“When Kremlin intelligence analyst Nestor Blok contacts MI5 to facilitate his defection from Moscow, it seems like the perfect job for Ryan Kerrek, the Discretionary Tactical Unit’s newest asset.
Devising a bold strategy with Jørn ‘Bear’ Larsen of the Norwegian Intelligence Service, Kerrek hopes to smuggle the Russian into Great Britain using a daring method not employed since World War II. And yet it soon transpires that others are willing to take extreme measures to capture and interrogate Blok.
As unforeseen events unfold in the United States, Kerrek questions whether the enigmatic Blok is all he appears to be, and fears that Russian spymasters have outwitted and out-manoeuvred them all.”
Although spending more time with some of my best characters from the STATION HELIX books was a motivating factor when writing the RYAN KERREK series, the opportunity to introduce new people was just as exciting. Norwegian operative Jørn Larsen is a favourite. I was also pleased at how Trinity Walker turned out.
But the principal reason for styling DEADLY ACQUISITION the way I did was to pay tribute to a collection of brave men from World War II. Few people have heard of the Shetland Bus. The name is something of a misnomer – it was a North Sea boat route operated by heroic Norwegians in defiance of the German occupation.
DEADLY ACQUISITION finds Kerrek secure in a new team, but he’s still trying to unravel the treachery which imperilled him in the first book, and he’s not yet entirely certain whom he can trust. Of all my books I think this one has my favourite opening – an assassination from the victim’s perspective.
We also get to understand how Kerrek’s past shaped his traits in this book. Kerrek’s friendship with Larsen is the key which unlocks Chloe Kerrek’s story. The return of a major character from THE ELZEVIR COLLECTIVE and TORUS suggests a significant connection to the conspiracies of the STATION HELIX trilogy.
I included a note at the end of DEADLY ACQUISITION about THE SHETLAND BUS, written by David Howarth, one of the British officers who ran the remarkable operation. Read his book and you’ll see why even the name of the DTU vessel in my novel is significant. The next book in the series is BLACK SCARAB.
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