#BlogTour The Vault by Mark Dawson

Today it's a pleasure to take art in the BlogTour The Vault by Mark Dawson.

The Berlin Wall - 9 November 2019 marks the 30th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, one of the 20th Century’s most notorious structures. Built in 1961 to divide East and West Germany, by the late 80s it was 156 km long with a 15m ‘death strip’ guarded by 11,500 border guards under shoot-to-kill orders. At least 140 people lost their lives at the Wall. The last in 1989 just months before it fell.

About the Author
Mark Dawson is an award-nominated, USA Today bestseller, with more than 20 books published and over 2 million books downloaded in multiple countries and languages. Mark was born in Lowestoft, in the UK. He has worked as a DJ, a door-to-door ice cream seller, factory hand and club promoter.

He eventually trained as a lawyer and worked for ten years in the City of London and Soho, firstly pursuing money launderers and then acting for A-list celebrities suing newspapers for libel.

Follow @pbackwriter on Twitter, on Amazon, on Goodreads, Visit markjdawson.com, Buy The Vault

About the book
In the dying days of the Soviet Union, the Berlin Wall still casts a long and deadly shadow in 1989.

MI6 agent Harry Mackintosh embarks on an audacious plan to exfiltrate a valuable asset through a tunnel under the Berlin Wall. But things go badly wrong and what could have been a brilliant coup  ends in a bloody failure, with Mackintosh only just escaping with his life. Now he wants revenge.

Mackintosh returns to London for help. He asks for seasoned professionals but gets Jimmy Walker, a bank robber blackmailed into working with British intelligence. Walker has been given a stark choice: a long stretch in prison or a trip behind the Iron Curtain. It sounds like a recipe for disaster, but the resourceful robber - desperate to keep his liberty and lured by tales of Stasi gold - might just be the right man for the job after all.

Review
There's nothing quite like a good old Cold War spy thriller. It's exactly the right amount of subterfuge, politics, history and action. Dawson manages to accurately capture the atmosphere of the silent war.

I got about three quarters in and wondered how many readers would see Mackintosh as the villain of the piece and not just the protagonist - the British intelligence officer with an axe to grind. There is no doubt about the fact that he uses and treats Walker with contempt.

Mackintosh is ruthless, reckless and not particularly interested in keeping Walker alive, despite the fact he is actually the key to his entire scheme. Again I would make the point that he perhaps isn't so different than the man he wants to bring to his knees.

It's a spy thriller - a combination of Kelly's Heroes meets The Lives of Others. You get the audacity of a man fuelled by greed, and perhaps by the thrill of the impossible task, which is balanced by the lack of compassion and heavy atmosphere of the Cold War scenario.

The Stasi is a chapter in history that is often overshadowed by the events of Nazi Germany and World War II and the uplifting event of the fall of the Berlin Wall. Those oppressive years of Stasi rule tend to rear their head in books and movies - it's easy to forget how many lives were controlled and destroyed during those decades.

I can't decide whether I was more intrigued by the spy storyline or the fact Walker was all gung-ho and I'll deal with the consequences later. Either way as a reader I definitely want more.

Buy The Vault at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher: Unputdownable eBook - 31 Jan. 2020. Paperback Ind pub 31 Jan 2020 - Audio available 31 October 2019. Buy at Amazon com.

#BlogTour The Kompromat Kill by Michael Jenkins

Today its also my turn on the BlogTour The Kompromat Kill by Michael Jenkins.

Enter the Giveaway below to Win 5 copies of The Kompromat Kill (Open INT)

About the Author
I started climbing at 13, survived being lost in Snowdonia at 14, nearly drowned at 15, and then joined the Army at 16. Risk and adventure was built into my DNA and I feel very fortunate to have served the majority of my working career as an intelligence officer within Defence Intelligence, and as an explosive ordnance disposal officer and military surveyor within the Corps of Royal Engineers.

I was privileged to serve for twenty-eight years in the British Army as a soldier and officer, rising through the ranks to complete my service as a major. I served across the globe on numerous military operations as well as extensive travel and adventure on many major mountaineering and exploration expeditions that I led or was involved in.

I was awarded the Geographic Medal by the Royal Geographical Society for mountain exploration in 2003 and served on the screening committee of the Mount Everest Foundation charity for many years. It was humbling after so many years of service when I was awarded the MBE for services to counter-terrorism in 2007.

The Failsafe Query is my debut novel, with The Kompromat Kill, my second.

Follow @FailSafeQuery on Twitter, and FailSafeThrillers on Facebook, on Goodreads, Visit michaeljenkins.org, Buy The Kompromat Kill

About the book
They were preparing for decades – now it’s time to take them down.

When a British Diplomat is kidnapped in the heart of London, followed by a brutal double-assassination in Chelsea, MI5 braces for the threat of deep sleeper cells coming alive.

Hiding overseas with a price on his head, Sean Richardson is tasked to lead a deniable operation to hunt down and recruit an international model and spy. Moving across Asia Minor and Europe, Sean embarks on a dangerous journey tracking an Iranian spy ring who hold the keys to a set of consequences the British Intelligence Services would rather not entertain.

As Sean investigates deeper, he uncovers dark secrets from his past and a complex web of espionage spun from the hand of a global master spy. As he inches closer to the truth, the rules of the game change – and the nerve-wracking fate of many lives sits in his hands…….……..

Review
This is the second book in the Sean Richardson series, fast-paced action spy thrillers.
I really like the way Jenkins swoops in with the first chapter and then flies right back out again. I was genuinely surprised, but no worries the beginning drives the rest of the story in a low-key way to the very end.

An important part of the story is the way Sean, who has followed in the footsteps of his mother, comes to terms with the fate of his mother. It's a well-balanced plot of closure and closet, backdoor and raincoat spies. Neither overshadows the other, which makes for a more compelling story in my opinion. As a reader you can enjoy the more emotional moments, whilst simultaneously indulging in the cut-throat and ruthless spy game.

It's an intriguing espionage thriller. Jenkins captures the bold audacity of spy warfare over many decades and the victims that fall prey to the machinations of secrets and missions. Think Spooks with an international flair with a cold war mystique.

Jenkins is honing his craft. There is a clear difference between this second book in comparison to the first. Aside from that I also wonder how much of Sean is based on what the author has experienced himself. Its probably the reason the character is balanced, despite being a live action hero.

I also wouldn't mind if Jenkins returned to the scene of the crime and East Berlin. Pehaps even back to what comes before the end of the first chapter.

Buy The Kompromat Kill by Michael Jenkins at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher: Failsafe Thrillers; pub date 19 Jun. 2019. Buy at Amazon com.

Enter the Giveaway below to Win 5 copies of The Kompromat Kill (Open INT)

a Rafflecopter giveaway *Terms and Conditions –Worldwide entries welcome.  Please enter using the Rafflecopter box below. The winner will be selected at random via Rafflecopter from all valid entries and will be notified by Twitter and/or email. If no response is received within 7 days then Rachel’s Random Resources reserves the right to select an alternative winner. Open to all entrants aged 18 or over.  Any personal data given as part of the competition entry is used for this purpose only and will not be shared with third parties, with the exception of the winners’ information. This will passed to the giveaway organiser and used only for fulfilment of the prize, after which time Rachel’s Random Resources will delete the data.  I am not responsible for despatch or delivery of the prize.*

Exposure by Helen Dunmore

Based in 1960, this Cold War story is a mixture of politics, bureaucracy, spy story and about relationships. In fact I felt as if the emphasis was on family and love, regardless of whether it was hetero or homosexual.

I particularly liked the way Dunmore wrote the confrontational scenes between Lily and the person sent to interview her.

The misconception of people thinking that if you were born in a country it automatically means you can speak the language fluently, despite leaving the country as a young child.

Also the cold reality of naturalisation often only being a pretty bureaucratic word. Once a foreigner always a foreigner is a common reaction and the subconscious thought most people try to suppress

I actually think Lily made a subconscious decision to 'forget' her first language. Too many uncomfortable images. memories and anger. As if forgetting her origins would help in the remodelling of her self. She is still very paranoid about being treated differently because of her religion. Lilly looks for the anti-Semite in everyone. Completely normal for survivors and I would say almost a persecution complex, but then perhaps Lily isn't so paranoid after all.

When Simon is accused of treason and spying Lily finds she has already landed right in the middle of this mess, even before any accusations had started flying. She acts instinctively in an effort to protect her family.

Throughout the turmoil and embarrassment of the accusations Dunmore has woven the two loves of Simon into the fabric of the story. His past and his present, his hidden desires and his open conformity. In their own way the two loves save Simon.

I liked the combination of emotion versus political chess playing, of betrayal versus protection and the backdrop of the minefield of a post-war world.

Buy Exposure at Amazon UK or go to Goodreads for any other retailer.