cover image And Is There Still Honey for Tea? A Ben Schroeder Novel

And Is There Still Honey for Tea? A Ben Schroeder Novel

Peter Murphy. No Exit (IPG, dist.), $16.95 trade paper (384p) ISBN 978-1-84344-401-5

The spy cases of Guy Burgess, Donald Maclean, and Kim Philby, which shook Britain in the 1950s, provide the backdrop for Murphy’s intricate third novel featuring barrister Ben Schroeder (after 2014’s A Matter for the Jury). In 1965, American professor Francis R. Hollander claims in an article that Sir James Digby, who since 1948 has often traveled to the Soviet Union to attend chess tournaments, has passed secrets to the Russians. Digby’s only recourse is to sue for libel. Murphy adroitly charts the complex legal maneuvering of Digby’s lawyers, who include Schroeder, and of Hollander’s team. Chapters narrated by Digby recount his distinguished career, including his time at Cambridge as a contemporary of Burgess and Maclean, his developing interest and skill at chess, and his service during WWII with the SIS. Chess plays an important symbolic and a surprisingly pragmatic role in a story that captures the zeitgeist of a turbulent time in British history. Agent: Annette Crossland, A Is for Authors (U.K.). (Feb.)