Reading order
| # | Title | Published | Author | Buy on Amazon |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ring Of Terror | 1995 | Michael Gilbert | Buy |
| 2 | Into Battle | 1997 | Michael Gilbert | Buy |
| 3 | Over and Out | 1999 | Michael Gilbert | Buy |
The Luke Pagan trilogy was among Michael Gilbert’s last works of fiction, written when the author was in his eighties. The three novels follow a young solicitor in Edwardian and wartime London who becomes entangled in the world of espionage and political intrigue. Ring Of Terror (1995) introduces Pagan and the shadowy intelligence operations that will shape his life, while Into Battle and Over and Out carry the story forward through the upheavals of the early twentieth century.
Gilbert drew on his lifelong interest in legal procedure and intelligence work for these books. The historical setting gave him room to explore the origins of Britain’s modern security services, and Pagan’s dual identity as both a lawyer and a reluctant spy provided natural tension. The trilogy reads as a summation of many themes Gilbert had explored throughout his career: the overlap between law and deception, the moral costs of secret work, and the texture of London life in times of danger.