Deception

By: Alan Parks

The second instalment in the thrilling WW2 Joseph Gunner series, from the award-winning author of the Harry McCoy books

New York, December, 1941.

Joseph Gunner, former soldier, is off the front lines and on the streets of New York, tasked with helping tip America into World War II.

Working for a section of the British Secret Service, Gunner spends his days covertly encouraging pro-war sentiment through planted news stories, radio broadcasts, and even blackmail.

But when a honeytrap mission with a prominent US politician goes wrong and the young woman involved is found dead, Gunner realises he has a target on his back. Who silenced her? Who knew their plan? And who has betrayed Gunner?

As he investigates, Gunner is plunged into the secretive world of Nazis in America, the NYPD, and the mobs of New York, as the body count quickly stacks up. With world events accelerating, Gunner finds himself in a race against time before he becomes the next victim, where he'll soon uncover a conspiracy that goes beyond what he thought was possible.©2026 Alan Parks

Critic reviews

Praise for Gunner--

A notably original protagonist . . . swept up in a high-level conspiracy reaching from Whitehall's corridors of power to Berlin and Rudolf Hess's doomed flight to Scotland . . . enthralling

Perfectly captures the chaos, danger and moral mess of a world turned upside down by conflict

Parks's characters jump out at you and the story fizzes with history and colour. A brilliant thriller to kick off a new series

[A] compelling story . . . Foyle's War, but with a sharper, darker edge

Great storytelling . . . I loved it (Peter James, #1 bestselling author of the Roy Grace series)

Great stuff . . . a vivid sense of place and time and what a main character! (Ian Rankin, #1 bestselling author of the Rebus series)