The Blaines Trilogy is a loosely connected series of novels dealing with intelligence work in World War II and the Cold War.
This is a trilogy only in an informal and retrospective sense. The links between the books are unobtrusive and developed almost without my noticing. These are espionage novels, but with a difference - the private lives of the spies and their families are more important than their public actions. Indeed, the former tend to influence the latter, often in unexpected ways.
The books are linked not only by theme but also by Eric Blaines, a shadowy figure in the British espionage community (who first appeared in the third Dougal novel, Our Fathers' Lies, and who also has a part to play in the fourth Lydmouth novel, The Suffocating Night). In Blacklist, Blaines is central to the storyline. In Toyshop, he plays an important, but lesser role, and in The Second Midnight, he is barely visible on the periphery. But he is always there - gross in mind and body, sardonic, ruthless and sad.
