Black Bear

Aly Monroe was born and educated in England. Trained in linguistics, she has lived abroad - mostly in Spain - and speaks several languages. She is married and has three children. The first three books in the Peter Cotton series, Maze of Cadiz and Washington Shadow and Icelight (winner of the 2012 Ellis Peters Historical Fiction Award) are also available from John Murray. You can find out more about Peter Cotton and Aly Monroe via her website, www.alymonroe.com or at www.johnmurray.co.uk, through her official facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/Monroe.Aly, and you can follow her on Twitter at www.twitter.com/monroe_aly.

'Confirms Aly Monroe's genius for creating such tension that, while nothing much happens, you don't want things to stop not happening. She's commercial writing's rarest beast - a gloriously defiant individualist' -- Daily Telegraph 'Monroe is terrific at evoking this world' -- Guardian 'Monroe creates the atmosphere of the time brilliantly ... an original novel and its people and places are so well described that I was gripped from start to finish' -- Literary Review 'A wonderfully atmospheric book' -- Euro Crime 'Once again, Monroe's research is spot on and she paints her supporting cast with so many shades of grey that it makes a John Le Carr? novel look positively straightforward. This is wonderfully atmospheric' -- Shots Magazine 'Dodgy underhand dealings, political manipulations as well as a labyrinth of twists and turns... Definitely an author to watch' -- Falcata Times 'Riveting stuff' -- The Times 'The stately pace and avuncular tone belie Monroe's capacity to generate tension and momentum from the most innocuous of incidents, and the political context deliberately foreshadows more famous incidents in the cold-war years ahead, as former allies - Britain, Russia and the US - jockey for position in the post-war years' -- Irish Times 'The Peter Cotton series is getting better and better and in Icelight the internecine squabbling of the security services is a prequel to the real-life problems during the Cold Ware. I'm really looking forward to the next book' -- Crime Scraps 'The Peter Cotton series by Aly Monroe is proving to be absolutely unmissable' -- Good Book Guide Praise for the Peter Cotton series: 'Splendid ... enlightening and engaging' -- The Times 'Clever and fascinating ... Reminded me of Graham Greene' -- Guardian 'Impressive ... The next can't come too soon' -- Financial Times 'A natural storyteller ... a cracking atmosphere' -- Mail on Sunday 'it is easy to see why Aly Monroe is fast establishing a large fan base' -- www.reviewingtheevidence.com Ian Fleming fans reading Black Bear might find themselves recalling the opening section of Thunderball and James Bond's retreat to a health spa, but where Bond snapped back into action almost immediately, Cotton's recovery from his brutalising experience forms the framework for the entire novel. This is in part due to the quality of realism that Monroe brings to her storytelling ... Monroe's gorgeous prose and psychological trauma of a mind unsure that it can trust its own thoughts all add up to a delicately nuanced character sturdy -- Irish Times Atmospheric, engrossing and intelligently written, Black Bear tantalises from the very first page until its conclusion -- Milo's Rambles His story is a tense atmospheric narrative where subtle innuendo, smart conversation, superb character profiles and relationships are more important than the action ... Black Bear, and there are two of them in the story, is a fine addition to a series which has got me hooked -- Eurocrime

'Confirms Aly Monroe's genius for creating such tension that, while nothing much happens, you don't want things to stop not happening. She's commercial writing's rarest beast - a gloriously defiant individualist' -- Daily Telegraph 'Monroe is terrific at evoking this world' -- Guardian 'Monroe creates the atmosphere of the time brilliantly ... an original novel and its people and places are so well described that I was gripped from start to finish' -- Literary Review 'A wonderfully atmospheric book' -- Euro Crime 'Once again, Monroe's research is spot on and she paints her supporting cast with so many shades of grey that it makes a John Le Carr? novel look positively straightforward. This is wonderfully atmospheric' -- Shots Magazine 'Dodgy underhand dealings, political manipulations as well as a labyrinth of twists and turns... Definitely an author to watch' -- Falcata Times 'Riveting stuff' -- The Times 'The stately pace and avuncular tone belie Monroe's capacity to generate tension and momentum from the most innocuous of incidents, and the political context deliberately foreshadows more famous incidents in the cold-war years ahead, as former allies - Britain, Russia and the US - jockey for position in the post-war years' -- Irish Times 'The Peter Cotton series is getting better and better and in Icelight the internecine squabbling of the security services is a prequel to the real-life problems during the Cold Ware. I'm really looking forward to the next book' -- Crime Scraps 'The Peter Cotton series by Aly Monroe is proving to be absolutely unmissable' -- Good Book Guide Praise for the Peter Cotton series: 'Splendid ... enlightening and engaging' -- The Times 'Clever and fascinating ... Reminded me of Graham Greene' -- Guardian 'Impressive ... The next can't come too soon' -- Financial Times 'A natural storyteller ... a cracking atmosphere' -- Mail on Sunday 'it is easy to see why Aly Monroe is fast establishing a large fan base' -- www.reviewingtheevidence.com