SUMMER SIZZLERS
Books To Keep You Cool In This Season
By Bailey Beckett
This summer is expected to be a record travel season, as millions of people head to the beach, or far away destinations. Here, our take on thrillers, mysteries and suspense novels that will guarantee to take you out of your world.
TRIANGLE OF TREASON
(Fitzrovia Press)
Bob Richards
A taut WW2 thriller with a surprise setting is at the heart of Bob Richards’ new novel Triangle of Treason, which reveals the strategic importance of Bermuda for the Allies during the war. The book’s page-turning stories of high stakes espionage—its main character is a retired British Captain turned Hitler spy—provides summer escapism with more than a splash of history lesson. And there’s no one better to tell it than author Richards, a native of Bermuda who rose to become the country’s Minister of Finance. Trading a spread sheet for a hard cover, Richards proves he knows the formula for crafting a compelling story as well.
Bob Richards: “I always loved boats. I grew up hearing endless stories from my parents about the war. So, I melded these two elements into a fictional story during that era involving my favorite subjects: ferries, submarines, and WW2 history. I hope the takeaway is how unique Bermuda really is, being shaped from inception back in the 1600’s, and by the intersection of the three elements: the British, the American and the Caribbean.”
THE PALE TIGER
(Echo Point Books & Media, LLC)
Mike Harrison
A crash at sea between American and Chinese warships unleashes a global web of intrigue, espionage, conspiracy and run up to war as the superpowers prepare for battle in the Pacific. A geo-political thriller, The Pale Tiger is eerie prescient to modern headlines, and uses those rising tensions as the starting point to a plot brimming with unexpected twists and turns, danger, suspense and the unthinkable. It’s not all guns and daggers, either, as Harrison—a former finance executive and lawyer—shows that wars are no longer fought just on the battlefield but through markets, tech, and back-channel intelligence.
Mike Harrison: “I wanted to bring these characters to life—and against the backdrop of a geopolitical crisis that’s real and relevant. How America deals with the rise of China is the Great Power challenge of the 21st century and should be on all our minds. I was also keen to stretch the characters, to really test them, giving them scope to fail or rise to the challenges. The locations are also characters, especially Hong Kong and London."
IN RED WEATHER
(IN RED WEATHER)
Daniel Cameron
A real-life spy-thriller featuring the unlikeliest of moles: Daniel Cameron, one of classical music’s most respected PR men. In a past life, he was a case officer for the CIA during the Vietnam era, working from Southeast Asia to thwart efforts by the Viet Cong and the race for influence and control by Russia and China. Cameron recalls in stunning detail plots to steal guidance systems, sabotage missiles and plots to overthrow governments, all the while painting a vivid picture of living in the region and falling in love with its people and culture.
Daniel Cameron: “It is an unexpectedly lyrical yet down-to-earth portrayal of growing up in the ‘30s and ‘40s in New York; a look into the dangerous and often tedious game of spying, replete with human mistakes, derring-do, and betrayal; and often it’s a literary flight-of-fancy about people’s inner choices and peculiarities. It’s also a book about the ineffable underlying cultural, social, and religious customs of Java. Despite being the world’s largest Muslim country, Indonesia is still imbued with a pre-Islamic pantheism. Many decisions—personal and political—are subject to this mystical force.”
