Trust No One by Glenn Dyer
Trust No One (TMR Press) pulls readers into historic events and clandestine locations across Europe in a search for the conspirators behind a high-profile assassination that could change the course of World War II. Accomplished author Glenn Dyer crafts a thrilling tale that moves through ancient crypts of Algiers and along dark alleys of Lyon, France, to battlefields and bunkers where some of the most dramatic scenes of the war took place.
In this exciting fourth installment of the Conor Thorn series, Conor teams up with a bold and dynamic member of the British intelligence service, who also happens to be his wife. Conor and Emily rely on their closest allies and enlist a few new assets in their pursuit of the truth behind the assassination of a divisive French leader and to prevent the destabilization of the Allied powers.
Facing Bullets, Bureaucracy and Betrayal
Trust No One opens with a pulse-pounding confrontation in the vaults below a chapel in Algiers. A loyal member of a resistance group must conceal an archive holding the names and profiles of the agents behind a recent attack. He’s discovered by the Nazi agents pursuing him and dispatched in spectacular fashion. With his demise, the truth behind the secret operation is lost and Axis powers begin to spread the rumor that the assassination was carried out by British and American agents working in the region. Upon learning of the unsanctioned killing and rumors that American and British intelligence agents were responsible, General Eisenhower, presiding over war efforts in North Africa, threatens to resign his post if the allegations prove to be accurate.
Enter agent Conor Thorn. After unexpected repercussions from their previous mission, Conor and his wife Emily find themselves cut loose from the agencies that they’ve sacrificed for and dedicated their lives to. Desperate for redemption, the duo embarks to find the lost archive and flush out the true perpetrators of the assassination. In the course of the investigation, Conor and Emily confront ruthless fascists, deranged zealots and a number of morally ambiguous allies, determined to win the war at any cost. When questioned about his role in the assassination plot, one covert agent describes what it will take to achieve victory in the European theatre of war:
We need to play dirty, Thorn. No more gentlemanly tit for tat.
Facing bullets, bureaucracy and betrayal, the truth Conor and Emily uncover has implications reaching well beyond their investigation.
Fractured Loyalties and Fierce Resistance Movements
For author Glenn Dyer, the historical accuracy and specific details of this tumultuous era are paramount to telling this story in an authentic manner. Dyer describes each weapon, vehicle and military maneuver using precise terms. Characters are flown in a PBY-5 or a C-47 Dakota, rather than just “an airplane”. Conor brandishes a Colt pistol or Thompson sub-machine gun instead of any generic firearm. The specific details provided by the author help to generate a vivid and immersive experience when reading this book. The backrooms, meeting rooms and cathedrals in each scene are also rendered in thoroughly researched and exquisite detail. When the action ignites, its as if the reader is standing in the same room with the protagonist.
Retracing and recounting the shadows of World War II, Trust No One happens to be the fourth book in the Conor Thorn series. While beginning with a later volume in a book series isn’t always recommended, this novel reads very well as a standalone. This installment provides sufficient backstory for new readers to become familiar with the characters and jump right into the action. Trust No One makes the evil of the Axis powers apparent, but also represents the complicated nature of this conflict that threatened to tear the world apart.
Beyond a simple division of good and evil, the novel helps to explain fractured loyalties, fierce resistance movements and impending dangers that made this conflict so threatening on a global scale. The assassination plot and subsequent mystery at the heart of this exciting novel provide a fascinating entry into the period, but the reader is treated to a more extensive tour of several of the cities, waterways and beaches that became bloody stages of battle.
Glenn Dyer is a former commercial television executive whose career spanned over thirty-five years. That career took him to cities such as Salt Lake City, Dallas, Washington, DC, and Denver. He returned to Park City, Utah in retirement in 2013 to write full-time. He has long been captivated by the events of World War II and couples this fascination with his passion for historical thrillers leading to the publication of The Torch Betrayal, The Ultra Betrayal, The Unquiet Genius and Trust No One, all books in the Conor Thorn series. He is an associate member of the International Thriller Writers, and The OSS Society. Glenn attended Villanova University and graduated from Boston University. He and his wife, Chris, have three children, all of whom live too far away.
