The Informant

By the acclaimed author of Fear Itself, a compelling thriller set in 1940s America on the eve of Pearl Harbor.

A stylish, ingenious thrillerJim Crace
A wonderfully intelligent and beautifully written historical thrillerMax Byrd

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Autumn 1941:most of the world is at war. America is hovering on the brink.

Special Agent James Nessheim is stuck in Hollywood, working as an adviser to a studio making pro-FBI movies.

And then one his key informants, Japanese-American Billy Osaka, asks to see him urgently. But before they can meet, Osaka vanishes.

Nessheim’s search for Osaka takes him to a Mob-run gambling club, through the dense streets of LA’s Little Tokyo, from the seamy San Pedro docks to the hill-top ranch of a Communist sympathiser.

As Nessheim begins to unravel Osaka’s deadly secrets, he uncovers a chilling conspiracy to push America into the war.

But other people are looking for Osaka too, and are prepared to kill anyone who gets in their way. A lethal race is on.

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Praise for The Informant:

This is compelling and intelligent fiction, laden with tension and suspense Jim Crace

[it is] laced with fine period detail, awareness of the institutional duplicity of Hoover’s FBI and a fine ear for dialogueDaily Mail

The ghosts of Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler loom large here, as do the classic films Chinatown and Casablanca, lending Rosenheim’s prose a velvety texture Kirkus Reviews

The prose is taut and muscular, masculine even. It holds your attention and its easy to turn the pageOxford Mail

Great series; well worth reading 5-star reader review