The latest offering from a ‘much-published’ Exmouth author follows the ‘fraught’ relationships between a Georgian journalist and the Nazi minister of propaganda during World War Two.

Last Flight to Stalingrad is the fifth book in Graham Hurley’s World War Two series – The Spoils of War.

The latest book features the relationship between journalist Mikhail Magalashvili and Joseph Goebbels.

Mr Hurley, who recognises the series is a departure from his previous crime series, said the book is about ‘truths, half-truths and straight forward lies’.

He added: “In the age of fake news, it has lots to say about where we currently find ourselves. But there’s something else going on here, too, something infinitely more personal.”

Mr Hurley said the World War Two series has offered him the opportunity to mix real characters such as Goebbels with fiction ones like Magalashvili.

He added: “This is a very different challenge to writing series crime fiction, and involves a mountain of historical research, but lockdown has been perfect as I start the seventh book in the series, which makes me a very happy scribe.

“Book six, incidentally, is called Kyiv, and will be published in July, 2021.”

Mr Hurley said the book was a ‘deliberate departure’ from crime books – after writing 16 ‘cri-fi’ novels with the last four all set in East Devon.

He added: “I was beginning to tire of the police interview room and wanted to get back to bigger, slightly bolder books.”

The Exmouth-based author decided he wasn’t happy building a series around a single character so instead pitched the idea of ‘soft-linkage’.

“In essence, this means creating a central core of characters who come and go throughout the series, sometimes downstage, sometimes not,” said Mr Hurley.

“A handful are Brits. Others are German. A couple are American. But as the series develops, they interlink, deepening their own story and the series as a whole.”

Publisher Zeus agreed, and five books later he is preparing to release his sixth and a seventh is ‘in the works’.

Last Flight to Stalingrad will be available to buy from January.