Out of the Blackout

With the Nazis bombing London on a nightly basis many working-class families sent their children to the comparative safety of the countryside. When the Blitz ended the families came for their kids . . . but no one ever came for Simon Thorn. His name appears on no list of the evacuated children. And none of his meagre belongings offer any clues to his origins.<br><br>Now an adult newly moved to London Simon is puzzled by an odd sense of familiarity when he walks down certain streets. He remembers his years of terrible nightmares-nightmares that would cause him to wake up screaming terrifying his bewildered foster parents. And he resolves once and for all to find out where he originally came from . . . even as everything he uncovers suggests that really he doesn't want to know.<br><br>Widely praised for his deliciously maliciously witty mysteries the multi-award-winning Robert Barnard takes a decidedly different tack in this fascinating novel of wartime London and the dark side of identity.<br><br>'An engrossing tale of a man's search for his identity and his discovery of an alarming past' <i>Publishers Weekly</i><br><br>'There are shrewd characterisations and villains aplenty in this oddly affecting tale' <i>Time</i><br><br>'Barnard untangles his riddle with great skill and I suspect he is going to outwit all but a handful of readers' <i>New York Times</i>