With The Man Who Loved Mata Hari E-Reads continues its reissue program of the thrillers of Dan Sherman.  And if you love spy fiction overlaid on a historical backdrop, you’re in for a big treat.  This is about the greatest female spy who ever lived.

When struggling painter Nicholas Gray first sees Margaretha Zelle, it’s in a poor photograph. But, something draws him to her. All men are drawn to Margaretha–her mysterious eyes, her effortless sensuality. In another life, she will become known as Mata Hari.

As a dancer, she becomes famous. As a seductress, she becomes legendary. Soon, Mata Hari is crisscrossing Europe, collecting generals, aristocrats and businessmen as her lovers. But, staying behind in Paris, only Gray truly loves her. He watches from afar as her shifting alliances and brushes with power entangle her in a world of espionage and danger. Can Gray save her before the trap springs shut?

Dan Sherman brings his mastery of modern suspense to this thrilling story of the world’s most legendary femme fatale. Blending history with fiction, The Man Who Loved Mata Hari has earned its author comparison to John La Carré and Graham Greene. It will ensnare readers with its tale of the woman who held all of Europe spellbound.

Watch Dan Sherman’s author page for news of newly posted thrillers.

In a quiet room in the White Swan Inn, sunlight slowly breaks through the curtains revealing two young lovers–an American seamstress and an English Officer. They have been brutally, ritualistically murdered in their sleep. It’s a grisly scene that can only mean one thing: there’s a traitor within the American Revolution.

Dan Sherman’s The Traitor launches E-Reads’ reissue of the works of Dan Sherman, a novelist whose thrillers I had the pleasure to handle in the 1980s and have the pleasure to present to contemporary readers.  His novels have not lost any of their relevance or urgency.  As you pick up his books, note how he focuses on all the senses – sight, sound, smell, taste, touch – to evoke the milieu and the mood.

And his choice of milieu is astonishingly broad.  From the American Revolution in The Traitor to China from 1949 through the 1960′s (The White Mandarin) to the 1950s and ’60s (The Prince of Berlin) to World War I (The Man Who Loved Mata Hari) and others.  Watch Sherman’s author page for all of them.  I guess you’ve figured out that I’m a huge fan of Dan Sherman!

Back to The Traitor:

The year is 1779. General Washington, struggling to keep his army together, sends his best spymaster, Matty Grove, to investigate the killings. As Matty follows the trail of clues, he comes up against more questions. Who gave the killer his orders? How much does the mole know of the Revolution’s plans? Is this treason a matter of principle or simply profit?

With The Traitor author Dan Sherman brings the political and economic maneuverings of the Revolution into vivid detail. The rising pace and complex characters in this stunning work of historical fiction will have history buffs and fans of modern espionage alike clamoring for more.

RC

The Cold War era of the late 20th century was a time of incredible anxiety for a world facing nuclear annihilation. It also happened to be a golden age for spy thriller writers. The faceoff between the Soviet and American superpowers offered an incredibly rich nursery for intrigue and espionage. When the Berlin Wall came down, effectively ending the hegemony of the Soviet Union over Eastern Europe, international tensions were eased – but novelists lost the “Evil Empire” that had provided them with antagonists for decades.

Writers can take heart, because a new political threat is developing that might well provide fodder for the next wave of international thrillers: China.

Novelist Alex Berenson, writing in the New York Times, explains why he chose to build his spy thriller The Ghost War on a conflict between the United States and China. “What if a hard-line Chinese general wanted to take control of the People’s Republic? Could he maneuver China and the United States into a clash, a limited war, to grab control?…Are old resentments and a shifting balance of power enough to push nuclear-armed powers to the brink of war? In the real world, probably not. In a spy novel, absolutely.”

“Bad for the world, I suppose,” concludes Berenson. “Lucky for us.”

Nobody wants to go through another Cold War – except, perhaps, authors like Berenson and publishers who stand to make money on fiction. One of the best examples of this emerging genre that I’ve read is Darkness Under Heaven by our author F. J. Chase (Mira) . It introduces a marvelous hero, security expert Pete Avakian, who shares the spotlight with a female MD. Trapped in China when all political hell breaks loose, the two must find a way to get out of the country with the explosive secret they have discovered. Though it’s filled with great male action adventure, the romantic sparks that fly between the fleeing lovers make this as much a woman’s novel as a man’s.

Richard Curtis

Every Blogger owes a debt of gratitude to newspapers and magazines. This posting relies on original research and reporting performed by The New York Times.