Catherine McCullagh
Paperback 2025
This is a twisty murder mystery set in post-war London.
Having survived an invasion and an occupation, Irish policeman and former resistance leader Brendan O’Connor embarks on another impossible mission. It’s London, 1946, and a fascist plot threatens Britain’s precarious democracy. In a race against time, O’Connor hunts the plotters along a trail of blood and treachery, finding an unlikely ally in the man he hates obsessively, his former SS boss. Murder and Masquerade is alternate history, a tale of ruthless killing and betrayal. But it is also a tale of loyalty, friendship — and a double-cross that forces O’Connor into the most difficult decision of his life. Only his bloody-minded determination will prevent a return to tyranny and finally deliver him justice.
Catherine taught history, English and languages before turning to editing and then to writing. Her first published works were non-fiction, beginning with Willingly into the Fray, a centenary history of Australian Army nursing, followed by War Child, a ghost-written wartime memoir, and Unconquered, a co-authored tribute to the Sydney Invictus Games.
Her first historical novel, Dancing with Deception, was published in 2017 and was followed by Secrets and Showgirls in 2021. Love and Retribution was released in 2022, with Resistance and Revenge following in 2023 and Power and Obsession in 2024. Her latest novel, Murder and Masquerade, hit the bookshops at the end of 2025.
The book is published by Big Sky Publishing. It is available at Dymocks bookstores and a number of independent bookstores around Australia. It is also available online through Amazon and Booktopia in print and ebook.