A quintessentially British comedy thriller about D-Day, Crosswords and Chess.
It’s hard to keep a million-man invasion a secret. Very hard. But the Allies looked like they were going to pull it off. That was until D-Day codewords began appearing in cryptic crosswords in the national press, all set by one Carl Bookman. You’d assume Bookman was a German spy, wouldn’t you? But would you think the same if Carl Bookman was your grandfather?
Crossword Ends in Violence (5) is the story of John Fellowes’ quest for the truth about the grandfather he had always idolised. He is helped along the way by his colleagues, Turner, a deeply embittered Chess grandmaster, and Overend, a hyper-intelligent Bridge player. And they are helped along by Amanda, a frustrated accountant. Throw in a gulag, some computer hacking and a trip to Bletchley Park and the result is a quintessentially British comedy thriller.