Author:Geoffrey Archer
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Sam Packer of the British Secret Service knows a mission to Iraq is dangerous. But none more dangerous than this one.
A whispered secret in a Baghdad hotel lobby leads to his kidnapping, torture and expected execution. His paymasters have given him up for dead. Only the intervention of his ex-lover, Chrissie, and a hostage swap get him released.
But days later Chrissie is murdered. Perhaps she knew too much, knew of the secret that Sam had uncovered - that a biological terror weapon codenamed Fire Hawk had been smuggled from Iraq for use against an unknown target in the West. Personal motives of revenge clash with priorities of State Security as Sam follows the weapon's and his dead lover's murky past through the Middle East, Cyprus and the Ukraine.
At each step the mystery of the ultimate target deepens and the fanatics who control it become ever more elusive...
Geoffrey Archer has again used his ITN experience in a sinuous mix of international threats that are coming to have the same chill-factor as the fear that underpinned the best Cold War thrillers
—— Michael Hartland , Daily TelegraphA dark story of murder and obsession
—— ElleAn eerie murder mystery set in the corrupt heart of Victorian London
—— Marie Claire Good Book Club pickPart-bodice-ripper, part-slasher, the book's elaborate plot moves along at a brisk clip with a nod to the likes of Sarah Waters and Peter Ackroyd
—— Daily MailA sure-footed evocation of seamy Victorian London
—— The Sunday TelegraphA sinister picture of a country, and protagonist, on the brink of hysteria
—— PsychologiesAs crowded with sensation as a Victorian parlour with furniture
—— The ScotsmanA spider's web of a plot and a spine-tingling atmosphere of menace and suspense
—— The TimesMesmerising, elegant and compelling
—— The LadyWell-written, tense and with some very nasty images, this isn’t Niven’s first book…, but it is his first thriller, and…a good one.
—— Literary ReviewBrilliantly written, Cold Hands is that rarest of things – a gripping thriller with real depth. An intense, exhilarating adrenaline rush, I found myself staying up all night to finish it in one sitting. Wonderful.
—— S. J. WatsonGripping and disturbing
—— Liz Smith , My WeeklyThe story-telling is little short of brilliant
—— Crime Fiction LoverPerfect plotting, great characterisation, and the kind of payoff that a thriller of this calibre deserves
—— BookgeeksSo many twists and surprises
—— TimesI'm all for hearing different voices in fiction and I got my wish with this book. The story showed just how someone with Asperger's might view the world. Christopher finds a dead dog and sets about trying to find the dog's killer, but the book is much more than a mystery story... I loved the way Christopher tries to bring order to his world by using Maths which he finds far easier to understand than people
—— Malorie Blackman , Books for KeepsSo genuine...It is chillingly heartbreaking and passionately positive in equal measure
—— Julia Eccleshare , Books for KeepsSo what makes these different to any other set of classics? In a moment of inspiration Random House had the bright idea of actually asking Key stage 2 children what extra ingredients they could add to make children want to read. And does it work? Well, put it this way...my 13-year-old daughter announced that she had to read a book over the summer holiday and, without any prompting, spotted The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas...and proceeded to read it! Now, if you knew my 13-year-old daughter, you would realise that this is quite remarkable. She reads texts, blogs and tags by the thousand - but this is the first book she has read since going to high school, so all hail Vintage Classics!
—— National Association for the Teaching of English