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THE CITY IN YEAR ZERO by MICHAEL RUSSELL
10th novel in series published next month
15 January 2026
Michael Russell's landmark tenth book in his series of wartime thrillers featuring detective Stefan Gillespie is published by Constable/Little Brown in the UK and Ireland on 12th February. Synopsis: Nothing thrived here, but something grew... Germany, 1945. Year Zero. The war is at an end. When Ireland's ambassador to the Third Reich finally leaves the war-torn country, Garda detective Stefan Gillespie makes his way home under the watchful eye of British Intelligence, who are searching for some of the Irish citizens Ireland doesn't want back. The usual dirty business. But suddenly Stefan is drawn into a murder inquiry. Unexpectedly arriving in a town he knew in his youth, on visits to his German relatives, Stefan feels compelled to help his cousin Annaliese and her hostile daughter Krista. Maybe it's nostalgia for first love, or for a time of peace, or maybe he just wants to do something that feels clean. But the past is a dangerous place to return to... A darkness still hangs over Germany, and Stefan Gillespie is walking right into it.