Category: Fiction

Adventure, spy and crime fiction novels.

The Hunt for Red October by Tom Clancy

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The Hunt for Red October by Tom Clancy

The Hunt for Red October by Tom Clancy

The Hunt for Red October was the first techno-thriller novel by Tom Clancy. It was published in 1984 by the Naval Institute Press and the U.S. President, at the time, Ronald Reagan said of it, that he had enjoyed reading the book. I’m not surprised, it’s a real page-turner.

It’s a clever plot, with a lot of detail. Russian Naval Captain Marko Ramius, who is of Lithuanian descent, is at sea with his nuclear submarine. The sub is called Red October, hence the books name, and it is bristling with state-of-the-art ballistic missiles. The submarine utilises a silent propulsion system called the caterpillar drive. This means that audio detection by passive sonar is near impossible – this is deeply concerning for the Americans.

He appears to have gone rogue.

We first see a name, Jack Ryan, which we all know now. Jack Ryan works for the Central Intelligence Agency as an analyst. Jack has a theory.  He believes that Ramius is intent on defecting to the United States.

Ramius kills the boats political officer, Ivan Putin, in case he tried to prevent him from defecting. He lies to the crew telling them that they are going to Cuba, but by this time the Russians are in hot pursuit having been notified of his plans by Ramius. The letter arrived after he had set sail.

The Russians pretend that they are on a search and rescue mission, but they will sink Red October if they have to.

As the Red October passes by Iceland whilst making its escape it comes close to the USS Dallas, a Los Angeles-class submarine. The American crew hear an unusual sound, the caterpillar drive, but they don’t initially think that it is as a submarine.

The Americans suspect the motives of the Russians and crews are on alert.

On the Dallas submarine the crew analyse the sonar tape again. They realise that what they heard was the new propulsion system of the Red October.

Jack Ryan then begins to work his magic.

Tom Clancy wrote many fantastic books in his career, but The Hunt for Red October has always been my personal favourite of his.

Buy the book or Audio of The Hunt for Red October by Tom Clancy from Amazon
.

Or buy the DVD from AMAZON

The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett

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The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett

The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett

American writer Dashiell Hammett wrote the classic novel The Maltese Falcon.

It was originally serialized, like many of Charles Dickens’ works, in the Black Mask magazine in 1929 to 30. The book was made into the classic film of the same name with actors Humphrey Bogart, Mary Astor, Gladys George, Sydney Greenstreet and incredible Peter Lorre.

Sam Spade is the main character and practises as a private detective, in partnership with Miles Archer, in San Francisco.

A glamorous beauty, Miss Wonderly, hires them to follow a man called Floyd Thursby, who she says has run away with her sister. Archer sets off to follow Thursby, but winds up dead that night. He’d been shot. Next Thursby gets himself killed and the police suspect Spade.

Miss Wonderly is unmasked. She is actually called Brigid O’Shaughnessy. It transpires that she is  on the hunt for a very valuable black statue of a falcon. She is not the only one. A shady Greek called Joel Cairo and Casper Gutman are also after the falcon. Gutman has in his service, one Wilmer Cook, a young, volatile, gun-totting thug. O’Shaughnessy will not spill the beans to Spade, though she is desperate for his help.

I can’t tell you the rest as it would spoil such a wonderful plot.

It is a story which is full of mystery, intrigue and thrills set off with a touch of the exotic.

Dashiell Hammett wrote this best seller novel, The Maltese Falcon, while living at 891 Post Street in downtown San Francisco. He is one of the worlds finest writers of detective novels and his work endures.

Where Eagles Dare by Alistair MacLean

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Where Eagles Dare by Alistair MacLean

Where Eagles Dare by Alistair MacLean

Alistair Maclean died in 1987, but what a legacy he left behind.

Alistair MacLean wrote the novel, Where Eagles Dare, at the same time as he wrote the screenplay. The 1968 film was shot on location in Bavaria and Austria. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer produced this classic film with stars such as Richard Burton, Clint Eastwood and Mary Ure. Both the book and the film were a major success.

Out of interest, the title comes from Act I, Scene III in William Shakespeare’s play Richard III: ‘The world is grown so bad, that wrens make prey where eagles dare not perch’.

The plot has various twists and turns. During the winter of 1943 to 44 U.S. Army Brigadier General George Carnaby is captured by the Germans. He is said to be a chief planner for the Western Front. The Germans take him to Schloß Adler to be interrogated. The castle can only be accessed by cable car or by helicopter.

A British Major, John Smith and a U.S. Army Ranger Lieutenant, Morris Schaffer (Clint Eastwood) are instructed on their mission by Colonel Turner and Admiral Rolland of Britain’s MI6. They are to be parachuted into Germany disguised as German troops with a team of commandos. Their mission – to rescue Carnaby before he can be interrogated.  They are dropped by a captured German Ju-52 transport plane. Smith secretly contacts agents Mary Ellison and Heidi Schmidt. The other commandoes do not know of their existence. Heidi gets Mary a job as a secretary at the castle.

Two of the commandoes are killed in suspicious circumstances, though Smith decides to continue the operation. He works closely with Shaffer and informs London of what is happening.

The commandos surrender to the Germans and Smith and Schaffer are separated from the enlisted men. Smith and Schaffer quickly kill the Germans who are guarding them and then get their escape route ready. They ride on top of the cable car and then climb up a rope, lowered by Mary, into the castle.

Carnaby is being interrogated by General Rosemeyer and Standartenführer Kramer. When the three captured enlisted men arrive, they identify themselves as German double agents.

The plot then gets quite tricky to follow. But it is worth staying with it as it is ingenious.

Where Eagles Dare by Alistair MacLean is a fantastic read and the film is a classic and one to watch over and over again. He is a great author in the style of Desmond Bagley and Hammond Innes.

Buy Where Eagles Dare from one of the worlds greatest authors and you will not be sorry.

The Firm by John Grisham

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The Firm by John Grisham

The Firm by John Grisham

 

The Firm, by John Grisham, is a cleverly plotted work of legal fiction written by John Grisham and published in 1991. It was immensely successful and was then, in 1993, made into a film with Jeanne Tripplehorn, Tom Cruise, and Gene Hackman. The Firm also spawned a television series in 2012.

This was Grisham’s second work, following A Time To Kill which was published in 1989. After The Firm’s success his first book then came to prominence and was also hugely successful, being made into a film. The film A Time To Kill starred Matthew McConaughey, Ashley Judd, Sandra Bullock, Samuel L. Jackson, Kevin Spacey, Kiefer Sutherland, Oliver Platt, Donald Sutherland and Patrick McGoohan.

The name of the main character, Mitchell “Mitch” McDeere, must be ingrained into the minds of all lawyers and prospective lawyers in North America and beyond and especially to tax specialists.

The novel has terrific pace and great character development as it races through its cerebral path and cat and mouse chase.

John Grisham is one of the heavyweights in the written fictional word and rightly so.

McDeeres graduated with a top degree in accountancy and then went on to graduate, third in his class, from Harvard Law School. He had two brothers, one died in Vietnam and one is in prison, a fact he would rather keep quiet.

He is married to a school teacher, Abby.

Mitch gets a superb financial offer from a law firm in Memphis, Bendini, Lambert and Locke, a small tax law firm based in Memphis. After joining he is under great pressure to study and pass the bar exam. Mitch is assigned to the maverick partner, Avery Tolar.

Shortly before McDeere starts, Marty Kozinski and Joe Hodge, two of the lawyers in the firm are killed in the Caymans Islands, in a scuba diving accident. Mitch goes to the funerals and then finds out that three other lawyers who worked for the firm also died. His suspicions are aroused and he contacts a fiend of his brother, Eddie Lomax. Lomax is a private investigator and he agrees to start working the case.

Suspicious, he hires a private investigator, Eddie Lomax, an ex-cellmate of his brother Ray, to investigate the deaths of the attorneys.

Lomax is killed, but not before he warns McDeere to be careful. He had found out that the other three lawyers had also died suspiciously.

McDeere is targeted by an FBI agent, Wayne Tarrance. He finds out that the FBI are watching the firm.

McDeere goes to Washington, D.C. on a business trip where he is informed by the FBI that the firm is a front. It looks after the financial affairs of the Chicago Morolto crime family.

McDeere’s work has been honest thus far, but the lawyers are gradually enmeshed in the criminal side of the firm including tax fraud and money laundering operation.

The lawyers, once drawn in cannot leave, if they try to then they are killed.

Mitch finds out that Kozinski and Hodge were in contact with the FBI when they were murdered.

The firm’s security chief, DeVasher, becomes suspicious that he is getting involved with the FBI.

McDeere agrees to assist the FBI in return for 2 million dollars and his brother, Ray’s release from prison. Tammy Hemphill, Lomax’s secretary, helps McDeere to copy thousands of incriminating documents at great personal risk.

A leak in the FBI leaves McDeere exposed and he escapes stealing 10 million, as he does so, from one of the firm’s Grand Cayman bank accounts.

The FBI indicts many of the present and former members of Bendini, Lambert and Locke. They also indict a large group of suspected members of the Morolto family. The charges range from money laundering to, the not so sexy, mail fraud.

Mitch, Abby and Ray then live a contented life in the Caymans, living off the money.

John Grisham is an American attorney, politician and novelist specialising in legal thrillers. In an interview on the Charlie Rose show in 2016, Grisham said that his favorite author is John le Carré. The New York Times said of the book, ‘Mr. Grisham, a criminal defense attorney, writes with such relish about the firm’s devious legal practices that his novel might be taken as a how-to manual for ambitious tax-law students.’

John Grisham is one of my favourite authors and The Firm, one of my top picks for a holiday read.

The Altman Code by Robert Ludlum

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The Altman Code by Robert Ludlum

The Altman Code by Robert Ludlum

The Altman Code is Robert Ludlum’s fourth book in the immensely popular Covert One series.

A photographer is cruelly killed on the docks in Shanghai, China. His crime? He took photographs of a cargo ship being loaded. The film is destroyed.

The US navy secretly follow a ship mid-ocean – the ship is Chinese, the cargo – believed to be lethal. Aboard are believed to be enormous quantities of chemicals. Chemicals which could be used to create WMD! Weapons of Mass Destruction!

The US President has no intention of seeing these weapons reach rogue elements in the already volatile Middle East.

The situation is immensely delicate.

After years of wrangling with the Chinese, they are close to agreement over human rights negotiations. The President does not want to jeopardise this, or to create an international incident.

Jon Smith, of Covert One, is deployed to find the evidence to incriminate the Chinese vessel. However, vital evidence is lost and an agent is killed. The options are narrowing.

Jon Smith’s mission is imperative and dangerous. The smoke and mirrors hide deadly secrets going to the heart of the powers governing China.

The Altman Code by Robert Ludlum is a thrilling read, as you might expect.

Mr Mercedes by Stephen King

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Mr Mercedes by Stephen King. A suprb thriller.

Mr Mercedes by Stephen King

 

The Sunday Express said that this novel, Mr Mercedes by Stephen King, was’the best thriller of the year’.

Stephen King has written over fifty worldwide best-selling books. Mr Mercedes was the first novel of his to feature the character, Bill Hodges.

Several of Stephen Kings books have been made into films such The Shawshank Redemption.

King was shortlisted for the CWA Gold Dagger Award for Mr Mercedes and won the prestigious Edgar Award for best novel for it. Mr Mercedes was also awarded the Goodreads Choice Award for the Best Mystery and Thriller of 2014.

Stephen King has also been awarded the National Book Foundation Medal, the National Medal of Arts and the Grand Master Award from the Mystery Writers of America.

No doubt, like many police officers Bill Hodges, cannot forget the cases that he couldn’t close. One particularly unpleasant case remains at the forefront of his mind. Early one morning at the opening of a jobs fair, eight people in the line-up of hundreds were killed.

They were killed by a madman who drove a stolen Mercedes into them. The deceased just wanted to improve their lives and the lives of their families on that morning and yet, their lives would cease that fateful day.

The horror of that day and the killer at large haunts Hodges. Then one day the fire is re-ignited in him. He receives a letter from someone claiming to be the killer. He says he will kill again.

Bill Hodges had never liked to see a criminal get away with a crime. He was intent that this killer would not repeat his crime, retirement or no retirement, he was going to get him!

Brady Hartsfield is intent on killing again, taunting Hodges just adds some spice to the event.  This time he is intent on killing many more.

Hodges and his buddies will do everything they can to catch the killer before it is too late.

This is a beautifully crafted novel with three dimensional characters and a fast paced, page turning plot from one of the masters of the craft.

Take the time to read this novel, Mr Mercedes, you will not be disappointed.

Mr Mercedes by Stephen King is available at World of Books.

The 18th Abduction by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro

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The 18th Abduction (Women's Murder Club - 18) by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro

The 18th Abduction (Women’s Murder Club – 18) by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro

 

James Patterson is a prolific writer having written 147 novels in his career and selling more than 300 million books. Though it may seem almost impossible to believe, he holds the New York Times record for the most number 1 New York Times Best sellers by an author – an incredible 67. A total of 114 of his novels have actually been in the list.

He has sold more novels than Dan Brown, Stephen King and John Grisham – all top authors in their own right.

Patterson was awarded the Literarian Award in 2015 by the National Book Foundation for his philanthropy in relation to books and reading.

James Patterson regularly works with highly respected co-authors such as Ashwin Sanghi, Candice Fox, Maxine Paetro, Andrew Gross, Mark Sullivan, Peter de Jonge and Michael Ledwidge and. He even co-authored with former U.S. President Bill Clinton writing the novel, The President Is Missing.

The 18th Abduction is another in the Women’s Murder Club series.

In San Francisco three schoolteachers disappear, all women. Soon the investigation becomes one of murder.

Detective Lindsay Boxer is under great pressure. Her husband, Joe Molinari, gets involved with a woman who has a startling revelation. She came from Eastern Europe and she says that she saw a high-profile war criminal from there in San Francisco.

The journalist, Cindy Thomas, researches the missing women and their backgrounds with startling discoveries. The woman who spoke to Joe unexpectedly disappears adding to the intrigue.

The threads of the mystery begin to merge and Lindsay, her husband Joe and the Women’s Murder Club combine their efforts to expose the international criminals at the root.

Believable, frightening and very readable.

The 18th Abduction by James Patterson is available to buy from Penguin books or Amazon. Between James Patterson and Maxine Paetro they have created a masterpiece in this fiction novel.

The Midnight Line by Lee Child

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The Midnight Line by Lee Child

The Midnight Line by Lee Child is another in the Jack Reacher series. I sometimes have to wonder how he comes up with some of his diverse and compelling ideas – but then I think who cares, as long as I get to read them.

Jack Reacher looks into the window of a Mid-western town pawn shop and is surprised to see a West Point class ring. It dates from 2005. So hard to come by, it seems sad and strange that it would be pawned.

Reacher had been to West Point and he couldn’t imagine someone willingly giving something such as this up – if it was willingly.

It belonged to a female cadet who had graduated.

Reacher suspects the ring may have been stolen. Reacher interrogates the pawnbroker who says that the ring was sold to him by Jimmy Rat. He’s a biker who is also a nasty bit of work. Reacher ‘deals with’ the biker’s only to find out that the West Point ring had previously been in the possession of Arthur Scorpio, a fence who also has a laundromat in Rapid City, South Dakota. Reacher knows that Rat will have told Scorpio about him.

Reacher arrives in Rapid City and comes across a detective called, Gloria Nakamura. She has been tracking Scorpio and has tried to build a case against him with little success.

Reacher also meets a private investigator called Terrence Bramall. The PI had been hired by a woman called Tiffany Jane Mackenzie. She was desperate to find her sister, who was, he finds out, the owner of the ring. Her name being, Serena Rose Sanderson.

Reacher tricks Scorpio’s men into abducting him before he show’s them who’s boss! Eventually Arthur Scorpio gives Reacher a name – Seymour Porterfield. Reacher finds that this was the man who gave Scorpio the ring. But Scorpio has sent someone to kill Reacher.

He is consumed with a desire to find the owner of the ring. He tracks her across America to the west and on to a town called Mule Crossing in Wyoming. The plot is a real rollercoaster with crooks, illegal drugs and pharmaceutical companies with little in the way of ethics.

But as always this comes with a price as he tackles dishonest cops, bikers, thugs and a whole host of villains.

The Midnight Line is Lee Child’s twenty-second Jack Reacher book and was released in 2017.

Lee Child is one of the foremost writers of fiction around today and it’s easy to see why.

 

The President is Missing by President Bill Clinton and James Patterson

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The President Is Missing by Bill Clinton and James Patterson

The President Is Missing by Bill Clinton and James Patterson

 

The President is Missing by President Bill Clinton and James Patterson has been available in Hardback since 4 Jun 2018.

Well – What can I say…. When could you read a political thriller about the US Presidency by a former US President and one of the worlds foremost writers? Now!!!

Whether you like it or not….it’s certainly a MUST READ!

It’s incredible and utterly enthralling and was always sure to give a heavy dose of authenticity to this novel.

Lee Child (one of my favourite writers) said of it, ‘The dream team delivers big time … Clinton’s insider secrets and Patterson’s storytelling genius make this the political thriller of the decade.’

Another great, Harlan Coben, said, ‘The President Is Missing is a big, splashy juggernaut of a novel, combining thrills with a truly authentic look at the inner happenings in Washington. I read it in one gulp. You will too.’

The Sunday Times said, ‘The plotting is immaculate… the writing is taut.’

Whilst the Daily Telegraph added, ‘A high-octane collaboration… the addictive qualities are undeniable.’

Two term President Bill Clinton, can give such an insight that few others could add to this fictional novel

James Patterson is one of the most famous writers ever, with worldwide sales of over 375 million.

The corridors of Washington are awash with intrigue and fear as an imminent attack of huge proportions is expected to occur against the US, by its enemies. Concerns grow of a traitor within, with even the shadow of suspicion falling on the President himself, who then disappears.

Reminiscent of the James Grady novel, Six Days of the Condor and the subsequent film Three Days of the Condor, the action in The President is Missing is also set over three days.

Threatening cyber-attack viruses, a buxom Bosnian assassin, chronic illness, the threat of impeachment are some of the troubles on the recently widowed Presidents mind… and then there is the ‘Sons of Jihad’ to deal with, if that want enough!

The destruction of America as a global super-power, is the end game.

The President is Missing by President Bill Clinton and James Patterson is a true epic and an exciting read and is well worth it!