Best Book Publishers UK | Austin Macauley Publishers

By: Daniel James

Operation Traction

Pages: 202 Ratings: 5.0
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Thirty years after James Hamilton was forcibly migrated to New Zealand as an orphan child, an unexpected inheritance draws him back to Cornwall, where he stumbles on a long-dormant WWII secret concealed in the shared memory of the small fishing village he once considered home.
Mystery deepens when James begins clearing out the cottage he has inherited and uncovers a bundle of letters that imply the owner of the cottage, a retired lieutenant commander in the Royal Navy, participated in a clandestine operation that has remained suppressed in the core of the village and has direct links to James’s true identity.
Determined to get to the truth of his past, James digs into the background and context of the letters he’s found and it’s more disturbing than he ever imagined. His attempts to unravel the past reveal a shadowy world of British Intelligence, the French Maquis and Nazi sympathisers within Allied ranks.
Against the backdrop of WWII exploits spanning North Africa and France, Operation Traction is a story of divided loyalties and extreme courage. A story of love, of deceit and of sacrifice.

Daniel James was born in Cornwall, raised on the Channel Island of Guernsey and relocated to New Zealand as a teenager. He has spent a large portion of his adult life globe-trotting.

Now semi-retired, Daniel can permit his lifelong interest in history and his vivid imagination, inspired by the cultures and places he has encountered, to run wild.

Daniel lives in New Zealand on the rural fringes of Auckland City with his wife in a home surrounded by native bush.

Operation Traction is his debut novel.

Customer Reviews
5.0
16 reviews
16 reviews
  • Brian Mosley

    Brillant read, I thoroughly enjoyed it

  • J Charman

    Hooked me straight in and I couldn’t put it down. A carefully woven story full of twists and turns and intrigue.

  • Terry Locke

    Think of this as a kind of personal quest novel, that operates on two temporal plains. The first of these is set in 1989, where we find the main character finding himself inheriting a seaside cottage in a small Cornish village. The second plain takes us back to a series of events taking place in World War II. Over the course of the novel we find James Hamilton painstakingly discovering both who he is and the tragic and yet inspiring events that preceded his birth. This is novel with a big heart, a masterful management of plot, a host of characters, sensuous detail and clearly a total passion for the awful machinery of warfare.

  • Jenny Diane Smith

    What a great read, I picked this book up and struggled to put it down until the last page. So many lives twisted together, poignant, funny, painful and thought-provoking throughout the book right to the very end. Would love to know what happens next.

  • Jennifer Duhig

    It’s an enthralling read. I couldn’t put it down. but I didn’t want it to end either. Tension, excitement, mystery, drama and suspense. It has it all. Hope there’s another one on the way.

  • Brind Hewett

    I came across this book after a friend recommended it to me and I couldn't put it down. I hadn't heard of Daniel James before, as an author, but thoroughly enjoyed the ride this story took me on. I couldn't put it down as I needed to know the truth of James' past and identity.

  • S Maslin

    Have just finished reading Daniel James’ debut novel. Coming from New Zealand myself, I am always on the look out for new amazing New Zealand authors and I have found another one. Operation Traction ticked all the boxes for me.

  • Stella Eilenberg

    What an extraordinary journey this novel takes you on, the author is so descriptive you’re guided through this historic story of sadness, intrigue, action and mystery, with so many twists you’re kept guessing right until the very end.
    An excellent read from start to finish I didn’t want it to end.
    Looking forward to the next book, I hope we don’t have to wait too long.

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