Directive Sixteen

About the Book

The Kiernans are a wealthy Catholic family, whose loyalties in the second world war have become hopelessly divided. Lord Dunkerry had married a German heiress before the Great War and their two sons have grown up bilingual. Elder boy, Mark, is a tearaway, who, having been expelled from Eton, drifted into the Spanish civil war on the side of the Falangists, emerging as a candidate for Hitler’s SS. Adrian goes to Sandhurst and gets commissioned into the Life Guards. When Mark boards a military glider as part of the plan to invade Britain, a fatal showdown seems inevitable.

About the Author

Dick Leech was educated at Truro School, Cornwall, and the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst. He lost his army career after being seriously wounded in action. He studied as a mature student at St. Martin's School and Goldsmith's College in London; worked as a professional artist on cruise ships, then in the United States, Europe and the Mediterranean, besides teaching for five years in England. He works mainly on commissions now, including a Prime Minister, several large group portraits and racehorse Desert Orchid. He is writing a second novel. Leech is married with three grown-up children.