The Horse Changer
Page 32
MORE GREAT WRITING FROM CRAIG SMITH
THE PAINTED MESSIAH
Legend persists that, after the scourging of Christ, Pilate commanded that his victim be painted from life. Somewhere, the portrait survives, the only true image of the Messiah, granting everlasting life to those who possess it.
Wealthy young English widow, Kate Kenyon, and antique bookseller, Ethan Brand, get their thrills from armed robbery. Their latest target is a priceless ‘Byzantine’ icon. Until now, they’ve never had to shoot anyone. This time things will be different.
Retired CIA man, TK Malloy, is hired by a rich but ailing televangelist to courier his newly acquired painting from a Zurich bank to the local airport. Malloy anticipates trouble, but not the maelstrom of bullets and betrayal that threatens to pull him under.
Sir Julian Corbeau is an international criminal holed up in Switzerland to avoid US extradition. He is also the sadistic head of the modern Knights Templar. He had the painting and now he seeks bloody revenge on those who stole it.
As the contenders vie for possession and the body count rises, the secrets of the painting gradually unfold to reveal how an object depicting the Light of the World could exert so malignant an influence on all who possess it.
“I got paper friction burns on my fingers and pressure sores elsewhere because I could barely move until I’d finished it. Things were so tense that at several points I had to remind myself to breathe.”
Dovegreyreader
“A marvellously thrilling book… the distinction between villain and hero is constantly blurred… a most enthralling story.”
Paul Docherty, author of the Hugh Corbett mysteries
£7.99 978-1-905802-15-9
THE BLOOD LANCE
KUFSTEIN, AUSTRIA 1939
At the foot of a mountain lies the body of an SS officer, his neck broken, his face a picture of bliss and serenity. Known to history as Otto Rahn, Himmler’s personal Grail hunter, his quest for the legendary Blood Lance of the Cathars has set in motion a vicious cycle of violence that will last for seventy years.
THE SWISS ALPS, 1997
Lady Katherine Kenyon celebrates her honeymoon on the perilous slopes of the Eiger with her husband Lord Robert Kenyon, financier and influential member of the philanthropic Knights of the Holy Lance. Attacked by unknown assailants, Kate is left for dead, widowed and with a burning thirst for vengeance.
HAMBURG, GERMANY 2008
When a billionaire fraudster cuts loose from the US, former CIA agent TK Malloy is assigned to hunt him down. The trail leads to the mysterious Knights of the Holy Lance. With his friends, Kate and Ethan Brand, Malloy sets out to uncover its secrets. Malloy must find his man; Kate still seeks her former husband’s killer. Their first step is to kidnap a corrupt Hamburg lawyer from his home. Things don’t quite run to plan and then all hell breaks loose…
“Seamlessly mixing history, legend and fiction, Smith’s writing is both intelligent and exhilarating. His characters are alive, and the twists and turns of the several plots will keep readers breathless.”
Historical Novels Review
£7.99 978-1-905802-29-6
COLD RAIN
“I turned thirty-seven that summer, older than Dante when he toured Hell, but only by a couple of years…”
Life couldn’t be better for David Albo, an associate professor of English at a small mid-western university. He lives in an idyllic, out-of-town, plantation-style mansion with a beautiful and intelligent wife and an adoring teenage stepdaughter. As he returns to the university after a long and relaxing sabbatical, there’s a full professorship in the offing – and, what’s more, he’s managed to stay off the booze for two whole years.
But, once term begins, things deteriorate rapidly. The damning evidence that he has sexually harassed his students is just the beginning as Dave finds himself sucked into a vortex of conspiracy, betrayal, jealousy and murder. Unless he can discover quickly who is out to destroy him, all that he is and loves is about to be stripped away.
“… an absolute gem of a surprise. This is good, solid writing, piled with suspense and tension.” It’s a crime! (or a mystery…)
SHORTLISTED FOR THE CWA IAN FLEMING STEEL
DAGGER FOR BEST THRILLER 2011
£7.99 978-1-905802-34-0
EVERY DARK PLACE
Ten years ago, sleepy Shiloh Springs was shaken as five teenagers were clubbed and shot to death…
But now Will Booker’s conviction for the crime has been overturned after allegations that his rights were violated on arrest.
Rick Trueblood, careworn private investigator working for the county prosecutor’s office, still grieves for a daughter murdered in a crime he has never been able to solve. The judge has allowed just sixty days to find enough evidence to retry the Booker case. But as Rick struggles to re-investigate a trail long gone cold he uncovers a rat’s nest of intrigue and duplicity far closer to home than he could have possibly imagined.
Out on bail, Booker plots the kidnap and murder of two adolescent girls while the local authorities follow procedures and file reports. Rick, on the other hand, has learned something about the way Booker thinks. In the desperate hours that follow, Rick must recover both his instinct for the hunt and a renewed passion for life.
A terrifying tale of search and rescue, madness and redemption.
£7.99 978-1-905802-53-1