New Books
""When men in police uniforms came to execute me on the roadside, beside dark fields, it was a definite sign that my new life was over." A regular at the local pub, a mainstay of the footy team, Mac Faraday is a man with a past living the quiet life of a country blacksmith. But when his best friend Ned Lowey is found hanged, Mac - who has learned the hard way never to accept things at face value - isn't convinced he committed suicide and starts asking questions. Why did Ned keep press cuttings about the skeleton of a girl found in an old mine shaft? What was he doing at Kinross Hall, the local detention centre for juvenile girls? Who was the beaten girl found naked beside a lonely road? As Mac's search for answers pushes deeper into the past, it resurrects the terrifying spectre of what he calls his 'old life', forcing him to turn to long-discarded skills not only to discover why his best friend died, but also to save his own life."
"A visit to her local prison brings DI Vera Stanhope face to face with an old enemy: former detective superintendent, and now inmate, John Brace. Brace was convicted of corruption and involvement in the death of a gamekeeper – and Vera played a part in his downfall.
Brace promises Vera information about the disappearance of Robbie Marshall, a notorious wheeler-dealer, if she will look out for his daughter and grandchildren. He tells her that Marshall is dead, his body buried close to St Mary’s Island in Whitley Bay. However, when a search team investigates, officers find not one skeleton, but two.
This cold case takes Vera back in time, and very close to home, as Brace and Marshall, along with a mysterious stranger known only as ‘the Prof’, were close friends of Hector, her father. Together, they were ‘the Gang of Four’, and Hector had been one of the last people to see Marshall alive. Vera must confront her prejudices and unwanted memories to dig out the truth, as the past begins to collide dangerously with the present . . ."
"Archdeacon Sidney Chambers is beginning to think that the life of a full-time priest (and part-time detective) is not easy. So when a bewitching divorcee in a mink coat interrupts Sidney's family lunch, asking him to help locate her missing son, he hopes it will be an open and shut case. The last thing he expects is to be dragged into the mysterious workings of a sinister cult, or to find himself tangled up in another murder investigation. But, as always, the village of Grantchester is not as peaceful as it seems. From the theft of an heirloom to an ominous case of blackmail, Sidney is once again rushed off his feet!"
The Spy / Thriller Novel
Once in awhile I've been honored to receive novels from authors for me to take a look at. Today I'll look at two spy novels that I received; one that I've read and one that is still awaiting my attention.
Synopsis - "The Initial Attack...
Friday morning at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport. Terminal A is bustling as business travelers await their flights, anxious to return home for the weekend. All of a sudden, information on arrival and departure monitors becomes distorted; pixels seem to melt away from the screen. Airline computer systems crash. Even the building’s lights and HVAC system shut down. Crowds form around flight desks, but no one knows what is happening. When extra security suddenly moves in, confusion turns to fear. Just as panic reaches its peak, the malfunctions mysteriously stop. Airport infrastructure performs an autonomous reboot, and operations eventually return to normal.
The Greater Threat...
The United States Intelligence Community is later summoned to a top secret meeting of the utmost importance: DFW Airport was hit with a highly sophisticated cyber attack. The perpetrators remain a mystery, the motive unclear. Even more alarming, evidence suggests something bigger is coming.
...and World Order Hanging in the Balance!
Cyber experts, cryptologists, and data scientists feverishly combine their skills to try and prevent the ultimate cyber attack—one on the scale of a cyber nuclear bomb!"
Review - "A first story by Paul Bartusiak, a technical thriller, that moves from the US to Russia. The premise is that someone; international techno spies, criminal cartels?, some person or organization has installed software into Dallas Fort Worth Airport's computer systems and other locations that cause everything to go haywire and then stops. Washington top brass meet to try and resolve and send CIA operative John Angstrom and a newly formed team across the world to stop the persons believed to be responsible for the cyber attacks, with the hope of preventing a future worse cyber disaster. Added to that, Angstrom has also assumed responsibility and fallen in love with an ex-Russian spy who is being hunted by Russian agents. Overall I enjoyed the story, specifically those parts dealing with Angstrom and his team, the spy craft, the action. At times it was a bit too technical for me, but how else can you explain a cyber disaster/ threat without being technical? Luckily for me, a relative computer neophyte, this portion was in the minority, with the action and character development playing the major role. I look forward to seeing if Paul Bartusiak will continue with this line of writing; what will happen to Angstrom in the future and will we see more of the mysterious agent, Magdos? A solid 3.5."
"Imagine being knocked over by a strange old man on a cold London morning…
The man delivers a garbled message about the Queen…
Moments later he falls under the wheels of a train…
The media calls it suicide, but you know better - something doesn’t quite add up….
That was the start of the day for John Daniel, a foreign professional working in the City of London.
Meanwhile, retired MI6 agent Adam Grey receives a call from an old informant: “Your service is rotten...”
Soon Adam is dragged out of retirement, and John is dragged into the murky world of international espionage, politics, and jihadi terrorism.
An intense and explosive thriller that hits frighteningly close to the truth for a work of fiction."
So there you go, a couple of books for you check out. Thank you again to the authors for sending them to me.
Tomorrow I'll be posting my mid-week song medley. I hope you enjoy.
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