The Maze of Cadiz

Peter Cotton #1

by Aly Monroe

Peter Cotton, a young Intelligence officer is sent to Spain in September 1944. The war in Europe is drawing to a close; formerly neutral Franco is edging closer to the Allies. Cotton has been sent to investigate the activities -- and then, just as he arrives, reports of the death -- of a British agent, May, who has spent much of the war in the remote outpost of Cadiz monitoring the Spanish smuggling of raw materials to aid the Axis war efforts, in strict violation of the terms of neutrality. Cotton is briefed in Madrid by Houghton, an agent working at the British Embassy. He also meets Houghton's partner, Marie, half-Jewish, who has helped many Jews escape through Gibraltar. They brief him on Franco, his paranoid fears of assassination, his capricious cruelty and his duplicity. Even as he gets on the train to begin the long, hot journey to Cadiz, it is clear that Cotton is being watched. And when he arrives in the rundown port, almost on the brink of starvation, it is clear that his visit has been expected. Reluctantly allied with the sinister Ramirez, the local police inspector, Cotton has to investigate May's death and what exactly led him to sever all contacts with his London controllers in the months leading up to his disappearance. But Cotton is not the only person with an interest in finding out what May had been doing. Cadiz is a hotbed of rumours and shifting political alliances in this, the final phase of the war and Cotton must navigate his way not only through local tensions but also through the uncertain loyalties of a bizarre expatriate community, including an unhelpful consul, a German woman married to a wealthy Spaniard and mysteriously marooned in the town, an apparently innocent Irish girl, and a strange British couple who chose to remain in Spain while the rest of Europe was engulfed in flames...What Cotton discovers amid the stifling heat and dust could just tilt the emerging balance of post-war power.

Genres: Fiction, Historical Fiction, Espionage, Mystery, Spain

298 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2008

About the author

Author of the Peter Cotton series, which begins in 1944, and takes us to different countries around the world during the aftermath of the second world war and the dismantling of the British colonies

The first three books in the series, 'The Maze of Cadiz', 'Washington Shadow', and 'Icelight' received excellent reviews. (See my website)

Washington Shadow' was shortlisted for the 2010 CWA Ellis Peters Historical Fiction Award.

Icelight was the winner of the 2012 CWA Ellis Peters Historical Dagger.

All the books are available to buy on amazon.co.uk. and also amazon.com
and can also be downloaded on Kindle

The fourth book in the series, 'Black Bear', is published on 9 May 2013 and is now available to buy on amazon.

You will find more information and reviews, Q&As and extracts from the books on Aly's website (see above)

Reviews

[Alex Cantone · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Spanish Civil War had been over for five years, but there was still a lot of damage to see as they drove up the slope: some bombed-out buildings, but many more shored-up and boarded up from the effects of close fighting …

On 5 September 1944 Englishman Peter Cotton flies into Madrid. After an overnight stopover he takes a 30 hour uncomfortable journey by train to Cadiz, where he is to relieve rogue agent Ronald May, stationed there to monitor merchant vessels, who has repeatedly failed to comply with instructions regarding his expenses. He checks into the hotel where a reservation has been made for him, to find he is the only guest. On arrival he is approached by Ramirez, the local law enforcement, and learns that May’s body was found washed up – either accident or suicide – and has been buried in the British cemetery.

This is fascist Spain, neutral during the war, and in the uneasy peace there are food shortages, beggars follow strangers and petrol is available every second day. May’s office is upstairs from Vice-Consul Henderson, who is seeking reimbursement for the funeral expenses. Cotton is there to tidy up loose ends and close the office down, finding a safe, coding machine, blank documents and May’s personal effects, and concludes that he may have been compromised, perhaps open to blackmail for his proclivities. As he explores the maze of streets he seems to be dogged or directed by Ramirez, while feted by expats in a courteous way, as they mark time until the end of the war. But everyone has their own agenda.

The doctor looked at the young Englishman in front of him and nodded. “Excellent,” he said smiling. “I have a theory you know that the English and the Germans fight not because they are so different, but because they are so similar.”

Monroe has captured the atmosphere, at times unsettling and claustrophobic, of Cadiz at a difficult time in its long history. The narrative tends to drift from one encounter to the next, until there is a sudden and unexpected hiatus, allowing Cotton to achieve his mission while the status quo remains intact.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

The plot slowly unwinds under the stifling Andalucian heat within the claustrophobic streets of Cadiz. The author portrays a city ripe with poverty and seediness in the aftermath of the Spanish Civil War. Okayish.

[KOMET · Rating 4 out of 5]

During the first week of September 1944, Peter Cotton, a 25 year old intelligence officer and fluent Spanish speaker, arrives in Madrid from London. Upon arrival at the British Embassy, he begins to undertake what, prima facie, appears to be a straightforward and clear-cut mission: travel to Cadiz and replace the British agent there (R.A. May), who, through the consulate, had spent over a year gathering information on shipments of raw materials vital to the German war effort. (As a matter of historical record, Spain, though officially neutral, had lent some material support to Germany.) But Cotton soon learns that things are not all that they’re cracked up to be. May also engaged in some questionable activities in terms of his personal life, which compromised his role in Cadiz. He spent lots of money allotted to him without authorization. For that reason, his handlers asked him to explain his actions. Their requests went unanswered. And so, the decision was made to have May recalled to London. Cotton had arrived in Madrid and expected to meet May in Cadiz and relieve him on the spot. But he soon learns that May had apparently drowned and his body was fished out of the Bay of Cadiz.

The author provides a fascinating view of Cotton’s long and at times arduous train trek southward to Cadiz. There Cotton shows that he has mettle and grit. Through the help of a local agent (a man of culture and refinement, whose resourcefulness reaps dividends for Cotton) and in spite of the tacit hostility of the British consul to his mission, he uncovers much more than he bargained for.

For the lover of espionage fiction and of the carefully crafted and engaging story, you won’t go wrong here.

[Nick 2E0NAQ · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading The maze of Cadiz. I think what made the story more enjoyable was having a bit of the spanish language used to give the story more feel of the spanish life in Cadiz. (if is the first time I have felt brave enough to read a review of a book that I have read so i hope I have credit to Aly Monroe. I cant wait to read her next book Washington Shadow which is sitting and waitting for me to read.

[Rob Kitchin · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first of the Peter Cotton series, The Maze of Cadiz is a spy tale in the Alan Furst mode - understated realism as opposed to a capital T thriller. Peter Cotton is a young ex-soldier sent to Cadiz on his first mission as a British agent. He’s somewhat naive, yet oddly worldly; independent and self-sufficient but a little lost in a foreign landscape haunted by civil war politics and conscious of the larger war going on around them and their fragile diplomatic position. Monroe does a good job of creating an atmosphere of sweltering heat, slow pace of life, and underlying political tensions and poverty, in the process evoking a well realised sense of place. The prose is nicely written and evocative. However, whilst the first third of the story is engaging, the unfolding of the plot is overly linear and lacks tension and intrigue, and it’s not clear why Cotton has been sent on a mission that is clearly more suited to someone with more in-field experience and knowledge of Spain, or a small team. Moreover, the characterisation is quite thin beyond Cotton and Raminez, the local cop, who adds a bit of colour. The result is a tale of where the reader is firmly placed in Cadiz, but does not quite fully believe what is happening there. Nonetheless, it’s an enjoyable read, due mostly to its atmospherics and prose.

[Carey · Rating 3 out of 5]

For a first novel, very impressive

[Andy Mckinney · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is probably the best modern spy novel I have ever read. Having spent a year in Algeciras just down the road from Cadiz and so being familiar with the city helped but Monroe is a great story teller. Peter Cotton is excellent and she really has a good insight into the Spanish psyche and the deprivation of the early Franco years. This has the same gritty sort of feel as John Le Carre. Excellent.

[Denise · Rating 4 out of 5]

In September 1944, newly minted British intelligence agent Peter Cotton is sent to Cadiz charged with bringing back his predecessor who appears to have been misappropriating government funds. He arrives to find the man dead under mysterious circumstances and a lot of unanswered questions in his wake.

Slowpaced but atmospheric. An intriguing series opener that will have me coming back for more.

[Jack Heath]

Synopsis: sent in 1944 to Spain to arrest a rogue spy, British agent Peter Cotton finds his quarry dead and all of Cadiz awaiting his arrival.

[Peter · Rating 3 out of 5]

In the style of Alan Furst but not in the same class, the location here is 1944 Spain where Peter Cotton, a British intelligence agent, is sent to Cadiz to clean up after the death (murder?) of the resident British agent. The city and society is well delineated and the conversations believable but there is too much inconsequential dialogue, particularly with a local secret policeman, before a small burst of action towards the conclusion reveals Cotton’s real task. Atmospheric, however lacking any real urgency and tension. 2.5 stars

[Patricia · Rating 3 out of 5]

An atmospheric mystery - not fast paced but well fleshed out. The writing was so understated the plot was a little obscure. Not a book you couldn't put down, but enjoyable in a relaxed sort of way.

[Antony Douglas Whipp · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sorry! This really wasn’t for me. The writing was littered with intermittent words of Spanish (translated, of course, into English - sometimes two ways!). The plot itself, without going into spoilers, was rather thin. As an introduction to a new Agent, it did very little to persuade me to read any sequels. Not great...

[AVid_D · Rating 2 out of 5]

An ok storyline. Some strange dialogue at times. A deeply frustrating (and unnecessary) habit of the author to throw in phrases, or even whole sentences of dialogue in Spanish and then translate them into English - presumably to remind the simple reader that we were in Spain and the characters were all speaking Spanish.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Always interested in books about Spanish Civil War. This book takes place after Franco’s victory and as European war is close to ending. A British spy(or sort of a spy) is in Spain clearing up some “inconveniences”. I liked this book, great travel reading, until I didn’t. One unnecessary death too many.

[Judie · Rating 1 out of 5]

the Maze of Cadiz is boring. Won't read any other books in this series.

[Jack Hrkach · Rating 3 out of 5]

I noticed on Amazon, as I was purchasing the Kindle version of the book, that it had received some less than stellar reviews. But I have read three other recent works of fiction that relate in some way or the other to places I will be traveling to in January 2017, and I found this the best of the batch. That's not to hail it as a masterpiece, but this mystery of a British agent in Cadiz to investigate the murder of a fellow Brit, is smart and well written. It is not "action-packed" as one critic wanted it to be, but, set near the end of WWII, it offers what I think to be an accurate account of the history that swirls around it in a very subtle way, as well as being a somewhat reluctant "who-dun-it."

The characters are all interesting, several of them quite unusual, and for the most part the dialogue rings true. I must confess that Monroe's subtlety caused me either to miss a major plot point towards the end of the book. Either that or she hadn't prepared the reader well enough for it, so that it came as a rude shock and a bit out of the blue. I won't discuss it as it involves the mystery in the book. While it didn't ruin anything for me it was a significant flaw, which keeps the book from being a finer novel.

Still, a very good read - and filled with descriptions of Cadiz, granted in the 1940s and not anywhere near next January. Will I find the city changed much from the author's descriptions? Certainly some, but I'm betting that having read this will help me to understand a bit more of that city than I now do.

I think it might make a very good film, in fact, neo-noir in style. Peter Cotton is the protagonist, and I read that she has more books about him in the pipeline. I might pick one up, who knows? You might like this one as well, even if you're not going to spend a few days in this ancient and atmospheric city.

[Nicholas George · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fairly well done tale of a low-level British operative in WWII Spain, trying to get to the bottom of his predecessors death (murder? suicide? accident?). The characters and period are adeptly portrayed, but this didn't kick into high gear for me.

[Paul Dumont · Rating 3 out of 5]

A terrific debut which follows an ingenue spy, Peter Cotton, on his mission to investigate the death of an 'agent in residence' in Cadiz. Set in September, 1944, I've rarely come across a thriller that so beautifully evokes a time and place so well.

[Christiana Succar · Rating 3 out of 5]

Relatively good book as a spy/crime novel, but really does not cover Cadiz as I thought. I am looking for a book that will carry me through the city as I am living here for the month of July.

[F · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not sure quite what I think. Was surprised to be given this book as a Christmas present. I enjoyed it, but will probably read it again, and read other novels by Ali Monroe and then decide how I feel.

[Lynne - The Book Squirrel · Rating 2 out of 5]

Wasn't my cup of tea, really can't get into thriller novels at all!