Good Guys & Bad Guys
Lucifer by Michael Cordy
Michael Cordy has been described by some critics as the British answer to Michael Crichton. Boris hadn’t read any of Michael Cordy’s books before, but if this is typical of his novels then they could well be right. ‘Lucifer’ is set in the near future when the Roman Catholic Church has seen many of its members leave to join the newly established ‘Church of the Soul Truth’. Xavier Accosta, the ‘Red Pope’ and its leader needs the help of science to prove once and for all that there is life after death and who better to prove this premise than the brilliant Dr Miles Fleming, brilliant young neuroscientist and confirmed atheist. Fleming’s search for the truth however soon places him in deadly danger as he uncovers a terrifying plot and finds himself starting to believe that there is a Heaven and a Hell!
The Black Sun by James Twining
Former art thief Tom Kirk and his former fix/fence Archie are now going straight and are investigating art robberies on behalf of clients. In London an Auschwitz survivor is murdered and his left arm severed and taken. In the NSA museum in the USA, a security guard is brutally murdered and an Enigma machine stolen. A robbery from a Synagogue in Prague of a seemingly worthless painting doesn’t seem out of the ordinary to Tom until the stolen painting turns up alongside the severed arm. Then Tom is approached by an agent of the British Intelligence Services and asked to help investigate these crimes. Old adversary Cassius soon appears on the scene and an elaborate trail of clues leads from Idaho to St Petersburg and a secret order of SS Knights and the closing days of World War II. Soon Tom , Archie and Tom’s young assistant Dominique find themselves in terrible danger as they race Cassius for a deadly prize that has lay buried for 60 years.
The Stretch by Stephen Leather
Samantha ‘Sam’ Greene’s husband Terry is a gangster, there’s no other word for it and fate finally catches up with him when he is jailed for a murder he says he didn’t commit. Sam has two options to walk away from the criminal empire her husband’s built up, or to take it over. As far as she ‘s concerned, there is no choice. All the family’s assets are tied up in the ‘family business’ and to Sam family means more than anything else in the world. As Sam takes one her new role and gets drawn ever deeper into the treacherous world of drug-dealing and counterfeit money, Sam begins to realise the true extent of Terry’s illegal activities. Things become very complicated when Terry’s conviction is quashed and he is released from prison. Can Sam ever trust Terry again and should she?
A Thousand Suns by Alex Scarrow
The discovery of a wrecked wartime B17 off the New England coast seems like a good photo opportunity for freelance photographer Chris Roland. How did the wreck come to be there and why are there no records of it? Chris soon realises that he has stumbled upon a mystery stretching back to the final dark days of the Second World War.Could the Nazis have discovered a weapon so terrible that the very existence of the human race was threatened? Was Hitler prepared to gamble all on a last desperate throw of the dice? The story moves between the present day and the final days of Nazi Germany as Hitler’s scientists finish assembling a terrible weapon of awesome destruction and a crew of airman train to fly a plane that shouldn’t exist. As Chris digs further for the truth, he discovers that some will kill to stop it ever being revealed.
Temple By Matthew Reilly
Professor William Race’s quiet life in academia changes forever when he is asked to help the US Military in finding a lost Incan idol carved out of a strange alien stone which could be used as a weapon of mass destruction. The only clues to the idols whereabouts is a 400 year old manuscript written by a young Franciscan missionary sent to convert the Incas. Race soon finds himself in the midst of a terrifying adventure and facing both animal and human foes and having to take life threatening decisions that no-one should ever be called upon to make. A roller coaster of adventure from page 1 to 763, this is not for the squeamish or faint-hearted, cat lovers also beware. For everyone else, read and enjoy.
Seven Ancient Wonders by Matthew Reilly
Australian Jack West Jr. and his team of international nine men & women drawn from the small nations are the heroes & heroines of Matthew Reilly’s latest thriller. The world faces cataclysm in ten years time when the arrival of the Tartarus, a rare solar event is due to take place. Throughout history every 4,000 to 4,500 years the Tartarus has brought disaster on a worldwide scale causing the biblical great Flood and other catastrophes. The last time the Tartarus appeared however, the Egyptians averted disaster by use of the Golden Capstone on the Great Pyramid. After the event the seven pieces of the Capstone were hidden in Wonders throughout the Ancient World. Jack and his team must find the pieces to avert the catastrophe, but an European consortium and the Americans are also racing to find them for they know that ownership of the Capstone and performance of an ancient ritual at the time of the Tartarus brings unimaginable power to the nation holding it. As usual Matthew Reilly has written a fast paced, exciting thriller and Jack West is a worthy successor to those who have gone before.
Last Light by Alex Scarrow
When Sunni holy mosques in Mecca and Medina are bombed and then oil refineries in Venezuela are targeted, oil production stops in these major suppliers and the scenario that engineer Andy Sutherland predicted in a report many years ago, unfolds before his eyes. Andy is out in Iraq and is worried about his family back in England. Wife Jenny is in Manchester, daughter Leona is away at University and son Jake is at boarding school. Andy knows that the family must group together for safety, as the norms of society break down in the ensuing chaos. Not able to contact his wife, Andy manages to phone Leona and tells her to fetch Jake from school and go with him to friends of theirs in London. Setting out on their separate nightmarish journeys, Andy & Jenny are both beset by dangers along the way. Meanwhile, unbeknown to them, a killer is stalking Leona and she is in deadly danger for something she saw as a child, the day her father handed over his report.
Ice Station by Matthew Reilly
An amazing discovery has been made at a remote US ice station in Antarctica. Buried deep below the surface inside 400 million years old ice is what appears to be an alien spacecraft. Lieutenant Shane Schofield & his crack team of US Marines are sent to secure the bizarre discovery for their own nation. Arriving at the ice station, Shane & co find some French scientists apparently assisting the Americans, but all is not as it seems and very soon Shane & his team are fighting for their lives against French commandos. Shane & co prevail, but then face a new threat from the British SAS and even from dark forces within the US Military. Not only that, but even nature seems to have turned against them and they have to contend with Killer Whales and mutant Elephant Seals. A fast moving and exciting novel, but not for the faint hearted, or those of a nervous disposition. Boris couldn’t look at a fish finger for weeks!
Warning - Not recommended for Seal or Whale lovers. You’ll never look at them in the same way ever again. Boris.
The Sanctuary by Raymond Khoury
Boris read Raymond Khoury’s ‘The Last Templar’ last year, as did Mrs B and both of us thought it an excellent read. This too is another well written thriller this time on the theme of the search for the secret of eternal life, with two stories running in parallel, one in the 18th century, the other in the modern day. In Portugal in 1705, Sebastian a young man in the service of the Inquisition is bequeathed an ancient half-burnt book which sets him on an incredible, perilous journey to complete the quest he’s been asked to fulfil. In South Lebanon in 2006, Evelyn Bishop, an American Professor of Archaeology is approached by an old associate who has a book he is desperate to sell her, a book with a strange symbol tooled into its cover, the circular motif of a snake feeding on its own tail. Evelyn recognizes the symbol, but has no idea of the dangers which now lay before her, for others want the book and will kill to obtain it. The fast paced story moves between the present and the past to a nail-biting conclusion.
The Dark River by John Twelve Hawks
The Dark River follows on from ‘The Traveller’ which Boris thought was one of the best books that he had read last year. Gabriel Corrigan the Traveller , protected by his Harlequin bodyguard, Maya, continue their age long battle against the Brethren, known to their enemies as the Tabula. Michael, Gabriel’s brother has gone over to the Tabula and is actively helping them. Set back by the destruction of their quantum computer, the Tabula are working on a computer programme called ‘Shadow’, which they are testing out in Berlin. When news comes that the brother’s father Matthew Corrigan may still be alive, both Gabriel and Michael set out to find him and Gabriel sets out on a journey from which he may never return. Boris can’t wait for the final book in the trilogy!
The Traveller by John Twelve Hawks
Set towards the end of this decade this is the first book in a planned series which tell of a world which has become a cyber 1984 where technology monitors every human beings actions from day rise to nightfall, from cradle to grave. It tells of a world where some people considered dangerous rebels live ‘off the grid’. Some called Travellers offer hope for the future, but ‘The Vast Machine’ which controls humans lives can tolerate no deviation from what it perceives as the norm and Travellers are hunted down and killed. Harlequins, fierce fighters are sworn to protect Travellers and this is the tale of one called Maya, a tough young woman who takes on the task of protecting Gabriel and Michael, one or both of whom could be Travellers themselves. Boris really enjoyed this book which was refreshingly different and can’t wait for the next one in the series.
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The Gilded Seal by James Twining
James Twining’s third novel about former art thief Tom Kirk, now an investigator into art thefts ( poacher turned gamekeeper) is as fast paced and well plotted as his first two( The Double Eagle & The Black Sun) which Boris has previously reviewed. Whilst investigating the theft of a priceless Da Vinci, Kirk hears of the torturous death by crucifixion of an old friend and thinking that he may be next on the killers list decides to look into the murder. Meanwhile on the other side of the Atlantic, Special Agent Jennifer Brown is investigating an arts forgery case which could bring the reputations of two global art auction businesses into serious disrepute. Following a lead to Paris, Jennifer meets up with Tom. Very soon they realise that both of their cases are connected and discover a conspiracy dating back to the Emperor Napoleon which involves a priceless treasure of the Palais du Louvre.
The Double Eagle by James Twining
Tom Kirk is a brilliant young art thief who undertakes what he hopes will be his final job before getting out of the game. Only problem is that he didn’t realise the job he’d undertaken was on behalf of Cassius a sinister criminal mastermind. In Paris a priest has been murdered and his autopsy reveals that just before death he’d swallowed a coin that shouldn’t exist, one of the fabled US Double Eagles. A young, ambitious FBI agent, Jennifer Browne is assigned to the case and given a chance to resurrect her stalled career. Her investigation soon reveals a daring robbery from Fort Knox and Tom Kirk becomes her prime suspect. Tom soon finds himself on the run in a race against time to clear his name. Moving swiftly from London to Paris, Amsterdam to Instanbul Tom searches for the real thieves and the legendary coin.
Resurrection Day by Brendan DuBois
Having grown up in the 50’s & 60’s Boris is only well aware of how close we came to a nuclear war during that time and especially during the ‘Cuban Missile Crisis’. This book first published in 1999 visualises a world ten years on from the ‘Cuban Missile Crisis’, a world where the USA & USSR went to war and nuclear bombs fell on their major cities. Russia is decimated, California virtually destroyed and Washington D.C. Lies beneath a vast crater lake. President Kennedy and Vice President Johnson and their families have disappeared and the USA a second-rate power under martial law is dependent upon the British for aid. Carl Landry a young Boston newspaper reporter arrives at the scene of the murder of a veteran of the ‘62 war’. Landry begins to doubt that the man was the victim of a burglary gone wrong and suspects that this man who was in the White House War Room in 1962 may have taken secrets with him to the grave. When Landry then becomes involved with a reporter from the London ‘Times’ he becomes involved in a web of conspiracy and deception that make him question who really did push the button that started the war.
