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MERRIEGOLD: A SURFEIT OF DIAMONDS
When, in 1923, Major George Merriegold stepped off the train bringing him home, he thought his war was over. He was sadly mistaken!Instead of being discharged from the army, he is plunged into a world of dangerous intrigue. George finds himself recruited by MI5 to search out and destroy a Bolshevik cell entrenched within the industrial North West of England. Initially, he dismisses the idea of Communist involvement as being farfetched but soon finds that it represents a real and credible threat.His burgeoning affair with the beautiful Ruth Finkelstein complicates matters further, and soon George must choose between his duty to his country and the woman he has come to love. Merriegold is a fast-paced thriller from the author of The Templar’s Apprentice.
271 pages, Kindle Edition
Published March 1, 2018
3 people are currently reading
4 people want to read
About the author
Peter Tolladay
9 books31 followersMy passion for writing historical fiction stems from childhood visits to the castles of Edward “Longshanks” in North Wales. I have a great love for mountaineering, sailing, music, reading and old movies.
I am a full time independent writer. My novels include the bestselling ‘The Templar’s Apprentice’ and its three follow-ons which are set in the years up to, and including, the Third Crusade. ‘The Blood of Arthur’ tells of the young and turbulent life of Edward III. I also wrote a thriller, ‘Merriegold’, which is based upon MI5’s activities in post-WW1 Britain.
‘Red Deserts, Black Gods’, my latest novel, is the first of a proposed series set in Ancient Egypt.
I can be contacted on peter.admin@gegdi.com and on Twitter @PeterTolladay
I am a full time independent writer. My novels include the bestselling ‘The Templar’s Apprentice’ and its three follow-ons which are set in the years up to, and including, the Third Crusade. ‘The Blood of Arthur’ tells of the young and turbulent life of Edward III. I also wrote a thriller, ‘Merriegold’, which is based upon MI5’s activities in post-WW1 Britain.
‘Red Deserts, Black Gods’, my latest novel, is the first of a proposed series set in Ancient Egypt.
I can be contacted on peter.admin@gegdi.com and on Twitter @PeterTolladay
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
April 9, 2021
Suberb noir thriller
Before James Bond chased the Russians in the Cold War, George Marigold chased Russian spies after WWI. Rollaway has deft touch with the noir events of death and despair in England after the First War. George is from the upper-crust, but played with the street gangs as a youngster before the war. He is not a super sleuth, but a disrupter who spoils everyone's plans both robber and the cops, and often his own? It's an enjoyable, fast-paced read with lots of twists and turns.
Before James Bond chased the Russians in the Cold War, George Marigold chased Russian spies after WWI. Rollaway has deft touch with the noir events of death and despair in England after the First War. George is from the upper-crust, but played with the street gangs as a youngster before the war. He is not a super sleuth, but a disrupter who spoils everyone's plans both robber and the cops, and often his own? It's an enjoyable, fast-paced read with lots of twists and turns.
April 5, 2020
Merriegold is an engaging and well-written novel set in 1920s Manchester, a thriving industrial town in Lancashire in the northwest of England. I’ve read several crime/detective novels set at this time, and I found this one to be refreshingly different in both its storyline and main character.
The opening scene pulled me right in as we are introduced to twenty-six-year-old Major George Merriegold on his return to his hometown in 1923, five years after the end of the First World War. His unexpected reacquaintance with someone he knew gives us a degree of insight into George’s character, his part-Persian heritage and former social circle. Highly decorated during the war and hailed as a hero by many, he is now expecting to spend a quiet and leisurely life. The scene made me wonder just where Merriegold had been and what he’d been doing since the end of the war. It doesn’t take long before we find out.
The novel is a roller-coaster ride that delves into Bolshevik activity and organised crime with its focus around Manchester. Against a background of unrest and discontent due to the treatment of many of the soldiers on their return from the war, and riots that threaten the social order of the time, George is recruited to MI5 – and must seek out the ring-leaders of a Bolshevik gang operating from his city.
Despite being born into an affluent family, Merriegold is more at home with the ‘lower’ classes dwelling in the notoriously rough districts of Manchester, notably ‘the Cally’. His childhood activities, running wild with gangs of these youngsters, go a long way in making him the man he becomes, and his connections to both upper and lower classes make him ideally suited to seek out villains from all walks of life. The rest of the cast play their parts beautifully, and intrigue, deception and double-dealing feature highly in the ongoing narrative. The Russian ‘plot’ and those involved, is full of twists and turns that kept me interested throughout.
Descriptions of the slums of the early 20th century Manchester, with its back-to-back terraces, seedy pubs and narrow, dark snickets, are excellent, and in sharp contrast to the stately home in which Merriegold grew up. The portrayal of life for both rich and poor is carefully constructed and I relished descriptions of the houses, clothing, cars, weapons (guns), policing methods foods and even the old telephones – to name just a few.
Merriegold is a great book for anyone who enjoys a good crime novel with well-drawn characters and a mix of intrigue and romance within an historical setting.
The opening scene pulled me right in as we are introduced to twenty-six-year-old Major George Merriegold on his return to his hometown in 1923, five years after the end of the First World War. His unexpected reacquaintance with someone he knew gives us a degree of insight into George’s character, his part-Persian heritage and former social circle. Highly decorated during the war and hailed as a hero by many, he is now expecting to spend a quiet and leisurely life. The scene made me wonder just where Merriegold had been and what he’d been doing since the end of the war. It doesn’t take long before we find out.
The novel is a roller-coaster ride that delves into Bolshevik activity and organised crime with its focus around Manchester. Against a background of unrest and discontent due to the treatment of many of the soldiers on their return from the war, and riots that threaten the social order of the time, George is recruited to MI5 – and must seek out the ring-leaders of a Bolshevik gang operating from his city.
Despite being born into an affluent family, Merriegold is more at home with the ‘lower’ classes dwelling in the notoriously rough districts of Manchester, notably ‘the Cally’. His childhood activities, running wild with gangs of these youngsters, go a long way in making him the man he becomes, and his connections to both upper and lower classes make him ideally suited to seek out villains from all walks of life. The rest of the cast play their parts beautifully, and intrigue, deception and double-dealing feature highly in the ongoing narrative. The Russian ‘plot’ and those involved, is full of twists and turns that kept me interested throughout.
Descriptions of the slums of the early 20th century Manchester, with its back-to-back terraces, seedy pubs and narrow, dark snickets, are excellent, and in sharp contrast to the stately home in which Merriegold grew up. The portrayal of life for both rich and poor is carefully constructed and I relished descriptions of the houses, clothing, cars, weapons (guns), policing methods foods and even the old telephones – to name just a few.
Merriegold is a great book for anyone who enjoys a good crime novel with well-drawn characters and a mix of intrigue and romance within an historical setting.
April 23, 2018
I have really enjoyed this book. Well-researched, well-written and with lots of unexpected twists. Five stars!
January 23, 2019
Great read
Tolladay once again had me enthralled with his style of writing. Another great book that I would highly recommend to you.
Tolladay once again had me enthralled with his style of writing. Another great book that I would highly recommend to you.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews