As a fan of wartime, gritty thrillers, I was immediately attracted to No Precious Truth, the first novel in a new crime series. Steeped in historical detail, this novel is refreshing as its protagonist is Cathy Marsden, a Police Sergeant in the city of Leeds in 1941 – a time when women in the police force were practically unheard of.
When the novel opens Cathy has recently been seconded to the Special Investigation Branch, a career move that challenges her as she investigates World War II deserters. But Cathy is a very experienced, skilled and resilient police officer, happily rising to the challenge.
However with the return of Dan, her brooding, mysterious brother to Leeds from London, Cathy is consumed into the world of double agents, espionage and subterfuge…
Dan claims he is just a civil servant tasked with helping to track down an enemy spy sent to Leeds with the aim of destroying key targets to the British war effort. He ropes in the help of the Special Investigation Branch, so working closely with her closed off brother for the first time ever, Cathy views him as she has never done so before. Cathy is not sure she likes the person she sees, feeling a growing sense of dread and unease about what Dan may be capable of.
No Precious Truth is an evocative read rich in historical detail. The setting that Chris Nickson, the author, depicts in the narrative skilfully transported me to the gritty underbelly of Leeds in wartime, which I really enjoyed. Nickson was born and raised in Leeds, and I feel this book is a kind of love letter to his home city and its history.
There is simmering tension that runs through the story as Cathy and her colleagues hunt down the very dangerous spy. This tension is further enhanced by the taut complexity of Cathy and Dan’s relationship, another aspect of the story that I enjoyed.
Thank you to Anne Cater from Random Things Tours for inviting me to the blog tour of No Precious Truth, which is published by Severn House and was released on 1 April 2025.
To follow the blog tour, please see below.
