Pre-order Dead Drop from Linen Press from 20 October
Malby’s novel proves once and for all that thrillers can be both hugely compelling and beautifully written. This is virtuosic storytelling, as vibrant as a Klimt painting, as lyrical as a Viennese waltz, as atmospheric as a Carol Reed film. I loved it.
– Jonathan P Taylor, author and Senior Lecturer in Creative Writing at the University of Leicester
An exquisitely written, poetic journey through the underbelly of Vienna’s artworld, Dead Drop is littered with secrets and laced with tension. F C Malby is a writer to watch!
– Jane Isaac, best-selling author of crime thrillers
Leisl is an art thief and an exceptionally good one. She steals priceless paintings from Vienna’s art galleries and delivers them to private collectors. This life of anonymous notes and meticulous planning, of adrenaline-fuelled dead drops and dramatic escapes, suits her restless spirit and desire for solitude and anonymity. But when Leisl finds a body on Stephansplatz underground steps instead of the expected note, she understands that she’s involved in a deadly game and that her own life is in danger.
A fast-paced, intelligent thriller that exposes the undercover world of art heists and takes us on a roller-coaster ride through Vienna’s renown galleries and museums as skilled art thief, Leisl, steals and returns paintings to private collectors. Until she comes up against a truth that makes her question everything she knows.
F.C. MALBY 