz Secret

Praise for Stephen Ronson:‘A brilliant noir thriller set in the darkest days of the Second World War’ * Stephen Leather *‘Ronson delivers a cracking yarn, convincingly told. John Cook is the Jack Reacher of 1940s Britain’ * Damien Lewis *‘A vivid sense of place with tension on every level, The Last Line dripped with historical detail and authenticity. I absolutely loved it’ * Marion Todd *‘A tough, taut wartime thriller that reads like a cross between Alastair MacLean and Lee Child and atmospherically conjures up the spectre of war, the threat of Nazi invasion and other evils uncomfortably close to home. Dad’s Army, it ain’t!’ * Robbie Morrison *‘Thrilling and intriguing in equal measure. Like Jack Reacher on the Home Front in WWII’ * Mason Cross *‘The pace is quick and the action keeps coming. With well-chosen prose, the author gives the reader a snapshot of English countryside during wartime, with victory gardens, makeshift landing strips in farmers’ fields and railway platforms full of evacuated children. It was a page-turner and I couldn’t get enough’ * SaltyGalReads *‘Addictively readable’ * Irish Independent *

Stephen Ronson grew up in Sussex, and spent a large part of his childhood exploring the woods and fields around Uckfield, many of which were still dotted with reminders of WW2 - pill boxes, tank traps, nissen huts, and graffiti left by soldiers awaiting D-Day. He is a passionate student of local history, and when he learnt about Auxiliary Units - groups of men who were instructed to lay low during the predicted nazi invasion and lead the fight back - he knew he had to write about a Sussex farmer, one with a love of the land, and a natural desire and ability to get the job done. Many of the locations and characters in the John Cook series are inspired by real places and real people. In particular, Stephen was inspired by his grandparents, Eric, Bessie, Peter and Vera, each of whom did their bit on the home front.

Nowadays, Stephen divides his time between Vermont, USA, and Uckfield, East Sussex. When he’s not writing, he can be found renovating his house, or walking the woods and the fields.