From the author of The Damned Utd and Red or Dead, an extraordinary novel about Britain, sport and our collective past.

February 6, 1958, British European Airways Flight 609 crashed on take-off at Munich Airport. On board were the young Manchester United team, ‘the Busby Babes’, and the journalists who followed them. Twenty-one of the passengers died instantly, four were left fighting for their lives while six more were critically injured.

Munichs is the story of the crash and its aftermath, of those who survived and those who did not, of how Britain and football changed, and how it did not; a novel of tragedy, but also of hope.

‘Profound . . . A brilliant, brilliant book.’ DAVID WHITEHOUSE
‘Luminous and illuminating . . . completely gripping.’ ASHLEY HICKSON-LOVENCE
‘Powerful.’ TARIQ GODDARD

Readers loved Munichs:

‘A brilliant read that provokes so many emotions. Superbly captured the grief of a city and indeed a nation.’ ?????
‘A phenomenal read. It’s for everyone regardless of football allegiances – totally brilliant!’ ?????
‘A gripping and intense from beginning to end, evoking a profound sense of heartbreak. Powerful and moving.’ ?????
‘Astonishing. The grief, the sadness, the guilt and the turmoil. It’s all here. A brilliant read.’ ?????

From the author of The Damned Utd and Red or Dead, an extraordinary novel about Britain, sport and our collective past.

February 6, 1958, British European Airways Flight 609 crashed on take-off at Munich Airport. On board were the young Manchester United team, ‘the Busby Babes’, and the journalists who followed them. Twenty-one of the passengers died instantly, four were left fighting for their lives while six more were critically injured. Twenty-four hours later, Jimmy Murphy, the assistant manager of Manchester United, faced the press at the Rechts der Isar Hospital:

‘What of the future, you ask? It will be a long, hard struggle. It took Matt Busby, Bert Whalley and myself twelve years to produce the 1958 Red Devils. It was long, hard, tiring work, but we succeeded. At the moment, I am so confused, so tired and so sad, I cannot think clearly, but what I do know is that the Red Devils will rise again.’

Munichs is the story of how Manchester United rose again, of the crash and its aftermath, of those who survived and those who did not, of how Britain and football changed, and how it did not; a novel of tragedy, but also of hope.

‘Profound . . . A brilliant, brilliant book.’
DAVID WHITEHOUSE

‘Powerful.’
TARIQ GODDARD

Tokyo, July 1949. President Shimoyama, Head of the National Railways of Japan, goes missing. American Detective Harry Sweeney leads the missing person’s investigation.

Fifteen years later, the city prepares for the 1964 Olympics and the global spotlight. Hideki Murota, a private investigator, is given a case which forces him to confront a crime he’s been hiding from.

Over twenty years on, late 1988. The Emperor Showa is dying. Donald Reichenbach, an ageing American, knows the final reckoning of the greatest mystery of the Showa Era is down to him.

‘I was knocked out, transported and lost in David Peace’s Tokyo . an extraordinary novel.’ Hideo Yokoyama

‘Many novels are hyped as “polyphonic”, but Peace’s now complete Tokyo trilogy truly is, brilliantly summoning forth multiple voices in the soundscape of a city gripped by seismic change.’ Guardian, Book of the Day

‘Typically brilliant … A murder mystery set in 1949 Japan during the US occupation it has all of Peace’s usual flair for language and characterization.’ ADRIAN MCKINTY, author of The Chain

Tokyo, July 1949, President Shimoyama, Head of the National Railways of Japan, goes missing just a day after serving notice of 30,000 job losses. In the midst of the US Occupation, against the backdrop of widespread social, political and economic reforms – as tensions and confusion reign – American Detective Harry Sweeney leads the missing person’s investigation for General MacArthur’s GHQ.

Fifteen years later and Tokyo is booming. As the city prepares for the 1964 Olympics and the global spotlight, Hideki Murota, a former policeman during the Occupation period, and now a private investigator, is given a case which forces him to go back to confront a time, a place and a crime he’s been hiding from for the past fifteen years.

Over twenty years later, in the autumn and winter of 1988, as the Emperor Showa is dying, Donald Reichenbach, an aging American, eking out a living teaching and translating, sits drinking by the Shinobazu Pond in Ueno, knowing the final reckoning of the greatest mystery of the Showa Era is down to him.

In 1974, Liverpool Football Club and Bill Shankly stood on the verge of even greater success. In England and in Europe. But in 1974, Bill Shankly shocked Liverpool and football. Bill Shankly resigned. Bill Shankly retired.

Red or Dead is the story of the rise of Liverpool Football Club and Bill Shankly. And the story of the retirement of Bill Shankly. Of one man and his work. And of the man after that work. A man in two halves. Home and away. Red or dead.

Tokyo, January 26th, 1948. As the third year of the US Occupation of Japan begins, a man enters a downtown bank. He speaks of an outbreak of dysentery and says he is a doctor, sent by the Occupation authorities. Clear liquid is poured into sixteen teacups. Sixteen employees of the bank drink this liquid according to strict instructions. Within minutes twelve of them are dead, the other four unconscious. The man disappears along with some, but not all, of the bank’s money. And so begins the biggest manhunt in Japanese history.

In Occupied City, David Peace dramatises and explores the rumours of complicity, conspiracy and cover-up that surround the chilling case of the Teikoku Bank Massacre: of the man who was convicted of the crime, of the legacy of biological warfare programmes, and of the victims and survivors themselves.

August 1946. One year on from surrender and Tokyo lies broken and bleeding at the feet of its American victors.

Against this extraordinary historical backdrop, Tokyo Year Zero opens with the discovery of the bodies of two young women in Shiba Park. Against his wishes, Detective Minami is assigned to the case; as he gets drawn ever deeper into these complex and horrific murders, he realises that his own past and secrets are indelibly linked to those of the dead women and their killer.