"A slow-burning but accomplished murder mystery . . . a disquisition on the seductive attractions of unquestioning faith" from the author of The Wrong Man (Independent). It's 1956 as the 4th Inspector Stratton mystery opens. The world is in turmoil-the Bikini Atoll, the Suez Crisis, the Hungarian Uprising-these are just some of the events Inspector Ted Stratton can't help but think about as he makes his way through a murder investigation. The murder victim is a young man in London whose bookshelves are filled with literature on spirituality and esoteric religions, and who had just recently left the Foundation for Spiritual Understanding, a New Age cult based in Suffolk. Traveling to Suffolk to investigate, Inspector Stratton encounters a community of fervent believers led by an enigmatic, charismatic leader, and a femme fatale with a shady past. As well as a twisty murder mystery, A Willing Victim is a portrait of England in the mid-fifties and a meditation on the dangerous power of faith. Praise for the Inspector Stratton series "Laura Wilson is an exceptional talent . . . A terrific police procedural, a mesmerizing historical novel-few writers working today can deliver this kind one-two punch." -Laura Lippman, New York Times bestselling author "Outstanding . . . Wilson convincingly evokes what it was like to sleep in a bomb shelter or stumble through shattered London streets in the dark. The characters are convincing, too." -Publishers Weekly (starred review) "Wilson is as adroit at the straightforward mechanics of the crime mystery as she is at evocative prose shot through with a keen sense of the past." -Independent

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