On a sunny morning in the English county of Shropshire, Callum Bremner is standing in a prison allotment waiting to be shot.
The opening gambit of a sophisticated operation to penetrate the
highest echelon of the Albanian mafia, the stakes could not be higher –
either for him personally or, given the huge political and reputational
risks in play, his controllers.
In an ever-changing tapestry of competing interests, nothing can be taken at face value. Shifting alliances
and violence – where loyalty and trust are repeatedly questioned – failure invokes fearful retribution.
Convincingly living a lie comes at a cost and, as he learns, tests
his values, beliefs and courage: a world in which wise men sleep with a
sword in their hand.
A multiple-perspective international crime thriller set in the present day.
About the Author :
Having completed thirty-six years military service, Tom spent
three fulfilling years in Afghanistan attempting to disarm warlords.
This led him to set up his own company specialising in crisis
management. In quieter moments, free from the remorseless tyranny of
demanding deadlines, he once again picked up the pen.
Influenced by Cornwell, Clancy, Archer and Forsyth – and a devoted
fan of Ian Rankin and James Grant writing as Lee Child – it was actually
reading Frank Gardner’s Crisis and immediately thereafter, Ultimatum,
which provided the inspiration to attempt his own book. Sharing a
similar background to Gardner’s principal character – Luke Carlton –
explains why he chooses to write under a pseudonym. Helpfully, having
spent much of his professional life advising ministers, ambassadors and
heads of foreign governments, colouring-in the storyline’s political
backdrop proved to be fun and comparatively stress-free.
Quite deliberately, the book’s narrative only involves countries,
cities and streets of which the Author has personal knowledge; the
corridors, alleyways, cafes and exotic locations are all, or once were,
familiar haunts. The exception, which he invented, is an open prison in
the English county of Shropshire, near to home on the banks of his
beloved River Severn.
