Anthony Price.
The Labyrinth Makers.
Phoenix. 1970
David Audley is an unlikely spy: he works as an historian for the Ministry of Defence, strictly as a back-room man.
So when a new assignment lands on his desk, it comes as something of a surprise:
a WWII-era RAF Dakota plane has been discovered at the bottom of a drained lake – complete with the body of its pilot.
At the pilot’s much-belated funeral, David notices some uninvited mourners. Why are the Soviets so interested in the wreckage and its cargo? As the case deepens, David begins to question why he’s been tapped to lead the investigation. To what lengths would the government go in order to preserve the decades-old secrets at this watery gravesite, and just what was the plane carrying that is important enough to kill for…?