Reading order
| # | Title | Published | Author | Buy on Amazon |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Stratton’s War | 2008 | Laura Wilson | N/A |
| 2 | Stratton’s War / The Innocent Spy | 2008 | Laura Wilson | Buy |
| 3 | An Empty Death | 2009 | Laura Wilson | Buy |
| 4 | A Capital Crime / The Wrong Man | 2010 | Laura Wilson | Buy |
| 5 | A Willing Victim | 2012 | Laura Wilson | Buy |
| 6 | The Riot | 2013 | Laura Wilson | Buy |
Laura Wilson’s DI Ted Stratton series follows a London Metropolitan Police detective through the 1940s and into the early 1950s. The first book, Stratton’s War, is set during the Blitz, and subsequent entries move through the later war years and the social changes that followed. Each novel presents a new murder case while the ongoing story of Stratton’s family, career, and romantic life develops in the background.
The series stands out for its research. Wilson recreates wartime and post-war London in close detail, from the workings of the black market to the daily reality of bomb-damaged streets. The crimes themselves often connect to larger issues of the era, including espionage, class tensions, and the displacement caused by the war. A Capital Crime, for instance, draws on the real-life case of serial killer John Christie.