SHOCK THERAPY: The Times Thriller of the MONTH, December 2023
The Times Thriller of the MONTH, December 2023
'Angus Blair’s winning debut novel…. while its inspiration might be the 39 Steps, his accidental hero channels Reggie Perrin as much as Richard Hannay.' James Owen, The Times thriller review
SHOCK THERAPY was published by Troubador in November 2023. A contemporary spy thriller, it is rooted in reality. Henry Bradbury´s life is in free fall. His marriage has failed, he’s about to lose his City job, and he now finds himself dangerously out of his depth as an unlikely agent of the British intelligence services. His therapist, Dr Nea Solomon, is the only person he can trust, and the time has come to share his biggest secret. Henry’s confession of spying on Russians in London doesn’t get the reaction he expects, and a chain of events leads to murder…
About
Angus Blair is a spy thriller and travel writer who lives between London and Lisbon. He was approached to join the British Secret Intelligence Service, MI6, whilst studying history at Cambridge University. He served in the British army and became chairman of one of the largest organisations in the City of London. Blair is an obsessive traveller, having notched up 121 countries on five continents.
He has two adult daughters and a long suffering psychotherapist.
The songs of Shock Therapy
Here's a great playlist to accompany SHOCK THERAPY. Each song hand picked, a perfect accompaniment to the book, start to finish.
- Heroes. David Bowie. 1979. London's top alternative club, a chance encounter, where the story begins
- London Calling. The Clash. Again, 1979, this time a plot afoot at the KGB Rezidentura, Soviet embassy, London
- Monastic Vespers. Monks of the Chevetogne Monastery. Fast forward to Orthodox Easter 2019. Amateur spying at a fashionable Russian church in London takes a strange turn
- Desafinado. João Gilberto. Summer 2020. Seductive music played in a converted warehouse apartment, to no great effect. Shoreditch, London
- Let's Go Surfing. The Drums. February 2020. Hiding away at a surf school, preparing for action. Praia de Carcavelos, Lisbon
- Carnaval de São Vicente. Cesária Évora. February 2020. A Cape Verdean bar, waiting for trouble. Late-night Lisbon
- Asa's Fofor. Ignácio de Souza and the Melody Aces. February 2020. Getting ready to run, an accidental confession and some sound advice from a priest. An old African church, Lisbon
- Dangerman. Jools Holland. March 2020. A narrow escape from Lisbon, the start of a terrifying journey
- Trans-Europe Express. Kraftwerk. March 2020. An off-grid, undercover train journey across Europe, staying just one step ahead of deadly pursuers
- La Mer. Charles Trenet. March 2020. A ferry, a storm and some quick thinking between France and Ireland
- We're On The One Road (To God Know's Where). The Wolfe Tones. March 2020. An eventful bus trip to the Irish border, and unexpected hospitality courtesy of the old IRA
- Boom Boom Out Go the Lights. Little Walter. March 2020. A favourite tune of a stone deaf hitman in a republican pub, Dundalk
- 2-4-6-8 Motorway. Tom Robinson Band. March 2020. Hiding in a lorry, from Belfast to London. Pistol target practice at a motorway service station along the way
- Nelson's Blood. The Fishermen's Friends. March 2020. Going to ground in North Cornwall in a venerable smugglers' haunt
- Riders On The Storm. The Doors. March 2020. Storm Agnes and a pandemic batter Cornwall. Torture in a village library, murder amongst the abandoned tin mines
- You Only Live Twice. Nancy Sinatra. March 2022. A second chance, a new beginning....