THE GUNS ARE SILENT. THE DEAD ARE NOT

'The world has been waiting for a worthy successor to Sebastian Faulks' Birdsong - now Philip Gray has delivered it' David Young, author of Stasi Child.

1919. On the battlefields of northern France, the guns of the Great War are silent. Special battalions now face the task of gathering up the dead for mass burial.

Amy Vanneck's fiancé is one soldier lost amongst many. She heads to France, determined to discover what became of the man she loved.

Meanwhile, Captain Mackenzie cannot bring himself to go home until his fallen comrades are laid to rest. His task is upended when a gruesome discovery is made beneath the ruins of a German strongpoint.

It soon becomes clear that what Mackenzie has uncovered is a war crime of inhuman savagery. As the dark truth leaches out, both he and Amy are drawn into the hunt for a psychopath, one for whom the atrocity at Two Storm Wood is not an end, but a beginning.

*Longlisted for the 2023 CWA Historical Dagger Award*

'An atmospheric portrayal of the pity of the war' The Times, Books of the Year

Although the novel is deftly plotted and the atmosphere all distorting fog and claustrophobic dugouts, its achievement lies in Gray's finely worked portraits of the pity of war - those damaged by conflict and those who have to deal with its mind-altering consequences. * The Times *
Through a clever series of plot twists...Gray leads...his readers to the unexpected truth -- Nick Rennison * Sunday Times *
Two Storm Wood is an impressive achievement. It sheds a powerful light on a neglected aspect of World War One history. I can't recommend it enough. * Alan Parks, author of Bloody January *
I couldn't put this down. A thriller and romance set amidst the post-Armistice battlefields and the damaged people trying to do right by the dead. Extraordinary setting, great characters, bursting with ideas. * Dominick Donald, author of Breathe *
Two Storm Wood has the literary class, intellectual depth, and thriller pacing of Robert Harris at his best--with an added spine-tingling aura of menace worthy of Stephen King. It's the most chilling portrayal of a historical period since Philip Kerr's novels of Nazi Berlin, yet at its core Gray's masterpiece is a heart-rending story of sacrifice, love and loyalty overcoming the psychological tortures of the World War I battlefields. * Matt Rees, author of Mozart's Last Aria *
One of the most evocative thrillers I've ever read. The writing is superb - shades of Hollinghurst and Pat Barker combine in a taut, finely plotted mystery. The battlefield is almost a character in itself, and the presence of its dead disturbed me throughout. Be warned - this dark, intelligent story is very hard to put down. Haunting, cinematic, and utterly gripping. * D.B. John, author of Star of the North *
Atmospheric and meticulously researched, Two Storm Wood sheds light on the horrors and the trauma that continued even after the Armistice. It is that most wonderful of creations - a novel that informs while keeping you on the edge of your seat. * Abir Mukherjee, author of The Shadows of Men *
An intelligent, chilling murder mystery set among the wastelands of a war-ravaged France. Deftly plotted, and also a brilliant character piece, teeming with ideas about devotion, radicalism, identity, race, and the ethics of battlefields. Mightily rewarding. * Dominic Nolan, author of After Dark *
Two Storm Wood is an enthralling, enchanting, but at times also quite terrifying literary thriller. The world has been waiting for a worthy successor to Sebastian Faulks' Birdsong - now Philip Gray has delivered it. This novel really is that good. The desolate, nightmarish atmosphere of the WW1 battlefields of northern France and the aftermath of more than four years of senseless slaughter is expertly portrayed in what is both a very moving love story and fascinating mystery. A novel that demands to be read and will stay long in the reader's memory after the last page is turned. The best book I've read this year and surely a contender for literary awards. * David Young, author of Stasi Child *
Powerful historical fiction and a testament to war's insanity * Kirkus Review, US *

Philip Gray studied modern history at Cambridge University, and went on to work as a journalist in Madrid, Rome and Lisbon. He has tutored in crime writing at City University in London and serves as a director at an award-winning documentary film company, specialising in science and history. He lives in London. https://www.philipgraybooks.com/