This book was originally released in 1981 with the title "Hidden Faces". It is set in the 1970's and revolves around a Scottish reporter, Neil Bannerman, who is sent to Brussels by his editor to report on the EU. A series of murders soon follow his arrival in Brussels and an attempt on his own life leads Bannerman into an alliance with Detective Du Maurier This was an excellent political thriller with some issues in the EU still current today. It is well written and researched, with interesting characters and a very well thought out plot. I don't know how I missed the original version but I highly recommend reading this in January. Thank you to Net Galley for my ARC. A very easy 5* read.

This is a book, Hidden Faces, that was written at the beginning of Peter May's writing career, set at the end of the 1970s in Brussels, Belgium. According to May, he has lightly revised the novel that begins with Edinburgh Post's cynical and lauded investigative journalist, Neil Bannerman, aware that the cuts at the newspaper with its move into more tabloid territory under the ruthless new editor, Wilson Tait, might lead to him having a limited future at the paper. To get rid of him temporarily, Tait sends him to Brussels to report on the EU, staying with Tim Slater, the reporter based there. Less than happy with his latest assignment, he finds Slater less than welcoming, but surprisingly connects with Tim's autistic daughter, Tania, and her carer, Sally Robertson. Ex-army soldier Kale is a ruthless assassin for hire, known for his abilities and rewarded accordingly. He is travelling to Brussels to make meticulous preparations for the planned killing of two men, one of whom is a British Minister thought to have a glittering future in front of him, popular within the party as it prepares for a general election.

Amidst the dreary drabness of the rain and snow, the author gives us an atmospheric picture of this bygone era, the apathetic bureaucratic and political circles in Europe, the journalists that co-exist to report on what they are fed, worrying about their careers, hungry for an exclusive. The British Minister and Tim Slater are discovered dead in a tableau that appears to suggest the men killed each other. Tania Slater had the misfortune to be at the scene of the deaths, glimpsing the killer, left traumatised and placed in a children's psychiatric hospital in the city. As the British authorities and the EU collude to shut down the story, the Detective du Maurier forges a relationship with Bannerman and informs him that the men were definitely murdered. Forced to make an alliance with an ex-colleague, Richard Platt, a man he dislikes, Bannerman scrabbles to find leads that might explain why the men were killed. However, he has little idea of the danger he is in or the powerful forces that will do anything to get him to stop investigating.

This was an engaging thriller with issues in the EU that resonate today in our contemporary politics. Bannerman makes a interesting protagonist with a past that haunts him. As a younger and more arrogant man, he found himself in a position which he could not cope with and dealt with badly, but the repercussions have followed him through the years, eating into his confidence and abilities to sustain a long term relationship. His connection with Tania is what makes him seem so much more human than the ruthless and ambitious reporter that he is, he has sufficient self awareness to dislike this aspect of himself and its requirements in his profession. Definitely an entertaining, tense and suspenseful novel with well drawn characters that captures that period of time in history well. Thanks to Quercus for an ARC.

I enjoy reading Peter May books and really enjoyed his China Thrillers and the Lewis Trilogy so I was really looking forward to this one. The book was originally released in 1981 under the title 'Hidden Faces' but re-released next year as 'The Man with no face'.
This novel is about Scottish reporter Colin Bannerman who is sent to Brussels to write a series of articles about the Common Market. His editor asks him to stay at the home of a man named Slater, a newspaper colleague who Bannerman dislikes for the duration of his visit. While staying at Slater's home Bannerman gets attached to Tania Slater's young, autistic daughter and a strange relationship is made. Not long after Bannerman's arrival , Slater and a junior minister at the EEC, Robert Gryffe, are assassinated and Tania witnesses the crime resulting with the murderer been given instructions to kill her. While the local police are instructed to cover-up the double murder for political reasons, Bannerman is determined to find out and reveal the truth.
Well written with a well thought out plot.
I would like to thank both Net Galley and Quercus books for supplying me with a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.