Ghost Station

by Adam Fitzroy

It’s 1976, the Cold War is still at its coldest, and retired agent John Dashwood is persuaded to return to supervise one last mission. However nothing at Ghost Station is quite the way he remembers it and everybody seems to have something to hide – including his two valued colleagues, Rick Wentworth and Harry Tilney, and his enigmatic boss Sir Charles Grandison. When operational necessity requires Dashwood to send Rick and Harry into a dangerous situation, the boundaries between friend and enemy begin to blur and he’s left isolated and wondering which of his so-called allies he can really trust.

Genres: M M Romance, LGBT, Romance, Espionage, Fiction

188 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 2011

About the author

Imaginist and purveyor of tall tales Adam Fitzroy is a UK resident who has been successfully spinning male-male romances either part-time or full-time since the 1980s, and has a particular interest in examining the conflicting demands of love and duty.

Reviews

[Hyarrowen · Rating 5 out of 5]

In the hair-trigger world of 1970s Europe, two NATO servicemen go missing within a stone's throw of the border with East Germany. That's the cue for Ghost Station, a shadowy organisation based in an abandoned London Underground station, to become involved. The hunt for the missing men is pursued both on (and under!) the ground, and in the enclosed world of Ghost Station itself. Everyone has secrets; the past threatens to overwhelm the present; no-one is sure who to trust – and two agents, code-named Frederick Wentworth and Henry Tilney, have to put their lives on the line in an effort to solve the enigma. In a series of increasingly tense situations, they have no-one to rely on but each other.

Some of the twists and turns had me saying 'OMG!' and others 'OMG!!!' and they keep on coming on coming right until the end of this atmospheric and intriguing story, in which action, mystery and romance are expertly balanced.

[Walford · Rating 4 out of 5]

Four stars because I enjoyed it the second time too.
A lesser work by one of my favorite authors. Fitzroy is now going by M A Fitzroy, so that's how you'll find her on Amazon (actually, they make it really hard, so don't give up).
This starts off very slowly, and one has the sense the author has bitten off way more than she can chew in trying to write a spy thriller. Also, there seems to be no one to root for, or that the narrative even centers around (this is problematic in a romance, to say the least). But then the plot gets rolling and one is very much rooting for the central couple, who are in great peril. I was riveted.
However, I was mystified by some plot elements, and I'm not sure they even make sense...
Try one of Fitzroy's other titles first (I love Dear Mister President) and then come back to this one when you'll feel more forgiving.
I do wish she'd write some more :(

[Julie Bozza · Rating 4 out of 5]

A real page-turner!

[Elisa Rolle · Rating 5 out of 5]

2012 Rainbow Awards Honorable Mention (5* from at least 1 judge)

[Antonella · Rating 4 out of 5]

The mix of romance and mystery left me satisfied. For sure the plot is gripping. The fact that it is 1976, the percentage of openly gay/lesbian/bisexual secret agents is as high as in a gay bar, and no one bats an eye left me quite perplexed. Just a reminder: same-sexual activities were decriminalised in England in 1967, in Scotland in 1980 and in Wales in 1982. Also some explanations (for ex. the whole Harriet backstory told by Grandison) were a bit long winded. Still, I recommend it.