Dublin Zoo is a dynamic thriller set in the interwar years, the story of Harold Bradshaw son of an Englishman and a Frenchwoman. Harold grows up in abject poverty in the northeast English midlands learning to speak flawless French at his mother’s knee. His father, Albert, in a classic rags to riches to rags story builds a business empire, only for it to be wounded in 1925 then crushed four years later by the Great Depression. Harold’s early life is shaped by his father’s travails, his mother’s illness and ultimately his parents’ gritty death. As a young adult, Harold discovers he has a unique ability calmly to inflict violence. It leads him indirectly to Katrina, an older woman who becomes his lover. But the affair ends in 1937 when Harold is sentenced to prison. With the onset of World War II, Harold is released into the clutches of a secret British unit seeking an unwitting French-speaking pawn. A gripping story ensues of intrigue, double-cross, romance and brotherly love. Events climax in a scintillating characterization of the book’s Dublin Zoo title.

About the Author

John Michell is a former diplomat and lawyer. A full-time writer since 2017, he currently resides in Brisbane, Australia.

Product details

Format: Paperback
Dimensions: US Trade (152mm x 228mm)
Pages: 406 pgs